Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

How to Shrink Your Pooch or Doggie Diet Drug

The FDA just approved a new diet drug by Pfizer, but only for the family pooch that imitates the other couch potatoes in the family. The drug is Slentrol that is meant to be included in a controlled diet and exercise program.

Diet and exercise…hmmm!

Do dogs make resolutions, too? Do they have treadmills in their gyms?

Treadmills may be the most popular aerobic machine at the gym, but running on a road right and left to nowhere is probably a much more delightful game to a dog. The way most people..ahem doggies would use treadmills would lead to several loud barks. Not a soothing singing for the owners since that could get other dogs in the neighborhood to join the chorus.

What seemed funny to me is the warning inside the drug's prospectus:

"WARNINGS: Not for use in humans. Keep this and all drugs out of reach of children.
Adverse reactions associated with humans ingesting dirlotapide include: abdominal distention, abdominal
pain, diarrhea, flatulence, headache, increased serum transaminases, nausea, and vomiting.
SLENTROL may cause eye-irritation. If accidental eye exposure occurs, flush the eyes immediately with
clean water."

Was this warning necessary? I'm sure it was.

Should this drug have been around and should we have given it to our dog, I am sure my kids would have tried it, as well. So today, I'm just thankful for the lack of medical progress 20-25 years ago.

Then, there are some people who might think...only because dogs and homosapiens are both mammals…

Oh, never mind!