Lilly Receives FDA Approval For Antidepressant For Dogs

The drug companies have done a pretty good job of convincing us all that our " eccentric " uncles and aunts are really as crazy as loons and can lead " normal " lives with the help of a few little blue pills. You flip through the DSM-IV, which is to psychiatry what a Chinese resataurant menu is to the hospitality business, and you're sure to find symptoms that describe to a T what Aunt Nelly's been up to for years.

Pick one from column A, two from column B. And with number six you get an eggroll.

When I was a kid I had this friend who I describe as having been " fidgety. " Couldn't sit still. Pretty hyper. Today he'd be diagnosed with ADD and given some pills. You don't have to be crazy to live in the modern world, but the drug companies sure would like you to think you're crazy.

So you could become another card carrying member of MedicationNation, another part of their ever expanding market. Speaking of which...

The following article is about how Eli Lilly is now marketing a pill called " Reconcile. " ( Who names these things? Some veterinary version of Dr. Phil? ) Reconcile is designed to reduce separation anxiety in dogs. I'm not making this up.

When I worked on a locked unit, there were people there who made me very nervous and paranoid. No, not the schizophrenics and sociopaths committed there by some judge. I'm talking about drug reps.

Drug reps are nice looking, well dressed young people who are as common on medical units as bedpans. It's their job to convince the doctors that the drugs their company markets is the drug they should be prescribing. Every time I saw these people walk onto the unit I'd say to myself: If I had a dog right now, I'd say " Sic 'em. " Dogs weren't allowed on the unit when I worked there. I quit in 2002, but I'll bet things have changed.

There's probably a special wing on the unit now - for anxious, depressed pooches. If I were there now, maybe I could shout, " Sic 'em! "

Then again, the dog, if it did what I told it to do would end up in restraints, in a holding room. And given a new diagnosis : Intermittent Explosive Disorder, K-9 NOS.

Separation Anxiety medication for dogs? You gotta be kidding me.

Lilly Receives FDA Approval For Antidepressant For Dogs