New state law, named for Seaford Lab, would protect pets

Buoy James Tischler, a yellow Labrador retriever, was “a constant source of joy and support” for Mary Kate Tischler and her husband, James, Mary Kate said, especially when their house in Seaford was destroyed by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and they were displaced for two years while it was being rebuilt.

But in January 2013, at age 3, Buoy went to the veterinarian for knee surgery and was prescribed a painkiller to help him recover. Unbeknown to the Tischlers, the medication was known to have serious adverse side effects, including kidney failure. When Buoy’s kidneys failed, he had to be euthanized that March.

Now, almost 10 years later, new legislation named Buoy’s Law passed unanimously in the State Senate on May 10, after being approved by the State Assembly the week before. The bill, which would require veterinarians to provide pet owners with information about any drug dispensed to an animal, including any adverse effects associated with its use, as well as the manufacturer’s precautions and relevant warnings, is now on its way to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk.

“It’s really exciting,” Mary Kate said. “I’ve been joking that I’ve made a law, but of course I didn’t do it myself — it’s been a long process.”

The fight in Buoy’s memory started in 2013 after the Tischlers filed a lawsuit against the Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island, in West Islip, where he was treated, with the Bay Shore law group Siben and Siben. The Tischlers claimed veterinary malpractice, negligence, negligent misrepresentation and lack of informed consent, and sued for property damage and punitive damages for VMCLI’s treatment of Buoy with medicine known as Rimadyl. The case eventually settled, and the Tischlers were reimbursed for the full cost of Buoy’s dialysis treatments.

As it turned out, their attorney in the case knew State Sen. Phil Boyle, a Republican who represents New York’s 4th Senate district, and told him about the case in 2014. “[Boyle] decided that he wanted to propose a bill that would address the problem, and it was called Buoy’s Law,” Mary Kate recounted. “From that point until now I’ve consistently attempted to move the bill forward.” That became even more important to her when James Tischler died in 2016.

State Assemblyman Steve Englebright, a Democrat who represents the 4th Assembly District, was the bill’s sponsor in the Assembly, and Mary Kate said, worked tirelessly to get it through the Assembly.

Sen. John Brooks, a Democrat in the 8th Senate District, eventually took over sponsorship of the bill. “Under his direction, and with the help of his communications director,” Tischler said, “we finally got the bill passed.”

“For most of us, our pets are members of our families,” Brooks said in a statement, “and when they are sick or in pain, we want to know as much as possible about possible treatments and their consequences. Since veterinarians are already provided this information, it would seem only common sense to advise pet owners as to all potential side effects of prescribed medications.”

Tischler said their experience with Buoy was difficult, and she didn’t want anyone else to go through it. He started showing symptoms less than 10 days after his surgery, and after he was brought back to VMCLI twice, he was admitted to the Animal Medical Center in New York City and began dialysis treatment, which continued for about five weeks. After his blood results showed no change in his kidney function, the Tischlers made the agonizing decision to have him euthanized.

“I remember having a dying dog in my back seat and being so upset, and it being nighttime and raining,” Tischler said of the night Buoy was brought to the AMC. “It was an incredibly time-consuming, expensive and emotionally draining process.”

Now, Tischler and her 8-year-old daughter Ruby, celebrate the Legislature’s passage of the law and wait hopefully for it to be signed by Hochul so that other pets can be protected and their owners better informed. “We watched the Senate proceedings together,” Mary Kate said. “And Ruby’s going around telling everyone that we didn’t get any warnings about the bad effects that could happen to Buoy, and then he died, and now we’re saving other pets from dying.”

She added, “I feel really proud of the fact that my daughter has learned from me that it’s possible to make a big change in the world.”