“Jetty girl” was a sassy, purebred Miniature Schnauzer born in Lancaster, PA, on January 15, 1993.

In November of 1995, after some intense training, she took and passed her Canine Good Citizen Test and Therapy Dogs International, Inc. test, and became an active licensed Therapy Dog. She went on to earn her TDIA (Therapy Dogs International Active Volunteer) Certificate of Achievement, which is awarded by Therapy Dog International, Inc. to companions for accumulating visitations to approved facilities over the years.

Jetta received a Certificate from the New Jersey Veterinary Foundation—Animal Hall of Fame for her therapy efforts given in relation to September 11, 2001. In addition she was recognized for her dedication and outstanding therapy work at the New York/New Jersey Family Assistance Centers following the attack of September 11, 2001. These were her greatest achievements and brought great pride to us. In Sept of 2003, Jetta became one of just a select few companions invited to become an elite member of the Hospice Saint John therapy dog team. By far this facility subjected their therapy companion inductees to the most rigorous testing of any facility. Jetta passed these tests with great confidence and ease.

We continue to carry great pride in our lovely little fur baby.

This past February 1st, Jetta developed a slight limp in her back left leg. She was taken to her regular vet who prescribed Deramaxx® for seven days.

After the third day, Jetta became listless, would not eat, and became very withdrawn. We called the vet and reported what we knew. We were told to stop the Deramaxx® and wait 24-48 hours. We trusted our vet and felt confident in their abilities. They knew Jetta and had been seeing her since she was a pup. The next evening Jetta had a bloody bowel movement and we knew something was definitely wrong! We decided to wait until early the next morning and return Jetta to the vet for another visit.

This was our biggest mistake; to wait and not act then and now!

The next morning very early, 4AM, Jetta was found lying on her side in the kitchen. She was rushed to an emergency clinic, taken in right away, examined. The vet told us there was not much hope for Jetta. She was bleeding rectally at this point. I would not accept the option of euthanization at that point.

This was Jetta! This could not be happening!

We demanded blood tests and x-rays…anything that would offer a glimmer of hope! My wife and I ventured back home to investigate this Deramaxx® drug while Jetta was undergoing tests to determine exactly what was wrong. We had no idea of Deramaxx®’s potential. We are not vets! What we found while researching this Deramaxx® dropped our jaws! We learned that the manufacturer, Novartis®, had recommended that the prescribing vet should do blood work to determine if the companion was a candidate for Deramaxx®, and to set ‘bench mark’ blood serum levels in case of side effects. We also learned that the vet should discuss this product and the side effects before prescribing this product. Novartis® also recommends the vet hand to us the client information sheet, or CIS, which contains all the information in regards to side effects (one of which is death!) to look for should the Deramaxx® NOT be the right drug for Jetta.

As guardians…we received none of this! No blood tests. No Clien Informtion Sheet.

We knew with Jetta in the condition she was in…we were in trouble.

My wife and I called the Novartis® emergency line that we found on the internet CIS sheet on the Novartis® website. We explained our situation and were told to have the emergency clinic call them for assistance. My wife and I grabbed up all the information we could muster, and rushed back to the emergency clinic. We saw the results of her blood serum tests and a few of them were remarkably high! Her liver and kidney functions were off the scale! The vet had called the Novartis® emergency line and spoke with the emergency vets.

Clearly the emergency clinic was not suited to deal with Deramaxx® poisoning, or the side effects! It was determined Jetta needed an ultrasound of her internal organs to see how bad the damage was. My wife and I kept up our best hope, but knew with Jetta never having a sick day in her life before ............. we just knew.

Just prior to Jetta being packaged for her travel to someone that could perform her ultrasound (the emergency clinic had no one available!)…she suffered a heart attack, believed to be brought on by the damage Deramaxx® may have inflicted on her kidneys and liver. She was rushed back into the emergency room and was revived using drugs.

My wife and I were asked to step into the emergency room. There Jetta lay…tubs, wires, bells, flashing lights, and whistles all over the place. We were advised Jetta was dieing and there was no hope at that point. We had no choice but to make the decision to send her across the Rainbow Bridge…and to her peace.

This day, Feb 7th, 2004, was one of the saddest days in our lives.

Although we will never, ever forget Jetta, nor will she ever fade from our hearts and the hearts of others, it has now become our desire to help educate others that have yet to face the NSAID decision that we had to, to help push reforms in regards to companion rights, and to help force the vets to a higher standard/responsibility when dealing with our companions…as well as us; the companion guardians.

We have a right to speak for our companions because they can not! It is our right to provide for them the same protection and love that they have showed us all of their lives! Had my wife and I been properly informed of our options by our vet, Jetta may still be with us today.

However, we will not let her passing go unknown. All we do, we do in her honor.

Jetta was notorious for her “roll over” trick. She brought countless smiles, love and affection to hundreds of individuals throughout the years of her dedicated therapy work as a service companion. She will never be forgotten, nor will we ever say ‘goodbye’ to her for good. She will forever be a hero in all our hearts.

We love you Jetty girl!!

Mom and Dad.