EAdam, I'm so very sorry that your beloved dog lost his fight, you must be devastated - and also angry that a drug that was supposed to improve his life was actually responsible for his death. 

If you feel up to it I'm sure the dog health group suggested by Christine will be of interest and help to you.  I also think that Jean Townsend would be so disappointed to hear that dogs are still dying through the failure of vets to pass on vital information about the drugs they prescribe.

The advice you gave in your post regarding the side effects to watch out for is excellent and, hopefully, may prevent the suffering of other dogs (and their owners).

Take care
xx

Very sorry to hear of your loss Eadam!
I found a reference to a couple whom treated the side effects of this drug with natural products.  I'm sorry it's too late to help you out
but others may benefit.  The link is at http://www.first4pets.co.uk/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?pg=ste_xref_userpage_load&userpageid=61
I hope you find the will to have another dog ... Best Regards, Dave.

Check this out:

Rimadyl: News, Views & Advisories - Warnings about NSAIDS from a Veterinarian

http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/rimadylfr.html

I'm so very sorry to hear of your loss.

((((hugs))))

Muriel

Many thanks to all who replied and this has helped over the past difficult days.

Lets continue to get the message out to all dog owners (and vets)

Well its been a couple of months now and finally there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The drug manufacturers have kindof agreed to pay the investigative costs involved for the diagnosis of Rimadyl Toxicity but only that portion, they point blank refuse to:
a)meet to discuss costs - will only make contact via the vet as they dont discuss individual cases with the owner of the animal concerned
b)accept liability. Payment is subject to signing an agreement absolving them of liability.

I guess its better than nothing, though I wonder how many times they have done this in the past to keep their high profits resulting from treating our four legged friends? It would be interesting to know who else has faced this dilema?

I can only say that I  have given my old  Golden, both Synaflux liquid and Glucosamine Chondroitin; and it is the Rimadyl which  has given her a new lease of life regarding her  mobility.  Perhaps its easier for me to outweigh any down side to this drug, when she can now get up to greet me in the mornings :D
JMHO

liberty :)

I think this is standard practice.

On another list I'm on a dog died after reacting to its vaccine. The owner had to sign an agreement not to divulge what compensation she was given.

my yorkie had rimadyl and he was losing blood from the back i do not think it agrees with all dogs if it was me i would not continue i would telephone to vets  reception tell them the symtons and go back to the vet .i think this is the tablets causing your dog to vomit i sometime wonder if rimadyl is safe to use.althouh i do not no a lot about it saying that it had a bad effect on my dog.