tonight on "nightline" -- pets on pills. your dog seem depressed? disturbed? defensive? meet the vet who describes human psychiatric treatments. tonight, the $7 billion industry for pets with people problems. plus, numero uno. they say, they make your favorite fast foods better for you. are they missing the point? or are they on to something? we have the dish on what one national chain is doing to reinvent the wheel. and the flying man. he flat-lines between cliffs. free climbs el capitan.

why this daredevil says facing death is the only way to live. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city. this is "nightline." february 10th, 2012. and good evening. i'm cynthia mcfadden. it's friday. we begin, tonight, with problem pets. and a controversial but increasingly popular method for getting them to behave. psychiatric drugs, meant for humans. last year, pet owners spent a combined $7 billion on drugs like prozac and zoloft for their pets. now, that number is up, 35% in the last four years. but is that money worth it? and is it even ethically correct? here's abc's chris bury. >> reporter: this otherwise lovable mutt, frisbee, is cursed, with an obvious and serious affliction.

10 or 12 times a day, something, no one knows exactly what, sets frisbee off. turning this family pet into a tasmanian devil. so desperate for a fix -- erin riley hauled frisbee to a psychiatric clinic for pets, where they treat animals for mental conditions usually only diagnosed in humans. this used to be the state's mental hospital? >> it did. >> reporter: its founder is fully aware of the irony. he is a pioneer in treating the mental health of animals. from circling shepherds. to shad low-chasing terriers. to dachshunds that chase like frisb

frisbee. on the day we visited, a parade of troubled pets came through doddman's office. >> thanks for coming in today. a little anxious. >> a little. >> that's 200 grams of zoloft every day. >> reporter: a german shepherd named summer, suffering from anxiety. prescription? a combination of three psychiatric meds. a springer spaniel, dakota. >> the problem i here in a one-liner is owner-directed aggression. >> turns into a different dog. >> reporter: he got a new leash, a low-protein diet and some prozac. >> you'd be better to have the prozac in the background because it decreases aggression. >> reporter: and a cat that relieves itself all over the house. he recommended a change in the cat's litter box. >> some people say, i really want medicine. i'll say, your animal, your cat doesn't need it. >> reporter: as for frisbee -- >> hello, buddy. >> reporter: he's seen dr. doddman twice. >> sometimes even when you remove the stress, it keeps going. that's when you have a compulsive disorder.

it would be great to keep the good animal and lose the tasmanian devil aspect. >> reporter: he has described prozac and antidepressants without any success. and he is puzzled by his condition. after this session, he gets a new prescription. naltrexone, which is used to treat floating limb syndrome, where animals attack their own bodies. >> and double it. >> half of one. and a quarter of the other one. we just stick it in peanut butter. >> reporter: such meds are becoming more common for american pets. are you convinced that psychiatric medications that work on humans do work on pets? >> there's absolutely no doubt that psychiatric medicines that work on people also work on pets. we've showed it over and over again. >> reporter: now, those meds are flying off pharmacy shelves. from anapril, for better brain

function. to zoloft, to fight anxiety. >> everybody's looking for the quick fix. >> reporter: trainer caesar milan. >> the dog is just im25i9ing the behave. >> reporter: the doug whisperer claims in most cases, exercise, diet and tough love, showing who is boss, can cure psychological problems in pets. >> rules on limitations. understanding what the position in the family is or what is expected of them. >> reporter: we showed him video of frisbee in one of his episodes. >> first, i would put him on a treadmill when he's having this kind of attack. >> reporter: a treadmill, a backpack, or even swimming might redirect his energy, the doug whisperer tells us. but for two years, the family who took in frisbee at 7 months, have tried everything. training, discipline, long walks to wear him out. but haven't found anything to keep frisbee from turning into a

whirling dervish. and even the doug whisperer believes in such extreme cases, medicine can be a last resort. >> with dogs that have neurological problems, unfortunately dogs i can't help, dogs will benefit with medication. >> reporter: should we be giving our pets prozac and xanax and these other drugs? >> i think, you know, the goal of a veterinarian is and hopefully a pet owner, too, is to do the best thing for the animal. i mean, whatever will help it to feel better and actually, truthfully, spare its life. >> reporter: as for frisbee, his owners report some improvement but no cure. so, they're open to trying other meds. meanwhile, they have decided to accept frisbee for what he is. i'm chris bury for "nightline," in north braxton, massachusetts. >> it's a dog's life. just ahead, if you could eat pizza and eat healthy at the same time, would you like it?

well, this restaurant chain says it's possible and you can. so uh this is my friend frank and his, uh, retirement plan. one golden crown. come on frank how long have we known each other? go to e-trade. they got killer tools man. they'll help you nail a retirement plan that's fierce. two golden crowns. you realize the odds of winning are the same as being mauled by a polar bear and a regular bear in the same day? frank! oh wow, you didn't win? i wanna show you something... it's my shocked face. [ gasps ] ♪ [ male announcer ] get a retirement plan that works at e-trade. and here's my depression. before i started taking abilify, i was taking an antidepressant alone. most of the time i could pull myself together and face the day. but other days, i still struggled with my depression. i was coping, but sometimes it really weighed me down. i'd been feeling stuck for a long time. i just couldn't shake my depression. so i talked to my doctor, and he added abilify to my antidepressant.

he said it could help with my depression, and that some people had symptom improvement as early as 1 to 2 weeks. i'm glad i talked to him. i wish i'd done it sooner. now i feel more in control of my depression. [ male announcer ] abilify is not for everyone. call your doctor if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. elderly dementia patients taking abilify have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor if you have high fever, stiff muscles, and confusion to address a possible life-threatening condition. or if you have uncontrollable muscle movements, as these could become permanent. high blood sugar has been reported with abilify and medicines like it. in some cases, extreme high blood sugar can lead to coma or death. other risks include decreases in white blood cells, which can be serious, dizziness upon standing, seizures, trouble swallowing, and impaired judgment or motor skills. my depression used to be more of a burden. then my doctor added abilify to my antidepressant. now i feel better. [ male announcer ] if you're still struggling with depression,

talk to your doctor to see if the option of adding abilify is right for you. and be sure to ask about the free trial offer. happened to come across quicken loans online. [ chris ] quicken loans constantly kept us updated and got us through the process twice now. quicken loans is definitely engineered to amaze. they were just really there for us. in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum, we can empower more people to innovate, create jobs, and put momentum behind our economy. and a spectrum auction

could raise as much as 30 billion dollars to help fund the payroll tax cut. it's simple. more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone. >> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city, with cynthia mcfadden. pizza. it's a $30 billion a year business. so, why mess with it? and, yet, one of the biggest pizza chains in the country, uno chicago grill says, a pizza revolution is coming. it's not just pepperoni anymore. think gluten-free c crust and other hlthy bites. to see what those pie people are up to, we went to uno's test kitchen, just outside of boston. here's what we found. it's the crusty, cheesy, oh, so

good food nearly everybody loves. pizza. over 3 billion of them are sold in the u.s. every year. that's 46 slices for every man, woman and child in the country. but old the pepperoni. in fact, hold the crust. >> we're going to make, today, a pizza that we created called the summer bounty multigrain deep dish. >> reporter: you heard him. multigrain deep dish. chris gotto is a chef who thinks it's time to reinvent the pizza. >> first thing we're going to do, we're going to put some pesto in there. i have a brush for you. >> reporter: gotto is executive chef at one of the biggest pizza chains in the run. >> we have roasted red peppers. >> reporter: his boss is the ceo of uno chicago grill. formerly pizzeria uno, the home of the first deep dish pizza, made famous on this chicago corner. >> this is our nine-grain crust,

which we introduced this year. we have a gluten-free crust. and a flat bread and multigrain. >> reporter: is your position that every item on the menu is healthy? >> no. every item on the menu has the healthiest ingredient. anybody with a french fry is not going to be healthy. but our french fries are made with low-fat oil. >> reporter: that's the idea. produce the best food with the best ingredients. >> when i joined uno's, my attitude was that casual dining restaurants are terrible. why would i take over a casual dining company? >> reporter: he says, in part, because it's good business. uno's made $390 million last year. >> from a business standpoint, one-third of all meals are eaten in casual dining restaurants. >> reporter: a third of all meals eaten are eaten in casual dining restaurants? >> reporter: and the business for frank guidara is also

personal. >> my wife, janet, got brain cancer in 1994. as i watched her deteriorate, my passion for health got higher and higher. >> reporter: his passion is paying off. three years after he took over uno's, it was selected by "health" magazine, as the healthiest chain restaurant in the country. he cares so much, he himself samples the goods. he has been looking at tomatoes for more than a decade. they taste good? >> they're delicious. >> reporter: i want a bite. those are good tomatoes. >> it really is. >> reporter: back in the kitchen, frank and his team are sampling five possible items for this summer's menu. i get to vote? >> you do. >> reporter: everyone can blame me this summer if you don't get it. while there are two new pizzas to try, this sure isn't your grandmother's pizza joint. also on the menu, a summer salad

with oranges and almonds. a ferro and black rice salad. and salmon with chimichuri sauce. i did not like it. i don't mind the tasting business. despite the changes, i had a bone to pick about calories. why don't you put the calories on the menu? >> calories are important. i don't think they're critical. people don't die from having 2,300 calories. >> reporter: i know some doctors that would argue with you about this. that when people become obese and morbidly obese, they get all kinds of diseases that could kill them. >> i get that point. that's correct. >> reporter: right? why not put the calories on the menu. >> we put kiosks in the front of our restaurants. if a customer has high blood pressure, it will tell them, here are the items we recommend if you have high blood pressure. >> reporter: i do have one beef with your kiosk, which is that a lot of the food is actually two portions in the count.

