This may very well be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to write; I didn’t even know how to begin, it’s the post I knew would come one day and I’ve always dreaded it.
On Saturday, May 14th, 2022, my sweet Angus left this world to join his brothers and sister at the Rainbow Bridge. To say my soul is shattered and my heart is broken into a million pieces doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel – the pain is unbearable.
I chose this space to share everything that led to his passing in the hopes that perhaps it can save another dog from suffering the same fate. I would never want anyone to experience this heartache, EVER.
Angus was very senior, but he was healthy and happy. Sure, he had slowed down, he had arthritis, but he still had the gumption to bully his brother on a daily basis – he was always a tough cookie. For this reason, it was shocking that he went from being his happy, eating, spunky, tail wagging, leg licking, and sassy self to being barely able to stand, walk, urinate, confused, vomiting, wasting away with fluid collecting in his abdomen in 24 hours. The initial suspicion was he had a mass, likely on his liver, however, now it’s believed he went into acute liver failure after being given one dose of Nexgard.
He'd never taken it before, but because Comet has reactions to spot on treatments and Angus’s hair had become so thin, the spot-on flea/tick treatments became very messy on his body, so I felt an oral med would be best for the both of them. I gave them each a dose on Wednesday, and about 16 hours later Angus was vomiting bile and he continued to decline, despite treatment, and never recovered.
My sweet boy didn’t deserve to go through this, and it makes me sick that he suffered the way he did. I reported the “adverse effects” to Merial, but I don’t want anyone else to go through what we did. I implore anyone who is giving Nexgard to stop giving it, it’s Russian Roulette. Angus took milk thistle daily to keep his liver cleansed due to meds for arthritis - one dose of Nexgard was toxic for him. Sadly, he’s not the first dog to suffer and unless this medication is pulled from the market, he won’t be the last, either.
I'll love you forever, my sweet boy - I will meet you at the Bridge.
