The first annual "Nuts for Mutts" show will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2002, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Calabasas High School Stadium, 22855 Mulholland Highway, Calabassas, CA.

The Nuts for Mutts Dog Show and Pet Fair benefits New Leash On Life Animal Rescue, a local non-profit organization that rescues and rehabilitates dogs from shelters. Their goal is to raise $50,000 to secure proper housing for hundreds of homeless pets. For information, visit the Nuts for Mutts site.

Best Friends Animal Santuary and PAWS, Chicago, have joined together to present a landmark gathering of experts from across the country to explore strategies to develop no-kill communities. If you attend this conference, you will hear from people who are creating life-saving changes for the animals in their own neighborhoods, cities, or states, and you'll learn how to help launch a No More Homeless Pets campaign in your community. Hyatt Regency Woodfield, Schaumburg, IL. For more information visit the Best Friends site.

Have you provided for your dog's future, should he outlive you? Legislation currently before Congress would allow for the provision of an estate for a non-human entity, such as a dog. However, at the time of this posting, there was no information available on the status of the legislation.

We have just received a brochure, however, from Home for Life Animal Sanctuary in Stillwater, MN, that describes a unique program called "Angel Care." It is the only program of its kind in the country that provides ". . . an affordable safety net for people's pets when an owner, due to death or disability, can no longer care for their cat or dog." For more information, contact Home for Life, 1-800-252-5918, or visit their website.

In April 2000, the Senior Dogs Project ceased accepting reports of experiences with Rimadyl. With the appearance of the March 13, 2000, Wall Street Journal article, Pfizer's distribution of a new consumer (owner) information sheet, and additional widespread information campaigns, it seemed that our goal of informing consumers about the potential side effects of Rimadyl by presenting experiential reports had been reached.

Unfortunately, to this day we continue to receive reports about Rimadyl's side effects, and, although we held to our policy of not posting new reports for a long period, a number of them seemed too important to ignore. We also have been adhering to our policy of presenting both the pros and the cons of Rimadyl. Following are a selected few of the latest commentary and reports:

From Dr. Kristi Fisher, DVM, February 2, 2002: Communication between Client and Veterinarian a Critical Element in Good Pet Care

"I was directed to your website by a client who was sure we were guilty of malpractice for prescribing Rimadyl and prednisone together. This is a dog with severe burns over most of his body, so he is on an extremely low dose of prednisone for two weeks while on the Rimadyl as needed for arthritis. I assured the client that this was ok, and gave him signs of ulceration to watch for.

"I was rather dismayed by the Rimadyl reports, however. I have seen two adverse reactions in two Laboradors which, when treated, the dogs responded just fine. So many of the symptoms people were describing in the reports fit that of many other diseases common to old age. One person complained about blood panels not being done and the chart not being read to see what the dog was taking, etc. I agree that this presents a problem. I require blood panels every three months on patients on Rimadyl. In most cases, I require some sort of blood panel before starting it. However, what pet owners need to realize is that reactions to Rimadyl are very infrequent. Unfortunately, when an adverse reaction occurs to your pet, it is goes from infrequent to 100%.

"Rimadyl is an excellent drug for providing comfort for dogs with arthritis. Routine monitoring should be done (as with any long term medications). Especially in older pets, do not let signs of disease go unchecked before bringing them in to be examined like you can usually do in a younger animal. Also, do not be quick to blame the medication. I see MANY older patients go downhill very quickly that are not on any medications. Most of all, owners should be sure to discuss any and all concerns with their veterinarian. If they are not satisfied, find another vet. This profession is based on client communication to best serve the pet." kristina@mvah.com

"I read with horror the February newsletter and the story of Ginger and her Rimadyl experience. I also have a senior Golden Retriever. He has hip displaysia and has been on Rimadyl for almost two years. At the time I started him on it, there were no stories of adverse effects other than the potential kidney problems. I decided that it was worth a try to make my old boy more comfortable. I am happy to say that within about three weeks he appeared much more comfortable and had fewer problems getting up after lying down. With steady doses of Rimadyl, glucosamine-chondroitin and exercise, he appears much better. He has also lost about seven pounds, due to the exercise he can now endure. I just want to be sure that everyone isn't scared off by the Rimadyl horror stories. There will always be cases of adverse effects to every drug due to the uniqueness of every living thing on Earth. The additional comfort and energy that Rikko has gained from Rimadyl is something that every senior dog plagued by arthritic or other mobility problems deserves a shot at. Rikko will be 10 on March 6, and his health is much better because of Rimadyl. Just wanted to be sure that both sides of the story were represented on your site. sherryi@microsoft.com

