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The Rimadyl Controversy

© Wendy Smith

When the canine arthritis drug Rimadyl was first released in the US, its manufacturer, Pfizer, surrounded the event with quite the fanfare. You probably remember the television commercials that seemed to flood the airways with older dogs behaving like puppies. The one that particularly sticks in my mind is the one in which a lady has to invest in an automatic ball thrower because her family can't keep up with her elderly lab's new found youth.

You might have noticed something else about those commercials: it's been awhile since you've seen them. There is a reason why it's been awhile since you've seen them, too.

Rimadyl has become the center of quite a controversy.

Rimadyl - The History

Rimadyl, the brand name of a drug called "Carprofen", is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). According to the Doglogic Health Center ( http://www.doglogic.com/rimadyl.htm ) the drug was approved by the FDA for use in dogs on 10/25/1996. It hit the market a couple of months later in January of 1997.

Practically treated as a miracle drug, it was marketed to both veterinarians and the general public (via those TV adds) as a virtually side effect free way to ease the pain of arthritis. After all the side effects that did show up in initial drug tests were relatively mild.

Before long, Rimadyl became one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for pets. According to the FDA, within 3 years of its availability, over 5 million dogs had used the drug ( http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?s=3... ).

The First Signs of Trouble

Not very long after the drug became readily available, signs emerged that perhaps the Rimadyl did have a dark side.

One of the first groups to become aware that something was going on were the folks at The Senior Dog Project ( www.srdogs.com ). The Senior Dog Project is an organization that advocates the adoption and rescue of older dogs. Their site also offers advice and health information for owners of senior dogs, as well. According to their website, the group organized in January of 1997, with the website coming online in May of that year (just a few months after Rimadyl hit the market).

According to their FAQ sheet, the site shortly began receiving email from people whose previously healthy dogs had become very ill or even died after being put on the drug. As the number of emails grew, many with similar details, the SDP realized that they might have something disturbing on their hands. There were just too many cases with similar symptoms to be mere coincidence. Having recently been made aware that both the FDA and Pfizer were both monitoring their site, SDP decided to set aside an area of their site for comments about Rimadyl. To be balanced, they encouraged people to tell about positive experiences with the drug as well. They requested that anyone posting to their site be as thorough and specific as possible about describing what happened with their dog ( http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/rimadylfr.ht... - about 2/3 down the page).

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