(Update: Adds comments from pet owners and petition organizers)
The Bend PD K9 who died in May had received his last dose of Librera two days before he was euthanized.
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Since News Channel 21 reported earlier this week that a veterinarian-prescribed osteoarthritis drug, Librera, led to the serious illness and death of a Central Oregon resident’s beloved dog, people from Central Oregon and across the country have contacted us with similar sad, even tragic, problems.
“When a dog gets sick and you want the best for them, you want to do whatever you can to help them, but it’s troubling when people get the wrong information and their dog suddenly dies if it gets bad,” La Pine resident Ann Colombello said Friday.
Colombero’s dog, Ben, was just seven years old when he had to be euthanized after receiving the Librera injection.
“She examined his legs and noticed he had neurological problems in his back legs,” Colombello said. “He wasn’t kicking his legs forward, so she thought this medication would help.”
Since NewsChannel 21 first reported on the Bend man’s death of Sasha, three other dog owners, including Colombello, have shared similar stories with us.
Librera is a medication that is administered once a month at a veterinarian’s office to relieve pain caused by osteoarthritis. Side effects include urinary tract infections and skin infections, according to the American Kennel Club. It may also worsen existing neurological conditions.
“He was really itchy, so I told him it might be a side effect and they prescribed him some prednisone to stop the itch,” Colombello said, “and we gave him a second shot, and he woke up a week later completely paralyzed. All four legs were completely paralyzed.”
Two Facebook groups have been created focusing on issues surrounding the drug, one with 20,000 members and the other with nearly 40,000.
Pamela Boyd, a veterinary technician for 10 years and an organizer of the petition drive, said of Librera, “It either works or it doesn’t work. The worst that can happen is that it doesn’t work. That’s the worst that can happen. They usually say that because that’s what they’re told to do.”
Boyd watched as her 12-year-old dog reacted to Librella.
“I have videos of him three days before and three days after the accident. The first is him running around with a toy in his mouth like a puppy and the second is him unable to walk,” Boyd said.
be European Database Of the approximately 20,000 animals administered Librera, approximately 15,000 experienced side effects, including 10,000 dogs with systemic disorders and 4,000 with neurological disorders.
“You shouldn’t research the medications your veterinarian recommends,” Colombello said. “Veterins are the experts, but they’re fed that information by pharmaceutical companies.”
He added: “I wish there was more clarity in warning about the real side effects of this drug and not just dismissing it as an ‘old dog thing’. We know dogs and this isn’t just a condition that affects old dogs.”
Pet owners told News Channel 21 they had to do their own research on Librera, and they claim that studies were conducted on only a small number of dogs and didn’t take into account the large number of dogs who experienced side effects.
On Friday evening, News Channel 21 learned that Zoe, a 13-year-old former Bend Police Department police dog who we reported passed away in May, had received her final dose of Librera two days earlier, according to her owner, former police dog officer Don Barber. Barber also praised the drug for “helping to improve Zoe’s quality of life.”
“Zoe had been on Librera for four months but became completely paralyzed after her last dose the day before,” he said. “I gave it to her on Monday after she was in severe pain (she has osteoarthritis). By Monday evening she had collapsed. By Tuesday she was paralyzed from the middle of her body and could not control her bowel movements or urination. I called the vet and they came to my house and euthanized her on Wednesday.”
“She had been on Gabapentin and Galaplant for years,” Barber explains, “but she had developed a tolerance, so the vet recommended Librella as an alternative. She was the second patient they had prescribed Librella for.”
the current, Plea A petition calling for further testing of the drug has garnered more than 7,000 signatures since February.
Librera (bedinvetomab) is a relatively new drug in the veterinary community and is expected to be approved for use in the United States in 2023. American Veterinary Medical Association.
by American Kennel ClubSide effects of the drug Librera include skin reactions at the injection site, urinary tract infections and bacterial skin infections, according to the WHO, a nonprofit organization founded in 1884.
As of April, FDA The FDA had received more than 3,300 reports of adverse events related to Librera. The FDA said it could not be certain that the reported adverse events were caused by the drug, adding that they could be related to underlying conditions.