A HEARTBROKEN couple have begun a campaign to outlaw a drug their vet has stopped prescribing following the death of their dog.

Robin McGibbon and his wife, Sue, 56,have written to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons urging it to warn vets about the anti-inflammatory drug carprofen.

And former national newspaper journalist Mr McGibbon is also mounting a media campaign to raise awareness of what happened to their dog Abby.

Carprofen had been prescribed to treat the 13-year-old black Labrador’s arthritis but six days after she was given her first tablet she had to be put to sleep.

Her kidneys were not functioning properly, there were problems with her liver and she had lost all feeling in her back legs.

Mrs McGibbon, of Burford Road, Bickley, said: “Rob and I were devastated. And we still are.

“The drug was prescribed in good faith, but we feel it has robbed us of whatever time our lovely Abby had left.

“Everybody should be aware that if this drug is mentioned to them then they should think about an alternative treatment for their pet.”

Author Mr McGibbon, 67, said: “The shock is indescribable.

“We want to stop anyone else from going through what Abby and we went through.

“People say she lived to a good age, and she would have been 14 in May, as if that makes it [her death] alright.”

Paul Grant had been Abby’s vet ever since she was a puppy and the McGibbons do not blame him for what happened.

No post-mortem examination was carried out but he says carprofen seems the most likely reason for her death.

Mr Grant said: “I will not use it to treat an animal again and I will make other vets aware of what happened.

“Abby was an older dog with arthritis but relatively well in other respects and it should not have had that effect on her.

“We have used it for many years and sometimes the animals get upset stomachs with it but in Abby’s case she got very bad, very quickly.

“It is extremely upsetting.”