A story I wish I didn’t
have to tell, unfortunately I have learned of many others
who’ve suffered the heart breaking pain guilt
that I feel everyday.
My beloved “Destiny”
was a beautiful, glistening, white Samoyed, who loved
everybody and everything. She looked like a fluffy snowball.
She was very intelligent, did lots of tricks and loved
to play in the snow.
At five months of age
I learned she had a heart murmur, so she began a special
diet. At seven years of age she developed diabetes,
so sugar was removed as well as salt from her diet.
I also gave her two insulin injections everyday. In
spite of these medical problems, she remained a very
healthy and happy dog.
Little did I know that
all those wonderful years with my precious Destiny would
soon be over.
On July 29, 2004 while
brushing Destiny, I noticed some lumps on her backside
and what looked like a small bump near her eye. I called
the vets office to make an appointment for her. Destiny
went to the vet on the following morning.
My nightmare began on
July 30, 2004, when after Destiny’s examination
the vet told me that the lumps were nothing to worry
about but that they should be removed. I was also told
that the bump near her eye may have been caused by a
bad tooth, so the tooth would need to be extracted.
The vet said that her schedule was pretty free so she
could do the surgery immediately.
She performed
the necessary blood work and everything was read to go.
I left Destiny there with her favorite stuffed toy “Mr.
Skunk” giving her a big kiss and telling her I’d
be back soon. I received the call that the surgery had
gone well and I could pick her up later that evening.
Before leaving, I put
her blanket and pillow in the back of the SUV so she
would be comfortable for the trip home. The following
morning July 31, 2004, Destiny seemed to be in a lot
of pain. I called the vet to see if something could
be prescribed to make her more comfortable.
This will go down as
being one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I was
told to pick up the medication at the office within
the next half hour. Upon arrival at the vets, the receptionist
handed me a bottle of pills with no instructions or
warnings of any kind. I looked at the bottle and saw
that it was “Rimadyl”. All I knew about
this drug was that it was a medication for arthritis
and that it wasn’t suppose to be taken for extended
periods of time.
I said to the receptionist:
“Why are you giving her Rimadyl? Isn’t that
for arthritis?” She replied “Well it’s
a pain reliever that will help her with the inflammation.”
At this point the vet walks out. And I said to her “Are
you sure it’s okay to give this to her with her
heart and diabetes problem?”
Jennifer Levitsky, DVM
said “Oh sure – she’ll be fine.”
Why did I trust her?
Why did I believe her?
I gave
Destiny her medication…… thinking I was
doing something to help her feel better! I gave it to
her on July 31 and again on August 1, 2004.
On the morning of August
2, 2004, I woke up early to let Destiny outside and
to feed her some breakfast. She didn’t want to
get up at first. Then she tried to get up but appeared
very wobbly. I bent down to help her up but she fell
back down like a rag doll and started to whine.
I grabbed the phone,
called the vet office and told them that I was bringing
her there immediately because she wouldn’t move
and something was terribly wrong! I had to have help
carrying her limp body to the truck. I raced to the
vet office as fast as I could. Upon arrival I ran inside
to ask someone to help me carry her in.
Two technicians came
out and carried her inside. As I went to follow them
down the hall, they stopped me and told me I would have
to wait in the reception area. After a half hour had
past, I asked the receptionist if she could find out
what was going on. A technician was sent out to tell
me that Destiny was being given oxygen because she was
very weak. I said “I want to know why she’s
so weak - what’s wrong?” The tech said,
“The doctor will be out to talk to you shortly.”
The doctor didn’t
come out shortly. This charade went on for 3 hours.
Nobody would tell me anything. I became very angry and
said to the receptionist “Would you please go
back there and get the doctor ‘ I want to know
what’s going on NOW!”
Finally Jennifer Levitsky,
DVM walks out and asks me to step into a room. She proceeds
to tell me that upon Destiny’s arrival she examined
her and found that some ‘tarry stool’ was
coming from her rectum. She then said that this had
brought her to the conclusion that Destiny was bleeding
internally and that it was ‘possibly’ due
to the Rimadyl. She told me that Destiny was in critical
condition and needed a blood transfusion immediately.
I was angry and crying
and I yelled at her “Why did you give her Rimadyl
if you knew that something like this could possibly
happen?” Her reply was “We give it to Labs
all the time.” I yelled again “she’s
not a lab!” She then yelled at me saying, “well
maybe you weren’t taking care of her diabetes
properly.”
Talk about being guilty
and trying to shift the blame. I wanted to cause her
bodily harm at this point, but I was more worried about
getting help for Destiny.
I yelled at her saying
“don’t you dare accuse me of not taking
proper care of my dog! You shouldn’t have given
her Rimadyl and you know it.” She looked at me
and said, “Everybody makes honest mistakes.”
Then she tells me that the hospital “Arnold Pet
Station” is not equipped to do the blood transfusion
so I have to transport Destiny to the Emergency Clinic,
which is another 25 minutes away. I said to her “You
mean to tell me that you KNEW upon Destiny’s arrival
that she was bleeding internally and that you weren’t
able to do the blood transfusion and you held me up
here for 3 hours?” I asked for my dog to be brought
out to me immediately. She told me that I had to pay
my bill first before she would release her.
I paid the bill, got
Destiny in the back of the SUV and drove as fast as
I could to the Emergency Clinic. The staff at the Anne
Arundel Veterinary Emergency Clinic acted very quickly.
The doctor started the blood transfusion immediately
and then came back to the room to talk with me. She
told me that Destiny was very critical and had become
unconscious, that Destiny was indeed bleeding internally
and that it was ‘most likely’ due to the
Rimadyl. The doctor told me I could go back to see Destiny
and to see if maybe she would respond to my voice.
I laid my head against
her face calling her name saying, “mommie loves
you.” She began to move her front paw. I was hoping
that meant she heard me and that she loved me too.
I felt so guilty. She
was lying there so helpless. Destiny trusted me to keep
her safe. I felt I had betrayed her. The first transfusion
wasn’t helping too much, so they started a second
transfusion.
Within the following
hour all of her vital signs had gotten worse.
The doctor
then told me that Destiny was not going to make it. I
laid next to Destiny and cried. I told her I was sorry
and that I loved her so much.
Destiny
lost her life that evening August 2, 2004…. just
8 days before she would have celebrated her twelfth
birthday.
I never got so much
as “I’m sorry” from Jennifer Levitsky,
DVM. The following day Dr. Dan Wareham (owner of Arnold
Pet Station) called me asked what he could do to “resolve
the matter.” I was insulted. I told him there
was nothing he could do to bring Destiny back. I told
him how unprofessional and rude his staff were and that
I wanted my money back for Destiny’s visit that
day and for the Emergency Clinic, which totaled over
$2000.00.
He refused and insisted
that his staff did nothing wrong.
I have since gotten
my attorney involved who has been fighting with their
attorney for many months. They still insist they did
nothing wrong.
Destiny’s ashes
are in a beautiful stained glass urn with a picture
of her and “Mr. Skunk” on the front. Every
time I walk past it I still feel that pain and guilt.
I’m now discussing a Class Action lawsuit with
my attorney.
Destiny deserves justice,
as do all the other victims of this KILLER DRUG. I will
do everything humanly possible to see that Destiny gets
that justice.
Sometimes I still hear
Destiny bark. I hope it’s her way of telling me
that she loves me and she forgives me.
