{"id":23673,"date":"2025-04-16T03:09:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T03:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/23673\/"},"modified":"2025-04-16T03:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T03:09:09","slug":"popular-drug-used-to-treat-dogs-may-come-with-serious-risks-fda-issues-warning-for-adverse-reactions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/23673\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular drug used to treat dogs may come with serious risks, FDA issues warning for adverse reactions"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOLDEN, Mo. (KCTV<\/a>\/Gray News) – For many Americans, their pets are their family. So when pets become ill, the best care for them possible is wanted.<\/p>\n

Librela is a popular drug for dogs that promises to ease pain from canine osteoarthritis. <\/p>\n

According to the drug\u2019s maker Zoetis, Librela has been used to treat more than a million dogs in the United States. <\/p>\n

Some call Librela a wonder drug, but others say it is anything but that.<\/p>\n

Some pet owners are now sounding the alarm about Librela as veterinarians across the country continue to prescribe it.<\/p>\n

Rich Pearson lives in Holden, Missouri. He\u2019s also the owner of four happy hounds, all full of energy and ready to play. However, he said he used to have five dogs.<\/p>\n

Rigby was a rescue pup Pearson and his wife adopted in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cRigby was a border collie, kind of a border collie mix,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said he and his wife were in love with the dog from the very beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe fit in immediately,\u201d Pearson said. \u201cHe was just so happy at all times, just to be around people. That was his favorite thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November 2024, at 6 years old, Rigby began to struggle with hip dysplasia, leading the Pearsons to turn to their veterinarian for care options.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vet told us about a new drug, which has been branded and still is branded almost as this wonder drug Librela,\u201d Pearson said. \u201cSo we thought, OK, you know, this could be an opportunity for him to live the last, you know, six plus, ten plus years of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Librela was launched in the U.S. in 2023. It is given once a month and works to block and control nerve growth, control pain and improve mobility.<\/p>\n

After researching and reviewing drug trial reports, the Pearsons gave Rigby his first dose.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was, over the span of a few days, he started to get a rash, and he didn\u2019t have a great appetite,\u201d Pearson said. <\/p>\n

The veterinarian told Pearson to give the drug a full month, but as the days went on, Rigby quickly deteriorated.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had stopped eating completely, stopped drinking water,\u201d Pearson said.<\/p>\n

Before Pearson knew it, it was over. In just 10 days, he lost his companion of six years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to put him down at one in the morning,\u201d Pearson said.<\/p>\n

Three months after Rigby\u2019s death, a warning<\/a> came from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration about \u201cadverse events\u201d reported in dogs treated with Librela.<\/p>\n

According to the FDA, 3,674 dogs experienced reports of \u201cadverse reactions\u201d as of April 2024. Of that number, a total of 458 have died.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s real, it was a shock,\u201d Pearson said.<\/p>\n

KCTV sat down with Dr. Sam Franklin, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with Kansas City Canine Orthopedics<\/a>, and asked if he finds the concerns about Librela to be legitimate.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy suspicion is that the concerns are probably founded and that the FDA issued its letter<\/a> based upon enough reports,\u201d Franklin said. \u201cI also suspect that the manufacturer might point out that, \u2018Hey, there have been tens of millions of doses prescribed for dogs in the United States and Europe, if these complications were very frequent and severe, we would have recognized or heard of them sooner.\u2018\u201d<\/p>\n

Franklin suggested that before using Librela, pet owners should ask three questions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What is the specific diagnosis?\n
      \n
    1. \u201cInvestigate why your dog is developing the osteoarthritis and try and figure out what the underlying explanation or diagnosis is,\u201d Franklin said. \u201cKnowing the details of the joint and the condition is relevant to whether or not Librela\u2019s going to be one of the treatments that\u2019s potentially used to treat the pain associated with the osteoarthritis.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    2. What are the alternatives?\n
        \n
      1. \u201cThere are many nonsurgical management options, and my top choices are weight loss, moderate daily activity, optimal diet, oral NSAIDs, and potentially injections into the joint,\u201d Franklin said.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      2. Did they work or not work?\n
          \n
        1. \u201cWork to get a diagnosis to fully understand what it is that is ailing your dog and what your numerous options are for managing that,\u201d Franklin said. \u201cThen you want to weigh the pros and cons and then concerns\/risks associated with Librela.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          When asked whether he believes the drug is safe to use, Franklin said the answer isn\u2019t as clear one way or the other.<\/p>\n

          \u201cI can\u2019t say, \u2018Yes, it\u2019s safe,\u2019 but that\u2019s true of just about everything. There is risk with absolutely everything,\u201d Franklin said.<\/p>\n

          Pearson is convinced that risk is what took Rigby away. Asked if he would make the same choice to give Rigby the drug again, \u201cThe answer is a resounding \u2018No,\u2018\u201d he responded. \u201cI would have traded that decision to just have him here and be with us, and be present, be sitting at my feet, but he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Zoetis even offered to compensate Pearson.<\/p>\n

          \u201cThey had called and said, \u2018Well, we\u2019ll pay for your vet bill, but you can\u2019t talk about it and you have to sign this NDA (non-disclosure agreement),\u2018\u201d Pearson said.<\/p>\n

          Pearson did not sign it and has plenty to say.<\/p>\n

          \u201cWe don\u2019t have kids, this is our family, this is what we\u2019ve built on,\u201d he said. \u201cFor us, there\u2019s no amount of money that would be able to reflect or replace the opportunity to save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Zoetis said it remains \u201cconfident in the safety and effectiveness of Librela\u201d but did not have a response to those who have lost their pets using Librela, like Pearson.<\/p>\n

          In February, Librela\u2019s label was updated <\/a>to include some adverse reactions following the FDA\u2019s warning.<\/p>\n

          Pearson is now part of a class action lawsuit<\/a> against Librela.<\/p>\n

          Copyright 2025 KCTV via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOLDEN, Mo. (KCTV\/Gray News) – For many Americans, their pets are their family. So when pets become ill,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4315],"tags":[14804,2460,14802,105,14799,14797,4326,14800,14803,14805,14801,16,15,14798],"class_list":{"0":"post-23673","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-adverse-reactions","9":"tag-fda","10":"tag-food-drug-administration","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-holden","13":"tag-librela","14":"tag-medication","15":"tag-missouri","16":"tag-popular-dog-drug-may-come-with-serious-risks","17":"tag-rich-pearson","18":"tag-rigby","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom","21":"tag-zoetis"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114345447459401049","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}