Jinx is gone; is Comfortis to blame?

One of Brando's best dog friends was Jinx, a Doberman who moved to the neighborhood after Katrina. Sometimes, I would dogsit for Jinx, and even wrote about him in Dogs I Have Met. I found out this evening that he died last month, from complicatations following a dose of Comfortis, the new monthly oral flea treatment. Lilly, the drug company behind this new pill, paid for the autopsy, which was inconclusive but suggested that his death--from kidney failure and associated infections--was drug induced.

Of course, everyone who knew him is devestated. He was a good dog.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
I am sorry for the loss of Jinx. Thanks for sharing the information about Comfortis. I will share this information on my blog. My thoughts are with Jinx's family and friends.
6:01 PM
Anonymous said…
Was that the first time Jinx had taken Comfortis or had he been on it for a while?
8:11 PM
Rachel Elizabeth said…
How incredibly sad and very scary. Has the company issued a statement about it or did they find out why it affected him in a such a way?
10:44 AM
Anonymous said…
My dog (a Doberman) just died yesterday after taking Comfortis. The company is paying for her autopsy too.
What is going on with this drug and why are no vets aware of the problem??
8:26 PM
Anonymous said…
On Feb 26, my beloved Indigo passed away. She was on Comfortis for the second month. She was a healthy, happy and wonderful 4 year old black lab. The vet diagnosed her with pericarial effusion with a tumor on the heart. THe vet said it was inevitable after she found the heart pericardium, or sac around the heart 3 times the normal size. After an ultrasound she found the tumor. Coicidence that she was taking Comfortis for only 6 weeks? I dont know but I will not give my new lab puppy it, I will be happy to put up with the fleas. We live in Florida and they are a pain in the neck, year round. I think Comfortis is too new to come to any hasty conclusions but how many times have you heard the FDA take drugs off the market for humans after side effects? You be the judge. Put up with the fleas. As of today the FDA put a warning on Advantage and Frontline for side effects.
Kathy in FLA
8:08 PM
Jennifer said…
i will post more information later and I plan to further research this, but I wanted it to be noted that my dog died yesterday after his first dose of Comfortis. He had no health problems, was 8 years old and had just been to the vet for his check up. Lilly offered to conducted a full autoposy but we would have to get him 2 hours away to a university. Our vet did a brief autoposy and he had no internal factors he could see. I just know this medicine was the trigger for his death!
10:27 AM
Susan said…
I am waiting for test results for my 11+ year old Beagle who is showing signs of kidney failure. It is his second month on Comfortis and I wish I had read this blog before I gave it to him. I was suspicious of the product so I did research on the internet searching "side effects" but all the vets around here are using it for their pets and I didn't see any sites referring to kidney failure till I searched again this a.m. I know my boy is getting up there, but he was totally healthy and this has happened suddenly. This is awful!
5:40 AM
Anonymous said…
My friends dog died from kidney failure after taking Comfortis for 2 months!!! He was a healthy dog until she gave him this drug for fleas.Suddenly he became terrible ill and died.
5:07 PM
Anonymous said…
I gave my 8 month old puppy Comfortis today and she became very sick and lethargic and started having convulsions. I rushed her to the vet and the vet said that these are not usual symptoms for Comfortis and it must be something else. What is the matter with these people! I go online and see many other people have experienced the same issues.Luckily, she is okay at this point.
9:09 PM
Jennifer said…
Hopefully your dog is OK. My Jessup wasn't so lucky. 1st time he had convulstions with vocalizations and died instantly. He was an 8 year old healthy dog... that had just been to the vet for his yearly check up with NO ISSUES OR CONCERNS. so.. I've known other people to give their animals Comfortis and never have a problem. I know I'll never give it to an animal I own.. I'm not gambling with my pets.
10:37 AM
Deb said…
Listen, I don't know what's going on, but it's really scarry after reading all these posts that sound like my experience!!! My very happy, active, healthy 4 year old terrier died this Monday from seizures and kidney damage after being on Comfortis for 3 months! I'm devastated and frustrated with all involved for not being forthcoming about the dangers of this drug! My beautiful, healthy black lab had a seizure after 3 months on Comfortis also! Please DO NOT GIVE COMFORTIS to your beloved pets people! Someone isn't telling us the whole truth about the dangers and we need to report all of this to the FDA immediately. Also, if you haven't already contacted to drug company, please do so right away. Please!
12:04 AM
Jennifer said…
My dog almost died last week, it was her second month on comfortis. I noticed she had started throwing up a little in the past month,but that was one of the side effects,she was otherwise fine. Last week she woke up throwing up ALOT and diarrhea,not bloody. I had to go to work,by the time i got home she had thrown up a huge puddle of blood. I took her to vet and she waas diagnosed with HGE,but i still have a feeling it was triggered by or was the comfortis. I hate fleas but dont want to give it to her. THe vet said if i would have waited anylonger she would have died. Her organs were shutting down. I told him i thought it was comfortis and he totally dismissed it.WTH??
11:22 AM
Jennifer said…
MY dog nearly died from comfortis. She was on second month and had thrown up a few time during that month. They day after her dose on second month, she was throwing up alot and diarrhea,by that night it was a huge puddle of blood. Rushed her to vet they diagnosed her with HGE, i feel it was somehow triggered by comfortis. HE said here organs were shutting down,it i would have waited she would have died. I feel it was triggered by the comfortis,he totally dismissed this idea. I will not be giving this again,wasted money,but my dog is not going to die from this crap.
11:25 AM
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