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Link to article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17995778/site/newsweek/
a few quotes:
"Whether we worry that our pets are eating tainted, potentially lethal food or that they're simply eating too much we've made pet health a priority. In 2006, 77 percent of dogs were given medication, compared with 52 percent in 2004. According to APPMA, spending on pets' surgical procedures and dental care including floss and teeth whiteners has also risen. Pet products now make up more than half an animal-health market once dominated by products for livestock, fueling what in 2005 was a $5 billion industry. "The companion-animal sector has snowballed into this unstoppable force," says Richard Daub, who covers the industry for the trade publication Animal Pharm."
"Eli Lilly just launched a new companion-animal division, and plans to develop six drugs in the next four years, in part by reconstituting drugs developed for humans, targeting not physical but psychological ailments. Lilly's new flagship pet medication, Reconcile, approved by the FDA in January to treat separation anxiety in dogs, is the same compound as its antidepressant Prozac. "The cost of developing a new drug is so high, they're crazy not to reuse molecules developed for humans," says Nick Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Based on research done by Dodman, a British firm, Accura Pharma, recently bought a patent to develop the first antiaggression drug for dogs."
"But others see pet drugs as a quick fix that fail to address the root of a bigger problem. Pets are often cooped up indoors and left alone for much of the day, under-exercised and overfed -is it any wonder they're aggressive, anxiety-ridden and fat? "We're absolutely projecting our neuroses and bad habits onto our pets," says Dr. J. P. O'Leary, a veterinarian outside Pittsburgh who says that of the 400 animals he sees a week, half are obese and many have behavioral issues. Rather than spending the time and energy working with their pets to correct them, though, "people would rather throw a pill at it," he says."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17995778/site/newsweek/
a few quotes:
"Whether we worry that our pets are eating tainted, potentially lethal food or that they're simply eating too much we've made pet health a priority. In 2006, 77 percent of dogs were given medication, compared with 52 percent in 2004. According to APPMA, spending on pets' surgical procedures and dental care including floss and teeth whiteners has also risen. Pet products now make up more than half an animal-health market once dominated by products for livestock, fueling what in 2005 was a $5 billion industry. "The companion-animal sector has snowballed into this unstoppable force," says Richard Daub, who covers the industry for the trade publication Animal Pharm."
"Eli Lilly just launched a new companion-animal division, and plans to develop six drugs in the next four years, in part by reconstituting drugs developed for humans, targeting not physical but psychological ailments. Lilly's new flagship pet medication, Reconcile, approved by the FDA in January to treat separation anxiety in dogs, is the same compound as its antidepressant Prozac. "The cost of developing a new drug is so high, they're crazy not to reuse molecules developed for humans," says Nick Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Based on research done by Dodman, a British firm, Accura Pharma, recently bought a patent to develop the first antiaggression drug for dogs."
"But others see pet drugs as a quick fix that fail to address the root of a bigger problem. Pets are often cooped up indoors and left alone for much of the day, under-exercised and overfed -is it any wonder they're aggressive, anxiety-ridden and fat? "We're absolutely projecting our neuroses and bad habits onto our pets," says Dr. J. P. O'Leary, a veterinarian outside Pittsburgh who says that of the 400 animals he sees a week, half are obese and many have behavioral issues. Rather than spending the time and energy working with their pets to correct them, though, "people would rather throw a pill at it," he says."
I can't blame him when he does it because it always happens after a day or two of not enough exercise or attention.
