Scout von Lyon

Scout is a purebred German Shepherd, kind, loyal, and fun loving. Unfortunately, with purebred German Shepherds, there can be a problem with hip dysplasia. Scout demonstrated this defect at the very early age of ten months. She had surgery to correct her dislocating hip and post-op she was placed on an anti-inflammatory. She developed a very rare reaction to this drug that put her in renal (kidney) failure. She was hospitalized where Dr. Horn and his wonderful staff of technicians, such as Ruben, nursed her back from the brink of death. Today, Scout playfully runs around the backyard with our other dog, Dot. Although she must be on a special kidney diet for now, we are hoping that her kidneys will return as close as normal as possible. Thanks to Dr. Horn for his intense investigation into finding the cause of Scout’s renal failure, we have a happy-loving Scout today.

---A note from Dr. Horn about Anti-inflammatories:
Non-steroidal anti-inflamatories are medications that we routinely use for acute and chronic pain. Like all anti-inflammatories (all medications really) there is a risk of serious side effects. In Scout’s case, we think the effects were compounded by a congenital kidney problem that was undetectable on pre-anesthetic labwork. Luckily, in Scout’s case, she recovered and is doing very well. When these side effects happen, they can be quite severe. Luckily, they are quite rare and we FIRMLY believe that the use of anti-inflammatories for our patients has a benefit that is much greater than the risk. Because of risk of reaction, we monitor ALL of our patients on any anti-inflammatory to catch any possible reactions early. If your pet is on a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (or any other medication) and you have any concerns, please ask your veterinarian. For more information on anti-inflammatories, please see our article in the News section.