12/11/2025
Say NO to Librela!
One year ago today, Memphis got her second and LAST injection of Librela. Like many people, we thought this was something safe for our dogs. I did research and found some good and bad things, but mostly good things about this injection. So, we decided to go forward since Memphis was in pain and limping a lot from her arthritis.
On Dec 11th, 2024, she got her 2nd injection. On Dec 13th, 2024, while on the Novi Pet Expo floor surrounded by her fans, she collapsed into my lap. At first, I thought she just tripped, but as I tried to stand her up, down she went again. In a panic, I got the attention of Jamie and our team that helps run the booth. Trying not to panic, I picked her up and RAN away from everyone. Jamie followed, and my dear friend Mellissa as well. When we got away from everyone, we were able to assess that she could not stand on her own, and she had nystagmus—her eyes were shifting rapidly back and forth. Without a thought, Jamie picked her up and we RAN to the Jeep. We left Kira and Eleanor with Dan and Greg and the rest of our friends, and we rushed to the ER that was only 5 minutes away.
By the time we arrived, she could stand a bit, but not for long, and still had nystagmus. They ran tons of tests. I told them about the injection she had just had two days prior, and they said, "This could be a reaction to it!" Panic just set in. I did this. I did this to my dog. I made this mistake and who knows how much damage it has done. They diagnosed her with Ataxia and told us to monitor her.
We got back to our hotel with everyone waiting on us. Memphis walked into the hotel room and was just exhausted. She fell asleep almost instantly. We had no idea what to do. We had two more days of the event and decided we would stay, but Memphis would not go back out on the floor for fear of it happening again.
The next day came, and she was 100% back to normal, so we did take her back on the floor for the last two days. We called our vet and let them know what happened. On December 16, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) issued a "Dear Veterinarian" letter notifying veterinarians about adverse events reported in dogs treated with the osteoarthritis medication Librela. These were things NOT on the warning label. Things NOT told to people choosing to use this medication. Side effects that ZOETIS, the maker of this injection, KNEW about and did not disclose.
Dogs have DIED from this medication. MANY of them. Yet, it is still being pushed and is still on the market. Thankfully, many veterinarians have decided not to use it, and most now discuss the side effects. Memphis had ataxia again just a few weeks later, but since then hasn't had an episode, and we could not be more thankful that she recovered from this.
I tell this story again to remind you to be vigilant. Not just with your dogs, but with yourself. Medication can be helpful, but long-term use might cause more damage than it's fixing. They have now found that Librela does horrible damage to the joints of dogs as well, and they are now doing more studies on it. As of today, Zoetis still makes and sells it. Some dogs do fine on it. Some dogs do fine on it for months or years before a reaction, but many have horrible reactions.
Say No to Librela. Memphis, I am so sorry that I made that mistake, but I am so thankful that we have learned from it and that you survived, because there are many dogs that did not.
