An Early Christmas Present

The FDA issues a warning letter to veterinarians regarding Librela

After a full year of screaming from the rooftops about the experimental gene products Librela for dogs and Solensia for cats, the FDA has finally issued a warning letter to veterinarians regarding the thousands of adverse effects reported by pet owners.

My first post on Librela was published on December 9, 2023; further updates and podcast episodes can be found on my Substack page. Librela was the reason I started this Substack. It was a safe space to express my concerns that went against nearly my entire profession and Big Pharma and to speak out about the science behind these gene products.

The FDA letter arrived while I was treating one of the three Librela dogs I saw yesterday. All 3 dogs are beautiful, loving beings with loving humans who care for them dearly, none of whom suspected the “miracle injection” given to their dog was causing the symptoms they were seeing.

Here is the letter:

FDA Letter to Veterinarians notifying of adverse events reported with Librela

Here is the response from Zoetis, the same day:

“We continue to have the utmost confidence in the safety and efficacy of Librela.”

The Wall Street Journal followed with their own article:

FDA Warns About Dangers of Dog Pain Drug

Personal Clinical Experience

I am going to tell you about these patients to make this situation more personal and for the selfish reason of maintaining my own mental health. It has been a lonely, long road with only bereaved, grieving dog and cat parents as travel companions.

The following patients came to me for second opinions as the client knew something was not right with their pet and they were not receiving any answers from their veterinarian. None of them were told anything about Librela or that it might be creating the strange symptoms they were seeing in their pets.

The first patient yesterday was a 13 yr old Lab who was stiff and having some trouble going upstairs 6 months ago. I saw her last month for the first time, after receiving 2 Librela injections. She had signs of arthritis in her spine on x-rays. No arthritis in hips or knees. She had normal neurological reflexes but was so weak in the hindquarters she could not get up on her own and took 8-10 steps before collapsing. She had a hoarse bark and all the signs of laryngeal paralysis and peripheral neuropathy, a condition common in older labradors but it usually has a gradual progression, not an acute onset. She tested positive for Lyme disease, a finding never revealed to the owner, and had slightly enlarged lymph nodes. She responded to the first two acupuncture treatments and actually got up on her own after the second.

A week later she visited her primary vet, who convinced the owner to give her a third dose of Librela. He also referred her to an oncologist who did not bother testing her lymph nodes to verify potential lymphoma, let alone stage it before starting chemo. After the third dose of Librela and the initial chemotherapy, she could not stand at all, developed urinary incontinence, increased drinking and urination, severe diarrhea, and severe hindlimb muscle atrophy over the course of one week.

The second case was a wonderful little dog who survived the hurricane in the Bahamas several years ago. She was 9 years old, stiff upon waking in the morning, difficulty jumping on the couch. On the advice of his general practitioner, the client decided to try Librela. Three doses later, she developed odd behavioral issues: not wanting to leave the house or walk out the front door into the hallway, and holding her urine for up to 24 hours because of her reluctance to go outside. She also exhibited some vision issues with potential loss of vision. We suspect central nervous system/brain cognitive issues. She is still stiff, with weakness when one hindleg is lifted. No deficits in neurological reflexes.

Case 3 was a 9 yr old German Shepherd. No previous health issues. Again, stiff on rising, slower going upstairs, occasional lameness from fence running. Two injections of Librela over the summer - no significant improvement. A third injection was in October. After the third, he developed ataxia, hindquarter weakness, hunched back, and shortened gate, but no neuro deficits upon examination. He was weak in the hindlegs, unable to hold his weight on one hind leg. We suspect early signs of degenerative myelopathy, but again no signs of arthritis on x-rays and no neurological deficits.

These signs could be explained by “old dogs who are prone to develop these conditions eventually.” What is alarming is the speed at which the signs developed and the speed of their decline. I have specialized in treating geriatric dogs for most of my 25 years in practice. Even with disuse atrophy, muscles do not melt off of hindlimbs within a week. Extreme weakness with normal neurological reflexes and no signs of degenerative joint disease on radiographs are not normal signs of aging. I am also seeing signs of urinary disease (incontinence, increased drinking, and urination) with no changes in bloodwork.

This injection appears to be hitting the individual dog’s weak spots, whether it be cognition and dementia, an acceleration and unmasking of underlying neurological issues, i.e., degenerative myelopathy, seizures, intervertebral disk disease, blindness, hearing loss, or even a locked jaw. The immune system reactions are perhaps the most severe, with uncontrollable bleeding, anaphylaxis, autoimmune and masses and tumors popping up.

Some dogs appear fine with month-after-month injections, while others decompensate after only 1 or 2 doses. There is a half-life to the Librela antibodies, but that does not mean much in terms of when the diverse effects will wear off or improve, if at all. Overall, it is like playing Russian roulette.

There is no way to really “detox” from it. The man-made Librela antibody protein molecules must be enzymatically broken down like any protein in the body to be removed from circulation. It does not go through the metabolic pathways of the liver. The large antigen-antibody complexes formed when Librela binds to nerve growth factor can potentially lodge in the kidneys' small blood vessels, potentially causing glomerular nephritis.

Ultimately, this is one big science experiment; the study subjects are our pets, without informed consent.

I want to add here, it is not only dogs but also cats that are involved. The cat version, Solensia, was released before the dog version, Librela. Cats always seem to get much less media coverage. I do not intend to forget them. they have their own set of adverse reactions, including severe non-healing skin lesions, kidney issues, and neurological effects.

What is Librela and Solensia?

Librela is marketed as a monthly injection for dogs for the treatment of arthritis.

Solensia is marketed for a monthly injection for cats for the treatment of arthritis.

These injections are made up of genetically engineered, man-made, antibodies that bind to nerve growth factor, a peptide made in all mammalian bodies. Here is a graphic that tells what nerve growth factor does in the body:

In human trials, a similar antibody was found to create a syndrome termed R.O.P.A., “rapid onset progressive arthritis”. During the clinical trials, real-time disintegration of joints occurred in human subjects, requiring emergency joint replacement surgery. Due to the severity of this adverse effect, the clinical trial was shut down and further development of the product continued in the veterinary medicine sector.

For further information and data, please visit:

Petadvocare.com