Study Testing Pill to Help Dogs Live Longer

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Never enough. That’s the phrase that any dog owner will tell you when it comes to the question of time,'” said Dr. Corrina Tressler.

And more time is the goal behind the clinical study of a new drug from a company called Loyal.

“It is a once a day pill,” said Dr. Tressler.

Dr. Tressler is a veterinarian participating in the study of the drug which “aims to extend healthy lifespan by targeting age-associated metabolic dysfunction.”

“She would go out and she would bark at them but she was not able to do the running and the stamina that she was previously,” said Kim Sykes. Her 12 year-old dog is part of the study, and although participants don’t know if they’re getting the actual drug or a placebo, Kim thinks Pixie is getting the real thing.

“She almost caught a squirrel this week, which I don’t really know what she would do with it if she caught it,” she said.

The study lasts for four years, and in order to participate your dog has to meet a few criteria. First, you dog must be at least ten years old and you’ll need documentation to prove that. Second, your dog must weigh at least 14 pounds. And that’s it.

“You come and you get your exam. Free exam, you get free huge panel of bloodwork, because they’re always checking the bloodwork. So at each visitation you get a full exam by me and then you will get bloodwork done and you also are compensated for your time whenever you fill out, there’s paperwork that you need to fill out as a pet owner on how your pet is behaving and all these things you notice as a pet owner,” said Dr. Tressler.

“What really brought me to the program was the benefit of that extra bloodwork. Bloodwork is expensive,” said Sykes.

Dr. Tressler currently has about 12 dogs in the study but would love to have upwards of 50. As for how much more time your dog might live, they don’t know, but as any owner of a senior dog will tell you, at a certain point every day is a bonus day.

“They’re more than just dogs, they’re family,” said Sykes.