right? so, it looks better to a casual reader than it actually is. >> right. >> reporter: some of the items like this cheese and tomato pizza is listed at 580 calories. that's only if you eat one-third of it. otherwise, it's over 1,500 calories. you think that needs to be a little more transparent? >> i do. that follows fda guidelines. but i realize it could be misconstrued. >> reporter: but calorie count and kiosk aside, there's clearly something good happening at uno's. a sense of higher purpose with pizza. while americans at home were tuned into the super bowl on sunday, u.s. troops serving in afghanistan were watching, too. >> look. there's no one there. >> reporter: while munching on 10,000 uno's deep dish pizzas. guidara had sent, special delivery. >> pizza is the bomb. >> reporter: how do you hope that makes them feel? >> we're proud of you. we care about you.

and can't wait to welcome you home. i mean, obviously, the pizza doesn't deliver that message. >> reporter: well, maybe it does. >> and maybe it does. >> mm. the power of pizza. next up, he faces death by doing this. and this. but he says defying death makes life worth living. i had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer up to 9 months. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis

and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel.

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well, these folks are not like the rest of us. those extreme few who defy death by climbing without ropes or flying without planes. they fascinate us with their exploits. but they do seem like a little crazy sometimes. well, the man you're about to

meet says he doesn't have a death wish. just an overwhelming desire to experience life without a net. here's abc's neal karlinsky. >> reporter: dean potter says facing death is the only way he knows how to live. and looking at these pictures, potter more than 1,000 feet up yosemite's el capitan, climbing a vertical slab of granite with no ropes or safety equipment of any kind, must feel very alive. he has free climbed on some of the world's tallest mountains. and he also holds records for this, slack lining. basically walking a tight rope between mountains without protection. oh, and then there's this, b.a.s.e. jumping. dean potter is one of the world's top wingsuit fliers. and holds a record for a flight in a suit that mimics a flying squirrel. when we caught up with potter

and his companion whisper, on home turf, yosemite national park, we were more than a little surprised when he said this -- >> in some way, i wonder if it's healthy what i do. i mean, you're obsessed on this thing that might kill you. >> reporter: there's only one way to get to know this incredibly intense 39-year-old and earn his trust. you have to climb. even with a rope, it was hard, scary and being forced to support all my weight at times on just two toes wedged into the crack of a mountain, painful. >> yeah. nice. that was the hardest, too. keep it going. >> reporter: after eventually reaching a ledge, another surprising answer from a man who insists he's no thrill-seeker. everything you do every day is terrifying to the average person. what is terrifying to you? >> just normal stuff is harder for me. i'm definitely struggle with

everyday stuff like balancing my checkbook or paying my taxes on time. >> reporter: potter says, he is an artist. and as strange as it sounds, coming from a guy with nonexistent safety gear, he says he's incredibly cautious, often turning back on climbs or jumps, rather than pushing the edge. do you think about death? do you think about your mortality? >> i'm forced to think about my mortality. i don't want to die until i'm an old man. i absolutely don't want to die falling. i am very afraid of that. but somehow i have even a deeper draw within me to keep going towards my fears. >> reporter: his climbing partner and friend, dean fidleman, says there's not another athlete on the planet who can climb, fly and balance like dean. and yet, he doesn't boast about any of it. >> dean's looking for the experience. he's looking for a barrier he

can push himself beyond. i don't know think he's looking to prove himself. i think he's looking to introduce himself to himself. >> reporter: flying is his newest obsession, a pursuit that involves a climb to begin and a parachute at the end. dean is now working to become the first to land without a parachute, just by slowing himself down with the suit. he is a man addicted to a feeling you can only find when he puts everything on the line. >> when your life's on the line, your whole being pours all of its energy into surviving and what it takes to survive is focus and relaxation. and it was hard for me to do that until i got my feet way above the ground and had to focus to survive. >> reporter: facing death, he says, is the only way he knows how to live. i'm neal karlinsky, for "nightline," on el capitan in yosemite national park. >>