Overwhelming response to 5 On Your Side investigation of pet medication concerns
Have you noticed any unusual behaviors with your dog or cat after they take flea and tick medication?
Have you reported them to the Food and Drug Administration?
Hundreds of people responded in email and on social media to 5 On Your Side's investigation of an FDA alert many pet owners say they never got.
In 2018, the FDA warned of potential adverse neurological reactions to popular flea and tick medications in the isoxazoline class: Bravecto, Credelio, Nexgard, Simparica and Revolution Plus.
The FDA followed up last October with a fact sheet about the concerns.
Seizures are the worst side effect owners report.
Many have posted videos online, and they're hard to watch.
Others report confusion, unsteadiness and aggressiveness.
If your pet experienced unusual behaviors after taking the medications, report it to the FDA.
One veterinarian pointed out the lack of documented cases as an issue, saying most pet owners would not link problems to the medications, and even fewer would think of reporting them to the FDA.
After its investigation, 5 On Your Side has heard from other owners reporting similar problems, saying they never knew about the alert, just like Kathy Epperson.
Epperson said her goldendoodle, Gracie, started struggling after taking the medication.
After relentless seizures, Gracie died at age 9.
"Had I known and been able to read that warning from the FDA, I never would have given my dog these pills," Epperson said.
5 On Your Side heard from other owners across the state: Sandy Fulk said his West Highland terrier, Breanna, died at age 10.
Jacquelyn Treadway says her dog Bella died at age 5.
Jodi Taylor said her English golden retriever, Maui, wasn't even 2 when she had to be put down earlier this month.
All say the symptoms started after they gave their dogs one of the medications in question.
"It's hard. We don't really know the answer,” said Dr. Diane Deresienski of North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “But when I talk to the neurologists, they haven't seen an uptick in seizures or epilepsy.”
Deresienski said she hasn't seen enough scientific evidence to link the medications to the reported health effects.
"Most of the time when they've stopped the medication, the animals have continued with seizures, like an epilepsy-type of situation," Deresienski added.
After seeing the 5 On Your Side story, Gina Walker emailed that she stopped giving her Labradors medication after seeing seizures. She says her dogs have had no issues since.
Deresienski's advice for those giving the drugs mirrors that of the manufacturers: Watch your dog.
If you notice something odd, call your vet.
If your dog or cat is fine, then there’s no need to change what you're doing.
"I feel that the benefits that these medications give you to decrease flea and tick infestation and also any type of tick-borne disease or flea and tick-borne disease far outweighs the risk of the medications causing side effects," Deresienski said.
Owners who've lost pets want others aware of the possible side effects.
"People will say and the vets will say well, you know, millions of dogs are doing well on these drugs -- and that may be true -- but sometimes we have human pills that 80,000 people may die from before the pill is pulled from the market," Epperson said.