"I wanted to contact you because I felt the need to share with you our painful experience with Rimadyl and the subsequent (untimely) death of our beloved little man 'Bushky' on November 30th, 2001. What had started as a simple visit to the vets for an ear infection ended up with a diagnosis of hypothyroid and the subsequent administering of a series of drugs (which included Rimadyl, later Etogesic and Prednisone) that never really got to the root of my dog's problem until it was too late. Bushky we learned, after a month-long series of tests, misdiagnoses and mismedication, had Cushings disease. At one point during this painful ordeal, my vets believed that Bushky's now less-than-peppy spirit was probably due to arthritis . Although the x-rays showed no signs of osteoarthritis, the vets administered Rimadyl. A couple of days afterwards, Bushky began a steady and marked decline. . . . He died on Friday morning at 4:30 am. His sudden and swift deterioration had been a piercing question mark. It was not until I happened to come across the Senior Dogs project site and read the experience of others with Rimadyl did I start to understand. I had turned to other vets to ask them about Cushings to confirm whether this could be the underlying cause and their response was always the same: this disease is not known to cause paralysis and is in itself rarely life threatening. All I know is that Bushky was his usual chipper self that morning I took him in for his ear infection, and that he had never demonstrated any other serious ailments before. I truly believe that he would have been alive today had I been warned of the side effects of this drug. In my case, as in many others I have read, it is very true that the treatment was worse than the (suspected) illness. Thank you for your efforts in warning others about this drug and making those accountable live up to their responsibility." EMinoso@aol.com

"I just lost my German Shepherd about two hours ago due to what I believe is an adverse reaction to Rimadyl. He was 11 years old, in great health except for recently diagnosed arthritis. He was on Rimadyl for four days. This morning, after going out, he was having trouble walking and getting up, and kept drinking tons of water. My husband took him back out, and he collapsed. He took him to the emergency animal clinic and they started him on glucose and diagnosed internal bleeding. He even needed oxygen to breathe. He made it to the vet's office, and they decided to do exploratory surgery to find out what was causing the bleeding; they thought maybe a tumor or ruptured spleen. He didn't make it through the surgery; he had already lost too much blood. Our hearts are broken. What can we do to prevent this from happening to someone else, and how can we hold Pfizer responsible? I wouldn't care how much it cost me, if he had pulled through; now we have no dog and a huge bill from two animal hospitals. What do we do now?" tarheelmom@hotmail.com

To read other reports about Rimadyl, please see the Rimadyl page.

Contributed by website visitor, Carolyn LeRoy:

"In August of 2000, I was taking an animal behavior course in Queens, NY, at a local shelter. I was at the first lecture of the morning when the receptionist poked her head in and asked the instructor, 'Will we accept an old Pomeranian?' The instructor (and owner of the shelter) asked, 'How old?' 'About 10.' He said yes, under the condition that the people surrendering the dog give a substantial contribution.

"When we met the Pomeranian a little later, we discovered that she was in extremely bad condtion -- bruises all over her body and blood draining from various cuts and orifices. She had been shaved to the skin and was malnourished. There was something else about her that wasn't quite right, but we didn't figure it out until later. The couple who had dropped her off had said that they couldn't keep her because they were going to have a baby -- an unlikely story since they appeared to be in their 60's.

"When we called the vet whose name the couple had provided, we found out the dog hadn't been in to see him for nearly five years. The owner of the shelter decided at that point that he was going to have her put down. The shelter vet wasn't due in for another 48 hours, however. I decided that I couldn't let the poor animal suffer for another second, so I offered to take her to my vet to see what could be done to make her comfortable for the next 48 hours.

"I took her to the vet and learned what we had been missing: she was blind. We also learned that her bleeding came from infections and her anal sacks were so impacted that they exploded. I took her home with me (to my three other dogs) and waited until the morning.

"That was the first day of an amazing relationship. Tiramisu (as I called her) took eight months to recover, and now suffers from Canine Cognitive Disorder, chronic anxiety and chronic upper respiratory problems. But she is a spitfire! I have never regretted the day I chose to save her.

"About a year after she became mine, I came home and found her tail wagging for the first time. I thought initially she might be having a seizure (I had become very accustomed to surprise illnesses), but she barked and licked me and expressed her happiness in more than words, and I knew for the first time since I had taken her home that she was happy. It was one of the most touching moments of my life.

"Her devotion to me brings tears to my eyes frequently. She sleeps next to me, follows me (as best she can), gives me daily baths (with a very long, wet tongue), and is now learning to play. It has been a year and a half that we have had her, and seeing her happy makes every day with her worthwhile. While I try not to express any preference for one dog over another, I do love her more than the others. Her love for our family, her courage to heal, her daily struggle with life, her silly ways of playing and her need for our presence has made us feel that we have known her for her entire life. In a way, we have. Our goal has been to try and erase the difficult years she had to endure, and to give her the best for the rest. I believe we have accomplished our goal, and I treasure every day that I have with her. She is a constant joy!

"Thank you for reading my story. I hope it brings hope to others. Having an older dog is the best decision I ever made and I am hooked! I will always adopt older dogs from now on. Having a special needs dog is sometimes a strain, but it is rewarded with devotion, love and a wagging tail!"