FDA approves puppy Prozac
Eli Lilly and Co. has won FDA approval to sell Prozac to treat dogs for separation anxiety. From Yahoo News:
The drug, repackaged into a chewable, beef-flavoured tablet to be called Reconcile, was officially approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of separation anxiety in dogs in conjunction with behaviour modification training, the drugmaker said on Wednesday.
The product gives new life to a drug that was once Lilly’s most lucrative medicine before it lost patent protection several years ago and sales evaporated in the face of generic competition.
“Lilly research shows that 10.7 million, or up to 17 percent of U.S. dogs suffer from separation anxiety,” Steve Connell, manager of technical, academic and consumer services for companion animal health at Lilly, said in a statement.
Canine separation anxiety can occur when dogs are left alone and manifests itself in a range of undesirable behaviours, such as destruction, excess barking, eating disorders or urinating or defecating in the house.
I am all for treating dogs as members of the family; my three labs sleep on the beds, swim in the pool and go with me to pick up “Little Bit” from school. With the exception of the occasional overturned trash can, happy, well cared for dogs don’t destroy the house. If a dog is displaying “undesirable behavior” it may be time for his owner to rethink having a pet.
I am sure that Prozac has helped many humans, but humans don’t just get drugs because they are having bad days. There is generally some attempt at diagnosis and counseling first. Giving a misbehaving animal a mind altering drug as an easy fix seems to discount what the drug was originally intended for. Or maybe Lilly, by tapping into this new niche market, is showing us what the drug was intended for all along.
“[...] but humans don’t just get drugs because they are having bad days. ”
I beg to differ.
ok, Ian, perhaps they do. But they must first go through the hoops of legitimacy.