LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Tens of thousands of dog owners wonder if a flea and tick treatment they give their pets is safe.
A large online community is talking about whether Bravecto is giving their dogs seizures or organ failure, or even killing them.
Bravecto, made by Merck Animal Health, is a chewable tablet that is designed to kill ticks and fleas for up to three months.
It was approved for use in the United States in 2014, but a debate has recently intensified among pet owners and veterinarians alike about whether it is safe.
“We were very impressed with how good it is,” claimed Dr. Bob Hale, a veterinarian at Briarwood Animal Hospital. “Not only for fleas, but for ticks. And in the South, it is very hard to kill ticks.”
Briarwood Animal Hospital has carried Bravecto for roughly two years. Dr. Hale said he waited a few months after it first hit the market to see if it was well-reviewed by early-adapters.
“I think it’s a very safe product,” he stated. “We all use it at this clinic. I have three dogs; they’re all on Bravecto. It has done a wonderful job.”
Many pet owners disagree. More than 30,000 people belong to a Facebook group about Bravecto, and they share stories about the terrible things that happened to their dogs soon after they started taking it. Bravecto’s packaging says common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and loss of appetite.
But, many people in the Facebook group reported that their dogs suffered problems such as kidney failure and seizures, including one woman who said her dog had a seizure just 45 minutes after taking Bravecto.
“Any time that you think that you have a suspicion that you give a drug to your dog and there’s an adverse effect, you need to call your veterinarian,” Dr. Hale said. “Tell them about it. If you call your veterinarian, then we’re gonna call the FDA. We’re gonna call the company, the FDA, and we’re gonna report it.”
Merck has sold 34 million doses of Bravecto, and so far, there is no scientific evidence to show that it causes the serious problems that the dog owners describe. Dr. Hale thinks part of the problem is that many people are too distraught after the death of a pet to find out why it died.
“If there’s a dog that has passed away, we want you to call us, we want to necropsy the dog,” he said. “We know that’s hard to do when you’ve just lost a loved one, but that’s the only way you’re going to find out what happened.”
Another problem many dog owners have with Bravecto is that it is a pesticide, not a repellant. Fleas and ticks have to bite the dog before the medicine can kill them, so if the insects are carrying diseases, the dog can still contract them.
“If a client is skeptical about Bravecto, then maybe they need to talk to their veterinarian about going to a different product. And we have other products, as well, that are very, very good,” Dr. Hale added.
Representatives from Merck did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.