Pet investigation reaction to arthritis medication Librela | FDA warning

Donna Pope still keeps Gumbo’s favorite toy in the living room.

“He was my little shadow,” Pope said through tears. “He had the biggest personality. Bossy, rambunctious. He ran the house.”

Gumbo, a 14-year-old French bulldog, received a Librela injection in 2023. Within 24 hours, Pope said, he stopped eating. His thirst became unquenchable. He collapsed trying to go to the bathroom just nine days after the injection.

“The vet said his red blood cells were so low, they weren’t compatible with life,” she said. “He started seizing the next night. I held him while he died. I told him, ‘It was okay to go.’”

Pope, a retired nurse, said she reported what happened to her vet and Zoetis, the drug’s manufacturer. She says she was told the symptoms: paralysis, seizures, and immune issues, weren’t known side effects. But that’s what frustrates her most.

“They are known. They were documented in Canada and Europe before my dog ever got this shot,” she said. “They lied to me. I would have never allowed this if I knew the risk.”