Vital Animal News: 4 May 2025
Zenrelia: FDA Warning Vets / Real Life Apoquel Disaster / Raw Feeder Conspirators! / Babies + Antibiotics: Oh My! / Along the Natural Path
Suppress the Immune System? What Could Go Wrong?
True Crime: Stop The Itch, Lose Your Dog
Raw Feeders Bashed in MSM
Babies + Antibiotics = Bad News
Along the Natural Path: Himalaya!
Zen: Really? Ah… No Thanks
Well, Candace A warned me about this latest version of (yet another) JAK inhibitor drug for dogs back in December:
How Many Monoclonal Ab Disasters Does it Take?
A kind reader just shared an FDA “Dear Veterinarian” letter with me regarding Librela, yet another Zoetis disaster, hard on the heels of Apoquel (which you’d better watch out for).
This one is called Zenrelia, and it’s brought to you as an allergy fixer (read: Itch Suppressor) from Elanco, no stranger to bringing dangerous doggie drugs to the market.
Maybe you’ve heard about Trifexis?
That one’s bringing seizures and death as it seeks to “control” fleas, worms, and heartworm.
Hubris and New Drug Development
It seems as if new drug developers just ignore important bio systems that might be impinged upon by their latest, greatest invention.
Like it’s predecessor, Apoquel (ooo boy, you don’t want to miss the comments flooding in on this post), Zenrelia is a JAK inhibitor.
It targets and suppresses an important part of the immune system: the communication arm that alerts and informs appropriate immune responses to little things like, oh…
cancer cells trying to form tumors (“Hey, LOOK!” It’s growing!)
infectious diseases (“Invaders at the gates! ACT NOW!”)
vaccines (“What just happened? All our defenses thwarted?!”)
The latter response was found to be so impaired that vets all received a letter from the FDA.
Some of their warnings:
Before using Zenrelia, read the entire package insert, including the boxed warning describing the risk of vaccine-induced disease and inadequate immune response to vaccines.”
Wait. Did you say vaccine-induced disease?
I’ve been tracking that (aka vaccinosis) for decades, so what’s going on?
Q: What’s the chief type of vaccinosis seen in pets?
A: Itchy skin and/or inflamed ears!
One of the other has been the #1 reason dogs are brought to see vets. For decades!
So Elanco, your new drug both suppresses The Itch and makes it worse??
And you think there’s something “Zen” about that?
Gaaaa…
But wait… There’s more…
FDA concluded that it is not safe to administer vaccines in dogs that are concurrently receiving Zenrelia. In the study, dogs receiving 2.4 mg/kg/day of Zenrelia (3X the maximum exposure dose) experienced drug-induced immunosuppression, which resulted in fatal vaccine-induced adenoviral hepatitis and pancreatitis in one dog; infectious enteritis that potentially contributed to a fatal intussusception in one dog; and an inadequate immune response to canine distemper and rabies vaccinations in one (of six) and four (of six) dogs, respectively.
This next part is laughable, if it weren’t so revealing:
These animal and public health concerns can be mitigated by withholding Zenrelia for at least 28 days to 3 months before vaccination and for at least 28 days afterward and by making sure a dog is up to date on vaccinations before starting treatment.
So, your itchy Sadie, who’s driving the family crazy and tearing up her skin and/or ears… you found “the fix” in this drug, but now Dr. WhiteCoat says you gotta stop using it, cuz “vaccines are due!”
Okay, for how long, Doc?
“1-3 months should do it. Then we’ll give Sadie her shots, and wait another month.”
But won’t we be right back in Itchycoo Park, Doctor?
“Ummm, we’ll have to see. FDA wrote me a letter, see, and…”
Is your head starting to hurt yet??
What’s a pet owner to do?
Wait for the Manufacturers to Fess Up?
That’s likely to come in a similar time frame as hell starting to show frost crystals forming around its gates.
So, no, we can be cautious well in advance of any class action lawsuits (many outraged over losing a pet ask if there are any against Apoquel’s maker Zoetis… not to my knowledge…)
Will Vets Lead the Way?
You know this one, right? Vets all over the web have repeatedly denied the seizures and outright deaths owners have seen following Trifexis doses.
Think Zenrelia or Apoquel will be any different?
If there’s money to be made…
No, As Usual, It’s on You
Get out your 10 foot pole on this drug, just like with Apoquel (selling like hotcakes) and Cytopoint (often Rx’d along with or following Apoquel, when results fall off…) or Librela, aimed at <cough> helping arthritic joints.
My entire focus in writing, courses, podcasts, et al has always been on you, the animal owner, when there are drugs, procedures, or mistaken thought processes that could harm your animals.
The number of vets I could convince of these harms has always appeared to be a tiny percentage of those in practice. I hope that’s growing, I really do.
But you, my dear, you are the one left holding the bag (i.e. the heartache, bills, and loss) of wrong decisions you make for those innocents who look to you with trusting eyes, tail wags, and head bumps.
Hence, you have to be wise about product claims, sales pitches, and drug advertising.
If I can help you make wiser decisions in some small way, I’m grateful I’m in a position to do so.
