« Spitzer-Spitz (Candidates as dogs, revisited) | Main | Fenced out in Mount Vernon »

With a knick knack paddy whack ...

Viagra.jpgThe British media reports today that the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has been credited with saving the life of a 3-year-old border collie with heart problems.

The dog, named Talisker, had developed heart problems after suffering from a lung infection and would lose consciousness when he got excited because his blood could not pump fast enough, the Sun reported, and the Telegraph re-reported.

Vets warned Talisker would die from the condition but suggested as a last resort that his owner give the dog Viagra, as the pill improves blood flow to the heart.

Lesley Strong, a former pub landlady, of Yardley Hastings, Northants, said she was "shocked" by the vet's advice but the little blue pills had given Talisker a "new lease of life." She gave the dog the medicine in his food.

The Telegraph presented the story with the kind of British decorum you might expect, under the headline, "Viagra cures dog's heart condition."

The Sun (again this is London's, not Baltimore's) had a little more fun with it.

To see it, and Talisker, click here.

Comments

This is so not new that my writing partner Dr. Marty Becker and I wrote about Viagra for canine heart problems in our syndicated newspaper pet-care column a few years ago -- and mentioned it in "Why Do Dogs Drink Out of the Toilet?", our book that came out in fall of 2006.

I enjoy your blog! It has been added to the blogroll at PetConnection.com.

I do really like your blog. Something seem a little confusing for me though. During my researches on Viagra, I came across an article that men with heart problems are not advised to take Viagra. Using tthe same to treat a canine with heart disease seem a bit confusing.

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Please enter the letter "b" in the field below:

About this blog


John Woestendiek has been a features reporter at The Sun for six years. Previously he worked as a reporter, columnist, national correspondent and editor at four other newspapers, and received a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 1987 for his reporting on prisons and mental institutions for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Woestendiek lives in South Baltimore with his dog, Ace.
A big, sloppy face-licking welcome
E-mail John

Also See

Most Recent Comments

Powered by Movable Type 3.36
Hosted by LivingDot