Dogs on drugs or is it better living through chemistry?

I have written about my dogs sometimes- that they are a couple of geriatric standard poodles. Well recently Jeeg (my 13 yo girl) has become pretty weak and was having trouble going up or down the stairs, and she was the one who is a perpetual puppy. Anyway- we found a very large growth after her last grooming- about the size of a half a tennis ball which was quite hard. The Vet wants to remove it but I think she is too old to endure the full anesthetic and the trauma. We nearly lost her from shock after she was spayed 3 years ago. So he gave her Deremax for pain and she is pretty happy and quite spry now. The drug is a miracle worker.
Our even older male (almost 15) who is arthritic also started on it and he is acting like a pup also.
Everything the vet said and that I have found so far on the internet says it is almost a miracle worker anti inflammatory pain killer in the same family as VIOXX. Or CELEBREX. So they are playful and chipper now but they are total addicts looking for a fix.
They are waiting for the pill in the morning. I think it must have something else in it that is like crack or cocaine or something. Last night while we were out they took the pill jar off my dresser - not an easy task and chewed through it and ate a whole months worth between them. They are stoned now.
He (the older male) has been getting into mischief since we started these. He has been hunting around the house for anything he can eat. He has been getting into boxes in storage' working his way around the night stand and pulling off dresser scarves. They chowed down 4 boxes of treats in one afternoon by digging out and into the treat bin. So. They have never really been like this all their lives. It is new behavior since the youthful party pills.
Next they will be trying hock my sewing machine and Peter's iPOD for drug money. Or Muddy will be pimping a geriatric Jeeg at the corner fire hydrant. It is funny but really this seems like a drug crazed addiction and they are just a couple of geriatric arthritic dogs.
So any comments or advice? I will call the vet on Tuesday. I am happy that they are no longer in pain and that they feel happy and playful but there is something a bit edgy happening here.

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