Real Life Apoquel Tragedy
This comes in the many comments on my blog post on this drug, via Ruth M.
Last February my sweet girl was prescribed apoquel for an itchy patch. A tiny 12# mixed terrier. She took it for 2 or 3 weeks. In July she stopped eating. I took her to her vet and he said she had critical anemia and sent us to an emergency vet for transfusions. We were told she had an autoimmune disease.
We were told repeatedly it was "idiopathic, which means we don't know why." Over a period of about a week she was treated. Improved a little. We took her home to recover. The next day she jumped off the sofa and fell on her face. We had to take her back. They kept her over night again, did some more transfusions that did not work. Many other meds were also used during this period.
We went to see her the next day. It was obvious she was in great pain. She didn't seem to recognize us. The vet said it was unlikely they could help her. So after nearly a week of futile treatment and thousands of dollars, we had to let her cross the Rainbow Bridge. I strongly believe it was a result of the apoquel.
I pray this vicious poison is taken off the market before anyone else's Furbaby is taken from them.
Ruth’s is one of wayyy too many bad outcomes from this JAK inhibitor drug, widely pushed by Dr. WhiteCoat. Buyer beware.
You Feed RAW? You’ve Been Labeled!
Of All the Whack That Passes for Journalism…
Are you feeding raw food to your pets?
Well, you’ve just been labeled a “conspiracy theorist!”
Yep, and the not so obvious byline that appears when you scroll down the article appearing in The Nation entitled “Rawdogging It” makes it sound like, if you’re not presently feeding raw, well, “Conspiracy Theorists are Coming for Your Pet Food.”
What in the actual f…??
Doesn’t sound like any raw feeders I know, pretty much a live and let live bunch, though they’ve likely sung the praises of raw feeding, after seeing amazing results in their own pets.
These are typically the animals most easily identified as Vital Animals, as they glow, have soft supple coats, bright eyes, compact stools, and an aura about them that’s clearly magnetic.
Reality vs Hype
Luckily, we’ve got pet food truther Susan Thixton who published this article on her long standing site, Truth About Pet Food.
Susan bothered to use the Freedom of Information Act to track down the facts of the argument that bird flu laced raw diets are killing pets in droves.
Turns out most cases of bird flu in pets were associated with farm living: exposure to wild birds, infected cows, and the like.
Very few were proven to be infected by raw food diets.
Oops.
You’ll be wise to read Susan’s article, if nothing else to be awed by the amount of pathogenic bacteria laden pet food recalls were in kibble vs raw food.
It’s a staggering difference. But does the news media ever mention this remarkable disparity?
You can bet your kibbles and boots, they do not.
Vested Interest?
Maybe you’ve noticed: it’s always the raw food companies getting press coverage when there’s any recall of pet food based on bacteria deemed dangerous to health.
So, my guess is “journalist” Emmet Fraizer of The Nation is probably on the take from Big Pet Food, much like our main stream media has been bought out by Big Pharma.
I’d suggest subscribing to Susan Thixton’s work, as this is far from the first example of pet food propaganda she’s uncovered.
But, You’re in Good Company!
In case you missed it, the Washington Post is freaking out over another “conspiracy theorist” I’d be thrilled to be more closely associated with:
So carry on, raw feeder. You and your cohorts have taken an amazing step for your pets, and their long term health. I appreciate you and your wildly healthy fur families.
p.s. A mini-tip for those looking for alternatives for their itchy dogs:
A raw diet alone will shift The Itch either entirely or drop it several notches lower on the 1 to 10 scale I used to use in practice.
Kibble puts a huge burden on the animal, and clean whole foods relieve that burden. Part of itch is trying to get the toxins out through the skin, I suspect. Raw food has less toxin load than kibble by far.
For more options on that strategy, read this page.
Antibiotics and Babies
Wow, the Children’s Health Defense folks brought this to my attention recently.
As with baby humans, so it will be with the young of any mammals.
Here’s the article: Babies Exposed to Antibiotics More Likely to Develop Type 1 Diabetes Later in Life.
And here’s what we know from research:
There’s a critical age window in development of the child when conditions must be right to “grow” pancreatic beta cells.
Those cells are our insulin producers, that all important hormone that keeps wild fluctuations of blood glucose in check over our entire lives, and a whole lot more
The beta cells fail to develop in babies due to the presence of antibiotics, either in the womb or in the child’s early growth phase
It’s due to gut flora disruption, yet another demo of how connected we all are to our microbiomes
Type 1 diabetes is autoimmune disease, meaning life long “immune confusion” wherein the beta cells are under self attack.
How about dogs?
So, now my wonderment goes to puppies with “strangles”, an acute facial and lymph node swelling usually deemed ‘idiopathic’ (“Dang. We’re clueless as to what caused this…”)
It’s so named because those under the jaw lymph nodes can swell enough to impair breathing.
Not much turns up in a search on “early life antibiotics” for pups as a cause of strangles, but guess what?
Vaccination before onset does!
Everyone admits it’s an immune disorder, and this vet’s column has some great comments with people who clearly saw their own pup’s strangles begin shortly after a puppy vaccination.
