Scamming for Tramadol: A former vet tech gets busted
By Gina Spadafori
November 19, 2009
Interesting tidbit from the Seattle P-I, courtesy of the AVMA news feed:
Kirkland police were called to a veterinary clinic in the city on Oct. 11 after an employee there reported a theft.
The employee told police a woman identifying herself as Molly Keicko entered the clinic claiming to be traveling from Colorado with her dog, Detective Christa Gilland said in court documents. The woman went on to say she’d left her dog’s pain medication at home and needed a refill due to an injury to the dog’s leg.
After staff at the center examined the dog, “Keicko” was issued a prescription for Tramadol — a painkiller used by humans as well as cats, dogs and most pets — but then fled the clinic after saying she needed to go to her car, Gilland said. Clinic staff contacted police as well as the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association, which issued a scam alert to veterinarians statewide.
“There was an immediate and overwhelming response from clinics within King County stating that they had experienced the same ’scam,’” Gilland said in court documents. “One of the clinics reported that a former employee, Danelle Shay, had been terminated for stealing Tramadol, and she had a dog matching the description of the one seen in Kirkland.”
According to court documents, Gilland found that 16 clinics reported nearly identical incidents involving Shay and her dog, Toomie. Workers at 10 clinics identified Shay from a photo montage, according to court documents.
Pet Connection BFF Dr. Patty K touched on the topic of prescribing meds that have “street value” in a recent post on Dolittler, by the way.
I take Tramadol and the human version of Metacam for a smorgasbord of joint problems. I’m surprised someone would go to such lengths to get Tramadol instead of something else. I prefer it to other pain meds purely because it doesn’t make me feel stupid, drowsy or stoned.
Desperate druggies are truly pathetic creatures.
Comment by Janeen — November 20, 2009 @ 9:24 am
It blows my mind that Tramadol has “street” value - I was getting Kenya Dog’s prescription filled at Sams/Wal-Mart for $4 for the 30 day supply because it’s on their generic cheap list.
But yes, I’m aware of the use of it for people. It’s not one my husband or I can take though - it doesn’t dance well with the medications we’re already on. So I had to toss it after Kenya’s passing. She was on it for hip dysplasia/osteoarthritis chronically.
Comment by Georg — November 20, 2009 @ 9:31 am
You know I really hate this kind of behavior, but I also realize that people who abuse drugs or want to sell them will get them any way they can. It just makes it so difficult for those who legitimately need the medications. We have a 4 year old cat who developed a bad limp about a year ago, the vet determined from x-rays that she was born with bad hips and she has a bad knee. She had gotten somewhat overweight because it was so painful for her to move. We tried all kinds of remedies and options to help her lose weight. The vet said that the problem could get better if she loses weight and the exercise would help her joints but if she should eventually need surgery she needs to lose weight. It was a vicious cycle, she hurt so she wouldn’t get the exercise she needs to lose weight and help with keeping her joints from getting stiff. Our vet prescribed tramadol for her - she gets a quarter of a pill twice a day. It has been a miracle, she’s a completely different cat. She’s back to her old self and she’s happy and active again, plays like a kitten and best of all she’s losing weight and looking much better. I would hate it if we couldn’t get the medication she needs because people have to abuse it.
Comment by Deb — November 20, 2009 @ 9:56 am
Just FYI: The spam filter grabs EVERY comment on Tramadol. So there will be a delay as we liberate them. And also separate them from the actual Tramadol-selling spam.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — November 20, 2009 @ 10:19 am