Humans aren’t the only ones that suffer from depression. A growing number of pets are being prescribed Prozac. Tropical birds seem to be most affected by the condition. Some harm themselves by plucking out feathers or pecking their legs to the bone.
So how do you feel about this? Does it make sense? Do you think it will help? Do you think it's silly? Do tell ...
Throw your dirty laundry somewhere else. We ask that you don't curse or use other inappropriate language here (if you have to think too hard about using a word, you probably shouldn't). This is a forum for the exchange of positive ideas, not a place to gang up on others or make anyone feel bad. Feeling good is good, right? Yup. Also, for your own safety, we ask that you don't post personal information about yourself or where you live on these boards. Please follow these simple and important rules or you WILL be voted off the island. Okay, to clarify, here’s the…Don’t DO It Checklist (for our Message Boards):
Do Something can decide, in its sole discretion, what is inappropriate for our message boards and can restrict your access or delete your account at any time.
be a fan on Facebook
friend us on MySpace
watch us
animals getting prozac?
i once read a story about a dog that was so miserable because his owner died he laid on his grave and died...but I can't remember if its true or fiction but still...my cockatiel isn't depressed and I'm gone for most of the day, as well as my dogs or horses, although one mare is sad because she is picked on by the others but still is somewhat content, espiecially when we adore her. how can you tell if animals are depressed? do they even get depressed or sucicidal, or just sad?
giving them prozac is going too far. just another way for people to make money, im thinking. but it could be true, only in extreme cases.
dont give an animal prozac.
Seriously???
That really happens??? Wow. Unbelievable...DOES it hurt them???again...wow
I agree
I agree in thinking that animals shouldn't be given drugs without 10% proof that it's depressed. This is just another case of the world being to dependent on drugs to help us, when our bodies could fix the problem. There are so many other ways to fix problems like that, ones that don't hurt the animals, like aromatherapy and things like that.
weird
I just think humans as a species go to far on things. First we begin to keep poor animals that would much rather be free as pets. Now they are to dependent on us to be free (well maybe not the birds). And now that they may or maynot be frustrated enough to hurt themselves we are going to give them medicine that they did not ask for (and probably never would even if they could) and it may not help them. It may even harm them. I think its ridiculous how we trust our technology on animals that could probably not care less about it.
does it hurt them?
It doesn't matter if the animal is suicidal or not. I agree archer4905. How can we prove they are suicidal. What if it is a medical disease that we don't know about yet? We are putting these poor animals on drugs which might not even help them. And how do we know that the drugs don't hurt them at all? It is completely possible. And we have know proof. I don't believe in animal testing but I do know that we should have some sort of belief in what we are doing before we go crazy with drugs.
What?
Not to be offensive but how would you tell if pets are suicidal i just dont know.
Hmmm...
Well pets are living creatures which usually (idk about plants) do have feelings. Cats purr and hiss and yowl, dogs bark and snarl and wimper, humans laugh and yell and cry, all signs of what they're feeling. I guess it makes sense that they make a medicene for them. Why? What were you thinking?