I’ve long called the injection of multiple vaccines the #1 cause of “immune confusion.” And, biologically speaking, there’s no confusion as great as autoimmune disease, literally one’s immune system attacking their own cells!
Poor Dr. Lee. She had to come down off her certainty horse after Brenda reported,
Be careful, my puppy’s strangles was CAUSED by the distempter (DAP) vaccine.”
First, the good doctor responded:
No, this does not cause it at all. Your dog’s strangles are NOT from vaccines. Dr. Justine Lee”
Until several others in the same thread reported similar correlations.
Brenda rejoined the conversation with:
She had the DHPP vaccine at 7 weeks with no issues. However, within 1 hour of receiving this other vaccination at 15 weeks, she had a severe allergic reaction. First her nose swelled and developed bumps…I had to take her to the ER Vet who was able to diagnose her pretty quickly with Strangles. My poor puppy endured 5 weeks of hell because these other Vets were so resistant that the vaccine could do this. They kept saying “a vaccine couldn’t do this after this many weeks”.
Dr. Lee then softens her stance:
Oh, no! I’m so sorry to hear that. That sounds terrible. That sounds like puppy strangles – please know you can always seen an emergency vet if available in your area. I would have the first vet call to report that vaccine immediately. I’m so sorry you and your dog had to go through that. 🙁 Is she better now?”
Others joined in, like Lori:
…it was directly after the vaccine that our little fella came down with puppy strangles. I I feel very strongly that there is a correlation.”
Then, later Caroline commented:
I am fostering a cocker/poodle who came to me with a serious case of strangles. She has finished her prednisone and antibiotics and is doing very well. She still has some inflammation around her eyes that make them a bit droopy and runny. She is due for her vaccine booster but the strangles came on after her first vaccine at 6 weeks of age (puppy mill). How safe is it to give booster?”
And guess what? Dr. Lee reverted to her “vaccines are saviors” stance once more:
She definitely needs her complete vaccine series, as she’s not protected at all.”
(I hate to think what became of this Cockapoo…)
Unfortunately, this is more or less how we were trained.
Vaccines safe lives.
They couldn’t be harmful.
Here’s the ideal schedule to give them.
Green as we were, and still in awe of everything we were learning as vet students, we never questioned the safety of vaccination.
Our bad. And hopefully, that’s changing nowadays, though maybe not in the halls of academia just yet.
To Wrap This Up
Early life antibiotics are identified as a risk factor for serious autoimmune disease. Who knew?
And, a growing number of us, whether open minded vets or animal owners have long recognized that vaccination can as well. Here’s a few more examples outside of strangles.
The bottom line is, as the Sgt. Phil Esterhaus used to say at the end of every roll call in Hill St. Blues,
Along the Natural Path
We’re taking respite from the plains of Uttar Pradesh (where the temps are 101-107ºF recently) in this lovely “hill station” in the Himalaya range. The weather is cool to warm, the beauty is soothing and impressive (read: green and mountainous) and the 60-80 of us here are much more relaxed for the next couple months until the monsoon comes to temper the heat wave south of us.
Storms with wind, rain, and thunder can roll in seemingly in moments, like the above, just the other evening. Electricity goes out, generators kick in, the chanter’s mic drops off and we all fill in by singing more loudly when it’s our turn to respond.
I’ll have to get some street dog pics next issue, but a few of my old buddies from years past have remembered me, and contrary to the average semi-feral here in India, they’ll wag and schmooze me when I sweet talk them on my hikes.
I spoke sweetly to a couple of half grown pups and got the opposite experience from their mom, so I have to be a bit cautious. She warned me in a decidedly ugly voice that I’d better just make believe her pups didn’t exist and “Walk on, hooman!”
Okay, Mom, no argument there, I’m movin’ along…
The huge conifer forest across the street from us is locked up, so I have to get my flora hit where I can, often from rubbing my hands on moss on the sheer rock walls that line the roads.
There are often inspiring plants that seem to be flowering amid zero soil from these walls of rock as well.
Oh, and we’re back in monkey land again, so the Macaques are everywhere but generally calmer than their thieving relatives in Vrindavan, who’ll steal the glasses off your face.
“Want them back? Toss me a packet of biscuits (monkey ransom), and I’ll drop them from the tree for you to recover!”
Hopefully, my favorites, the Langur will show up before too long:
These are the gentle leaf eating giants who look scary but are really mellow and quite shy.
We had another free distribution here this past week, some 1500 school kids trekked up and down to reach us, many during cold drizzle, to receive school supplies and a cozy blanket.
That’s it for this issue. Until next time, keep an eye on what’s being pushed on you as “prevention” and “treatment” and look before you leap.
Will Falconer, DVM
thank you for the monoclonal antibody news, lost a dog to that. now I feed my dogs home cooked meals and minimal vet interactions. never had healthier dogs.
Mom always told me to “look both ways” before crossing the road. In this now more perilous time of greed, lies, obfuscation and dogma, one now needs to look in every direction before trusting “the science”, especially the Jab and ABx stuff.
Health is wealth
Go with your gut
Protect your (and your pet’s) biome.
Keep the faith