Opioid crisis impacting pet care

LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – Inside Pet Pantry of Lancaster County, there is a logbook for every time a doctor has to use opioids.

“We do use a lot of opioids such as fentanyl and some other things in hospital as anesthetic agents for these immediate operating times,” said Dr. Bryan Langlois, the clinic’s medical director.

Langlois is also the president of Pennsylvania’s Veterinary Medical Association. He said because of the opioid epidemic, drug companies are making less of the drugs and veterinarians are getting less of them.

“The human hospitals are getting the first crack at things,” he said. “We in the veterinary profession are left trying to get what we can.”

The issue is creating a supply and demand problem, which is turning into higher bills for pet care.

“Some prices are going to go up through distributors to be able to get those products,” Langlois said.

Prices aren’t skyrocketing, but some veterinarians are changing their protocols and seeking other options.

Langlois said that’s an issue because he believes opioids work best for pets.

“These drugs are some of the safest ones out there for us to do these procedures with,” he said. “We want to be able, for people’s pet safety, we want to provide the best and safest option that’s out

Where is PETA and ASCPA   aren’t they suppose to stand up for the abuse/mistreatment of animals.  Neither of these organizations have a DEA license.. thus the DEA has no lethal authority to threaten their existence – like they do prescribers who have DEA licenses if they stand up to the abuse by them.

ACLU   seems to also be reluctant to take a stand for the hundred of millions of chronic pain pts that are being denied adequate pain management.

4 Responses

  1. Auschwitz is alive and well for thousands of chickens in8″x8″cages with their beak tips hacked off.lights on 24-7 standing on wire caked w/poop.that is so you can pay 15 cents less for a dozen eggs.that is their”life”until they collapse dead and sold as fryers.Is it really so surprising that we now treat humans the same?I refuse to buy those eggs.if it meant the bird ran free eating insects and greens,getting vitamin d from sunlite,I will happily pay $5a carton.at least there will be vitamins in the eggs!!!

  2. This is so true. About three months ago, my 17 year old Pomeranian fell off the deck (9 to 10 ft). X-rays showed a fracture in her pelvic bone and a severe case of arthritis in her hips. She could not stand on her back legs long enough to use the restroom. She was sent home with no medication for pain. I take tramadol and knew she’d taken it before (after she was spayed many years prior), so I looked up the appropriate dose (.5 mg to 1.8 mgs per pound) and dosed her around the clock. I was infuriated that our vet of more than 20 years, who knew we were decent pet “parents,” did not address her pain. While she was not yelping in pain, she was unable to stand up on her hind legs and common sense tells one that a bone fracture and “severe case” of arthritis would be quite painful. We ended up having to have her put to sleep 24 hours later because she literally had no quality of life left in her. Hardest decision of my life that broke my heart. Medical care for humans and pets has no compassion for pain. I do hope that one day the vet who “treated” Punkin will have a healthy dose of karma to bite him in the ass.

  3. Good point. Where IS Peta and Aspca? We give and have give to both organizations. Pets on chains, , penned inside 10′ x 10″‘cage., never exercised. Never thought of the pets we have sought relief for when obviously in pain. Have always…….. in 40 years taken responsibility to give pets a life of least pain possible….even well before years of life expected to have pain. Narrow, tunnel vision simplistic stop to abuse and overdose, the “:guideline”, Still unbelievable but, happening.

Discover more from PHARMACIST STEVE

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading