The Anti-Ageing Pill

The brutal reality is that we will outlive our best friend. In our lifetime, we will have many of these furry friends, each time with the resultant pain as we say goodbye to our cherished companion. It has often been mooted that the only fault with a dog is its short life; however, hope may be at hand. If you are wondering why our dogs age faster than we do, it’s down to metabolism, genetics and breed differences and as we all know, small dogs live longer, and bigger dogs generally have a shorter lifespan.

Incredibly, scientists are, as we speak, in the final development of a pill to extend the life cycle of the canine.

Now we need to understand the science behind this, but let’s be honest, science can be a bit complicated, so for us common peasants, I will try to keep it simple.

Rapamycin, Antioxidants, NAD and boosters, finally Senolitics.

Boffins and those of you with an inquiring mind can research these compounds, but combined, these are supposed to extend a dog’s life.

Be assured that this revelation comes from a highly reputable source. There is so much rubbish out there these days, so sometimes it is difficult to establish what is genuine and what is not. My source is a science publication.

When I read this, I thought it was an April Fool’s joke, but it is actually true.

The reality check

So before we get too excited, we need to delve into the details and find the answers to the obvious questions.

So starting with the obvious. It was supposed to be ready for veterinary surgeons to commence trials in late 2025  or early 2026.

The cost is unknown, but expect it to be expensive, and availability to the general public is still a few years away.

The obvious issues to be solved are whether there are any short-term or long-term side effects, and that will take time.

Let’s go to the really important question. How much more time do we get with our pet? Well, sadly, it’s not going to be that much; recent estimates are 2-3 years. Having said that, an extra couple of years isn’t that bad, and if the scientists have got it right, our dogs will be healthier and be that much more lively in their old age.

Ethics and consequences

Obviously, we need to be aware of the ethics and consequences of interfering with nature and be aware that what appears to be a revolutionary, great idea can descend into something unexpected and unwanted. A prime example is Dolly the sheep, who was cloned but ended up with a lung disease and was crippled with arthritis and euthanised at a very early age. It should be noted that, according to the scientists, there was no relation between the cloning and her health issues.

Again regarding the ethics of this we are constantly looking for ways to keeping us humans alive long after our “sell by date” so if our dogs will benefit from science it is difficult to object on ethical grounds.

In a world where we have a huge overpopulation of pets, we also need to consider the ramifications. If we all keep our pets for even 2-3 years longer, then the result will be that we won’t adopt one for that extra period of time, which will cause huge problems for shelters, as their number of residents will rise.

There will be the quality versus quantity argument. Assuming that the pill will promote not only longevity, our pet will live a longer and healthier life, but what if the healthier bit doesn’t materialise? What if they just live longer with all the ailments associated with old age?

I’m not sure if anyone has given this a thought but if this research produces a pill for the extension of the life of our pet dog then presumably other domestic pets could be next, cats, rabbits even guinea pigs and pet mice, In future Zoo’s will be able to extend the life of their star attractions and while we are about it what about us!! If it is possible for our dog to have its life extended by as much as10% then we could all be living well past 100, however, the retirement age would have be raised dramatically as we need to be able to afford the cost of state pensions.

On the surface, this longevity lark sounds great, but…….