3 Years Ago

3 years now Zipper died because of the incompetence of Nichole DeBellis, and she is still a practicing vet. Be careful! This is a few of the places I found with her name associated in a simple Google search:

Still working at the Banfield where she killed her.

She works for Oregon Mobile Veterinary Services as well. Now she can go to you to kill your beloved pets.

Apparently, she's not limited to just the Salem area either. People of Oregon, keep your pets safe and keep them away from DeBellis.

Don't make the same mistake we did. Be aware. I still miss you Zipper!

As always, if you have a first-hand account of how potentially deadly Prednisone can be, please feel free to contact me with your testimonial.

#PrednisoneKills

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2 years now...

It's now been 2 years since Zipper was taken from us, and I still feel the pain. When I see pictures of her, all the memories come flooding back.

• I'll never be able to take her on another walk.
• I'll never be able to drive her to any of her favorite spots like the beach or a few specific cemeteries.
• I'll never be able to come home and see her so happy to see me. 
• I'll never be able to eat McDonald's Chicken McNuggets or a Dairy Queen Blizzard again.
• I'll always have a hole in my heart.
• I'll never get to see her so excited to play in the snow or in tall grass.

For all this I personally place all the blame on Nichole DeBellis. Without her, I might still have Zipper in my life. For that, I will never forgive her. This is why I write here about Zipper and the truth behind Prednisone.

This post brought to you thanks to the First Amendment:

For Zipper - Words from your Mom

(This is actually the eulogy that Rita wrote for the memorial we had for Zipper at one of her favorite park's on the Oregon Coast.)

Zipper I wanted you before I ever knew you, you were in my heart when I was a child and dreaming of a dog of my own one day. You were a concept of great anticipation, a statement of devotion, and proof that true love existed when it is so naturally hard to find.

You came to me in such a way that changed my being forever. You were a dream to me. The one day I walked in to a room full of puppies and saw you, at that moment you became a reality. You with this huge smile and wiggling butt full of excitement and love. Your eyes said you wanted to chew on everything and your energy said you were going to be a challenge and a couple handfuls... That didn't stop me, you and I both know I like a challenge.

You had your work cut out with me. You had to train me about fences. Just because a dog is 2 feet high doesn't mean they can't jump up and over a 5.5 foot fence. If you can't go under it, climb over it. A challenge is over come one paw in front of the other.

You had to train me about playing, because playing needs to be done more then just once a day. You are supposed to play all the time, enjoy your life mom because it is too short.

You trained me about how to spoil a dog, buying more treats and toys then what is really needed because something to look forward too is good incentive and allows for hope to live in your heart.

You trained me about unconditional, pure, and honest love. You can never have too much love so share it with big kisses, hugs, talking, crying, caring in anyway that you can.

You showed me that family goes beyond genetics because eye color and fur doesn't really matter.

You showed me that a grand entry happens even if someone only leaves for 45 seconds because that is LOVE and its better to focus on the time someone is IN your LIFE then the time in which they had to go.

You then showed me the hardest lesson of all. You showed me loss. You showed me that no matter how hard I will fight, how much money I spend to save you sometimes we have to say goodbye for now.

That loss is like the bones I find in the back yard. You find a way to save it for later because remembering is better then forgetting even if it is buried deep and people don't know where it is because they don't see it. The loss is still there but it is a good reminder of the LOVE that if was born from.

With you I gave my love, I pulled aside part of my food to share with you. I thought of how long I would be gone before I would even leave, I would rush home to see you, I would go to the store to get your treats when I hated to shop. I would watch you sleep, I would look for you if I didn't hear you make a noise. because I loved you too. I wasn't as great at it as you were about remembering the lessons you tried to teach me but I promise not to forget them.

You were more then a dog. you are my baby girl. Some people have kids, some people adopt their children. I am one of those people. I am an adoptive mom.

-Rita (Zipper's Mom)

For Zipper - Words from your Dad

I am forever changed because of you, Zipper. I will never be able to eat chicken McNuggets again without feeling I had to had over half to you. My weekend mornings will be devoid of the happiness I felt each time we went for our walks. I will never get another chance to hold you close and show you how much you mean to me. My life feels diminished in your absence.

When Rita first brought the idea of getting a dog to my attention, I was against it for so many reasons. I felt like we needed to have a secure fence that a dog couldn’t jump over or get through. I didn’t want to have to kennel a dog in a small area like we had to do with my first dog when we moved from a house with a spacious back yard, to one that had virtually none.

Even though I felt my objections were sound and logical, she insisted that I was only imposing restrictions on her. I still remember the look on her face when she opened her Pound Puppy Christmas present and found the gift certificate for the Humane Society. From that day forward, my life was changed irrevocably. I learned what unconditional love was and how to reciprocate it. I knew what love felt like, but I had never felt the same kind of love that I had for Zipper. She may have been a dog at birth, but she was my daughter in my heart. I would like to believe that I told her as much in the time that we had together.

When Rita and I separated and eventually got divorced, the hardest nights of my life were the first few weeks not being able to see Zipper all the time or curl-up with her for bed. For the first time in a long time, I felt alone. Our weekend walks helped remedy that, to an extent. The times when I would come over to keep you company made it feel like old times, until I had to leave. You always knew that I would be back for you, and I always knew that you’d be there for me.

