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Celebrity Cecelia Judd Timberlake, a five-year-old Yorkshire terrier, weighs 11 pounds and looks slightly heavier than the average Yorkie. But the Food and Drug Administration and Dog Owner's Guide magazine recently dubbed dogs like "CeCe" - who owns pink frocks, a winter sweater and a collection of rhinestone encrusted dog collars - obese. The Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug of its kind to combat canines' fatness. The liquid drug, Slentrol, by Pfizer Inc., manages obesity in dogs by reducing appetite and fat absorption to trigger weight loss. "This is a welcome addition to animal therapies because dog obesity appears to be increasing," said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, in an FDA press release. "Veterinarians are well aware that overweight pets are at a higher risk of developing various health problems, from cardiovascular conditions to diabetes to joint problems." Veterinarians define an obese dog as weighing 20 percent more than its ideal weight. Almost 40 percent of the nation's households own a dog. According to the FDA press release, about 5 percent of America's 62 million dogs are obese. Another 20 to 30 percent are overweight. "She's pretty much a princess," said CeCe's owner Cigi Judd, first year dental hygiene student. "[You can] flip her over, [but] it has to be on her terms." Judd recently toted her larger-than-normal pet to the Animal Health Clinic on Perkins Road for an annual checkup. The clinic told Judd her dog was not overweight, much less obese. But Dog Owner's Guide said the ideal Yorkie weighs seven pounds, putting CeCe in the FDA-defined obesity category. CeCe weighs 57 percent more than an ideal dog in her breed. In CeCe's defense, Judd said her pet is taller than the average Yorkie.
Ironically, when Judd met her dog, then-six months old, CeCe was "the runt of the litter." Judd said she took her new dog to a veterinarian who was concerned about keeping CeCe's bones healthy. The veterinarian administered medication, and the tiny Yorkie "just blew up." "It might have been like steroids or something," Judd said. "I think that's what actually did it."
According to the FDA press release, the exact mechanism for producing weight loss results is unknown but appears to result partly from a satiety signal from lipid-filled cells, which tells the brain one's tummy is full. An obese dog is treated with Slentrol for 14 days. After initial treatment, the veterinarian will assess the dog's progress and adjust the dose according to weight loss. According to Pfizer studies, after the dog achieves its goal weight, the owner should continue to administer the medication for three months. "It's supposed to be given along with a diet and exercise program, and that's something that's determined [by] the veterinarian and the pet owner together," said Laura Alvey, FDA spokesperson. The veterinarian will also devise a separate plan to maintain the dog's new physique. M. Anne Hickman, Pfizer researcher, conducted one of many Slentrol studies since 2001. Hickman tested 16 obese adult Beagles. Twelve were treated and four were used as control. The treated dogs saw an average 18.8 percent weight loss in the weight reduction phase. The control group lost no weight. Treated Beagles lost an average of 1.8 percent to 0.8 percent in the weight maintenance phase. But the dogs did gain weight once treatment ceased. Many drugs are incomplete without a laundry list of side effects. Adverse reactions associated with Slentrol include vomiting, loose stools, diarrhea, lethargy and loss of appetite. No serious drug reactions or fatalities occurred during Hickman's study, but seven of the treated dogs experienced vomiting, four had soft stool and three showed signs of anorexia during the first two weeks. Alvey said the drug should not be consumed by humans or cats. "The label of Slentrol includes the standard warning, 'Not for use in humans,'" Alvey said. "Some of the adverse reactions include abdominal pain, diarrhea, flatulence, headache, nausea and vomiting." Pfizer is currently developing an obesity drug for humans. But the drug is not chemically related to Slentrol. Judd said she would purchase the dog obesity drug but only in a "life or death situation," because of the side effects. "I would never [want to] put my dog through that," Judd said. Judd said she restricts her dog to only one half of her snacks at a time, referring to them as "S-N-A-C-K's" when the dog is in earshot. "I can't say the word because then she'll run to them," Judd said. Judd also takes CeCe on "W-A-L-K's" around their apartment complex three times a day to prevent weight gain. Because of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, Slentrol qualifies for five years of marketing exclusivity because no active ingredient of the drug has been previously approved by the FDA. Slentrol will appear in pharmacies in April or May and will cost between $1 and $2 per day. The drug is dispensed by prescription only.
----- Contact Leah Square at lsquare@lsureveille.com
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