On November 20, 2017, My dog, Brandy had been lethargic, depressed and less playful as usual over the weekend and I made a same day appointment with Dr. Kelly - he was not my regular veterinarian, I h... Read More
On November 20, 2017, My dog, Brandy had been lethargic, depressed and less playful as usual over the weekend and I made a same day appointment with Dr. Kelly - he was not my regular veterinarian, I had never been to him before, however he was the only one I could find that was available to see Brandy that same day and I was terribly worried about her on that Monday morning. Dr. Kelly drew blood and did a Snap pro test showing positive for Erlichia Canis (a tick-borne illness). A titer test was not performed, so her levels of antibodies were unknown at that time and or if the infection was present or if she was just showing exposure to it. He ordered treatment for Erlichiosis.He prescribed/administered the following pharmaceuticals to my already sick dog:Bravecto (a pesticide to kill fleas and ticks - of which he told me I needed to "protect" my dog from further tick infections) Sentinel (another pesticide to kill fleas and heart worms and at that time, Dr. Kelly's own technician questioned him on doubling my dog's flea pesticides, to which Dr. Kelly was clearly annoyed at his technician for questioning him)(on a side note I would like to add this - if these pesticides are designed to kill fleas and ticks within 30 minutes and the pesticide circulates through your dog's bloodstream - WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS DOING TO YOUR DOG?)Dasaquin for jointsDoxycycline 150 mg 2 times a day for 21 days10 mg prednisone twice daily(Another side note to add is that my regular vet, does NOT carry or will not prescribe Bravecto to her patients and she also told me that NEVER EVER would she prescribe so many drugs at one time - especially to a sick dog. There was absolutely NO NEED at that time to administer unnecessary preventives which are KNOWN pesticides to my poor sick dog - shame on you Dr. Kelly, I was a worried pet mom and totally trusted you to be the expert - now I know to do my research first and my due diligence).On December 5, Dr. Kelly's follow up blood work showed elevated liver enzymes, causing him to believe she had liver issues. So he put her on Denamarin (another drug) for liver support and ordered a fasting bile acid test which results from that were reported as elevated and Dr. Kelly then referred me to a specialist/internist. After much research on my own, I came to the conclusion that BRAVECTO pesticide was the cause of high liver enzymes as her liver enzymes were in PERFECT order on her initial blood work taken at Dr. Kelly's on 11/20/17. And I found much information where people were reporting adverse effects from flea and tick pesticides especially BRAVECTO, including MANY DEATHS directly from this pesticide. It's heartbreaking. I talked to Dr. Kelly about this possibility, and he said "no way could it be the Bravecto, as Bravecto is very safe and I give it to my own dogs. Now, your dog, Brandy has something sinister going on in her liver." He reluctantly agreed to report it to the manufacturer of the pesticide, who is Merck and I also asked him to report it to the FDA. I reported it to Merck and the FDA. Upon examining the EMA's listing of adverse effects, I found Dr. Kelly's report on my dog, which did not include ANY of the symptoms I told him and Merck that my dog was experiencing. This was what was in the report to Merck about Brandy "The vet does not believe that the blood work abnormalities are related to Bravecto, and instead thinks that there is another process in the liver going on like a mucocoele, shunt, or neoplasia." Fast forward to February 23, my dog who is now near death - 5 or 6 vets and $20,000 later - my girl, Brandy had her spleen removed. There was nothing wrong with her liver (2 biopsies on 2 separate surgeries just to make sure). Her blood work has since all returned to normal and she seems to have recovered well. I've since reached out to Dr. Kelly on several occasions to ask him to revise his report to Merck - but I hear nothing back from Dr. Kelly. Now, the surgeon, my vet and the internist all agree that Brandy's condition was caused by the Bravecto. I compare administering Bravecto to playing Russian Roulette - keep on pulling that trigger ... some pets will show no side effects (YET) and some will die instantly. The official numbers of the EMA as of May 4, 2018:Bravecto: 7964 reported serious side effects, 1782 deaths after administrationNexgard: 12,394 reported serious side effects, 745 deaths after administrationSimparica: 834 reported serious side effects, 118 deaths after administrationA PESTICIDE does NOT belong in or on the body of our pets. For more info visit face book:Does Bravecto Kill Dogs - over 47,000 members of this face book page. Why are all these Veterinarians still in such denial? My only answer is it must be very profitable for them. Read Less