I don’t regret the decision of getting Zipper in the slightest, even though it has broken my heart to see her leave our lives so soon. Every person she met, she indelibly touched their life. She was great with kids and good with most everyone she met. She may not have been too friendly with other dogs, but that was because she wasn’t really a dog person.

I feel like you’re with me every time I drive my van, and that gives me a sense of peace. The tattoo on my arm shows that you’ll be with me wherever I go, and that comforts me. You will be missed, but you will never be forgotten.

To paraphrase Captain Jame T. Kirk: Of my friend, I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, hers was the most... human.

-John (Zipper's Dad)

Prednisone Testimonial

Zipper was born in Oct of 2005. We adopted her from the WVHS at approx 6 months of age. Her adoption came with a comprehensive exam from a Vet of my choice. I went to Banfield pet hospital located in Salem, Oregon at the local Petsmart.

She had been in great health since then. I had her enrolled in the wellness plan where she received quality care provided by Dr Paoletti and his staff.

Shortly before Christmas in 2011 (mid December) Zipper found a cat in the back yard that had passed away. She brought it in the house. A week or two later she developed a bump on her nose. The next day I took Zipper to the vet to look at it. By that time two bumps developed. Dr Paoletti treated Zipper as if it was a bug or spider bite. She was given benadryl, prednisone and an eye ointment because she developed a third bump on her lower eye lid. (First of January)

By the time we got home and ate dinner she developed a multitude of dime sized bumps. The next day I counted 9. We took Zipper back to the vet every two days, we saw Dr Debellis, we were told that it wasn't acting like a bug or spider bite, that it was moving too quickly to be ring worm and it didn't look like ringworm. She thought I should either take a skin scrapping to see if it was fungal or go to see a dermatologist. We saw a dermatologist named DeManuelle. She spent minutes looking over the situation and said that she believed it would be an autoimmune disorder, not a skin issue. She recommended I have her do a skin biopsy.

We took Zipper home and arranged for Banfield to do a biopsy. After the biopsy they continued her dosage of the prednisone. I asked Dr Debellis what I needed to look out for or the side effects. Dr Debellis said as long as I followed the dosage Zipper would be fine. I would only need to worry if we took her off too quickly. I asked if she could still go on walks and she said she didn't see any reason not to.

On 1/23 (I think) Zipper had her yearly check up still on prednisone. They got the results back that day and found it was ringworm. They continued her dosage of the prednisone for a while and then told me to start to reduce her dosage on 1/30/2012 to 1 tab every other day. On 2/4/2012 she vomited twice. I took her to the vet and they said to stop giving her the last few dosage of prednisone because it can cause GI issues and they gave her some heartburn/GI meds and some pain meds.

Zipper continued to vomit all night long. She could not hold any water down. At 6 am in the morning we drove to Portland to a Banfield clinic that was open on Sunday. They hospitalized her. Ran multiple of tests and found she has Pancreatitis. They kept her all day, giving her fluid via IV. They did x-rays and said that it look like there was fluid in her abdomen. They could not see a perforation or obstruction. They suggested we take her to an overnight clinic where she would have an ultrasound and continued iv fluid.

We brought her to the Salem Emergency Vet on Market. In the morning we planned on bringing her back to Dr. Paoletti and schedule an ultrasound.

She passed away at 12:30 am 2/6

The Emergency Room Vet said he took a sample of the fluid in her abdomen. He said her abdomen was full of a bacteria infection.

-Rita (Zipper's Mom)

In My Own Words (For Zipper)

December 2005 - Zipper came into our lives from the Willamette Humane Society. She was named not only because she had an abundance of energy, but also because of the zipper design that ran down her back.

I'll admit that after my previous dealings with dogs, I was not enthused about having a new one in my life. I had a family dog growing-up, and when we had to put her to sleep, it scarred me. Also, when I was a child, I experienced a pit bull attack a cat. This also scarred me, but in a different way.

Within the first month, Zipper melted all my fears and apprehensiveness away. I felt a love I had never felt for someone that I wasn't either married or related to. I would have done anything for her.

February 2012 -  Zipper began experiencing some odd symptoms and strange lesions on her body and face. After several attempts to get advice and diagnosis from our veterinarians, we had to take her to the emergency vet hospital. They took her in for the night and it was decided that we'd consult with our vet in the morning.

Early in the morning on the next day, I receive a chilling phone call that Zipper had passed on.

This is just the first of many stories I intend to relate to make each of you aware of 2 things:

1. My Dog Zipper was a wonderful treat to this world, and was taken away from us way too soon.
2. Because of the ineptitude of Nichole DeBellis, I learned a harsh lesson that #PrednisoneKills.

This post brought to you thanks to the First Amendment:

All-call for testimonials

If you or someone you know have had issues with Prednisone, and would like their story heard, please feel free to contact me at zanziber@gmail.com and I will help get your voice heard. I'm looking for people who have suffered ill-effects or any problems while being prescribed Prednisone. The more voices that are heard, the farther the message will resonate that @PrednisoneKills.

Thank you.

-John