13 year old PC was given the six month preventative injection - a new, 6 month, heart-worm preventative - on May 9, 2002, which almost took his life. He vomited every single morning at 4 AM for three solid months and was down to 8 lbs by November of that year. He would not eat and had to be syringe-fed baby food and 11 crushed medicines (holistic and conventional), along with being injected twice daily with fluids.

PC initially spent two weeks at Boston, Massachusett's Angell Memorial Hospital after the vet who administered the drug to my senior guy was at a loss as to what was going on. Nobody had a clue, even experts from Penn State, who were attempting to help the staff at Angell solve the mystery.

It was on October 13 when Angell Memorial wanted to give up and put him to sleep. Because it was my feeling that the drug was the culprit, combined with the fact that no concrete diagnosis had been given, I felt compelled not to give up until knowing with absolute certainty that PC did not stand a chance. Watching this little dog fight was also such inspiration in not quitting. Then there was also another thought - that even if it wasn't the this drug making him deathly sick, the irreversible properties of this drug were only aiding in the further compromise of his weakened immune system - so my primary objective was to get him home, make him comfortable for as long as humanely possible, all the while praying like crazy.

On the week of November 9th (six months to the week after he had been given the injection), all prayers were answered when PC immediately stopped vomiting and began a total recovery that has lasted to this day.

He is now back up to weighing a healthy 17 lbs. with no other signs of the illness that nearly killed him, and his appetite is once again as ferocious as ever.

Although I was fortunate enough to have the physical (time) and emotional energy, along with the financial resources to see PC through this, there have been others who have lost their dogs as a result of the side effects of this injection. Just use your favorite search engine for their sad stories.

Please be careful in allowing your dogs to be given any drug that stays in the body for this long. And avoid all drugs that are under 2 years old, otherwise be prepared to possibly be a guinea pig.

A good way in which to possibly halt or decrease the use of potentially
dangerous drugs that are being doled out is to look for a vet that will take a stand against profit by not prescribing questionable drugs, all the while boycotting those medical professionals who are using medications without any advance warnings to pet guardians of known side-effects.

Please educate others by passing information like this on.

Sammy is an eleven year old Sheperd/Chow/Collie mix. We got him when he was 3 months old at an animal shelter in Brewster, Mass. He is a wonderful friend and trusted companion. He just loves to run on the beach, go for walks in the woods and chase squirrels.
On May 23, 2003 Sammy was taken to the vet for a routine check up and to be started on his heart worm pills. Up until then he had always used monthly Heartgard chewables. This time however, his vet suggested Proheart 6. I was not the one who took him to the vet so I’m not sure of all of the details of the conversations that took place. Sammy was given this shot that day.

Shortly after receiving the shot, his nose and eyes started turning red and getting swollen. Sammy's eyes started running..first clear and then yellow and greenish discharge. His fur started falling out in huge clumps. We took him back to the vet to see what could possibly be going on. They said that it may be an autoimmune problem (which he never had before). The vet was concerned about his eyes and suggested that he see an opthamologist. Then they did some blood work and noted that his liver and thyroid levels were a little elevated. Therefore, the vet started him on a medicine for his thyroid.

Two days later Sammy was completely blind and ended up falling into our swimming pool. He fell into the pool once before when he was a puppy and was rough housing with another dog. It so terrified him that he never went near the pool after that. He must have been in the pool for a while because there were clumps of fur floating in the water and he was exhausted. We immediately stopped the thyroid medicine. For the next two days it was heart breaking.... watching Sammy walk into walls, trip over other pets and stagger around the house unsure of where to go or what to do. We took him to the opthamologist and she confirmed that he had uvetis and had lost sight in both of his eyes. She put him on steriod drops for his eyes three times a day and steroids to be taken internally. The drops worked at clearing up the blood clots and swelling in his eyes but unfortunately too much damage was done to his right eye and she said he would never regain the sight in that eye. However, he was now able to see lights and shadows in his left eye.

I contacted his vet and told her that under no circumstances was Sammy to ever receive another Proheart shot. I waited and waited for the medicine to wear off. By November he started to improve. His fur started growing back...... but now instead of being black and yellow it was now white. Sammy's eyes still continue to run, but he can see better where he’s going and only has trouble when it’s dark outside. The eye doctor told us that he’ll be on steroids for the rest of his life. His vet told us that she thinks that the thyroid medicine overloaded an already taxed immune system which is why he couldn’t handle thyroid meds following the ProHeart 6 shot.

Sammy is so terrified of going to the vet now... that just to have is claws clipped he has to be muzzled and two people have to hold him and another has to cut his nails. It’s just so sad. Sammy was never like that before. Therefore, the thought of putting him through MRIs, x-rays, ultrasounds and bloodwork just seemed terribly unfair and unnecessary. Initially, I was demanding that Fort Dodge Animal Health pay for Sammy’s medical bills..... and they agreed! However, I have heard from a number of people that have had their expenses paid..... that if Fort Dodge pays Sammy’s expenses..... then I will be required to sign a document stating that I will not discuss Sammy or this issue any further and that I won’t come after them for additional compensation.

No amount of money could ever change, what their drug has done to my poor dog! I owe it to Sammy.. to try to prevent this from happening to any other pet.

Sammy appears to be starting to get back to his old self. He seems happier than he has been for months! But, he will never ever be the same. It is heart breaking to watch this happen to my wonderful friend. If there is anything that I can do to make it up to Sammy, I will. That’s why I’m hoping to stop this from happening to someone else's beloved pet.
Donna