Laddie can NEVER replaced ..... he was unique!

I wanted a collie since I was 13 yrs. old and read my first Albert Payson Terhune book, Lad a Dog. I was 45 years old when I finally realized my dream!

Laddie was everything that I dreamed a collie would be. He was a perfect puppy and grew up to be a very large, beautiful boy who was my constant companion. I do not have children, but as you can see from the picture I sent, my friends son showed Laddie in a benefit show and they won first prize. Josh was so pleased and I was proud of Lad. It made the front page of our local newspaper.

Laddie died November 17, 2002 Sunday evening at around 6pm. It was two days before my birthday. I was devastated and I really couldn't talk about for a year and a half. Laddie can NEVER replaced, he was unique.

Since this has happened, I have rescued 6 collies, I have 4 here right now. I love them all, but Laddie was only 3 years old, and he would be 5 right now, still a young dog. My veterinarian at the time, refused to even discuss the possibility of Proheart 6 being the cause of Laddies death. When I called Lads breeder, she told me that Lad"s mother died from Proheart 6 complications.

I sent a letter to the veterinarian who gave both dogs the Proheart injection, but again, they deny any connection, stating that collies were used in the studies.

Before I placed Lad in his grave, I took a clipping of his hair and kept it under my pillow for months. It is now in an album with his pictures.

I can tell you that a lot of hearts were broken when our Lad died.

Deborah ODonnell

Max was always good and always brave,
I still feel guilty; for his life I could not save.
Not knowing the potential risks of a preventative drug,
I agreed with my vet, who was giving ProHeart6 a plug.
Within 30 days of receiving the shot,
My Max died, in his favorite spot.
By the fireplace he lay so peaceful and still,
Leaving a huge whole in my heart that no one will fill.
I now advocate strongly for the pill,
as the 6-month injection can definitely kill.

Max – we love you and miss you ALWAYS

Max received a ProHeart6 shot on June 10th of this year (2004). It was his first ProHeart 6 shot, as I have used the pill form of Heartguard in the past. By June 14th he was starting to show signs of lethargy and his appetite was less than normal.

My mother witnessed Max all of the sudden become wobbly and fall down from a stone that he was standing on. She yelled and my husband went out to check on him. At the time, he seemed “not there”. My husband said it was like he was looking through him. He was just laying there. We got him up and he slowly walked back to the house to lie down on his bed. A trip to the Vet’s office for diagnosis showed nothing other than his white blood cell count was high. They put him on antibiotics and sent him home.

Other things that we noticed that were not usual were: we woke up several mornings to urine near the door. This was odd as Max had never had an “overnight accident”. At the time, I thought it was my 1 year old shepherd – so I separated them at night. The next night there was urine by the door again – thus proving it was Max. Also, I had a birthday party on 6/19 for my daughter. A friend of mine’s son came up to me and informed me that Max was crying and he went over to see what was the matter, when he did, Max “grabbed” at his arm (not hard to bite the skin) but he did lunge at him. This again was highly unusual behavior for a dog that all of my friends would have trusted their kids with.

Max had actually won the hearts of some people who were never “German Shepherd” people. He was a great gentle giant who everyone knew and loved. He never had a mean streak and never in 11 years took any lunges at anyone (or even growled for that matter!)

We took Max away for the 4th of July week – he was more tired than usual. He did manage to play a few rounds of “catch” and swam in the lake. We noticed him shivering several times – and brought him in the camp to put blankets on him.

My husband and I left the holiday week early and went home with Max. We got home that evening and kissed Max good night (it was a Friday night and he had a follow-up appointment at the vets on Monday.) My husband woke up to find Max dead on Saturday morning, lying where he had gone to sleep the night before.

I woke up to hear my husband saying “Max died last night”. I will never forget it – our beloved Max, dead.

It was not his time – I knew that.

My gut told me that it was something he had received at his visit to the vets as he was perfectly healthy prior to that visit. But, the vet who had given him the shot told me ProHeart6 was safe when I asked him directly “is it safe?” I cannot believe after reading all of the controversy (dated prior to Max’s shot) that the vet didn’t share something with me like “well there is controversy, perhaps you should research it first”, or at least inform me of the higher than usual adverse reactions.

The vet knew Max was taking Heartguard prior – shame on him for not telling me the dangers of the drug.
It comes down to trust – we too often trust vets, doctors and others who are supposed to be the “experts”.
However, the sad truth is many times these people are either not fully aware (of what they should be) or are receiving monetary benefits from “selling” a certain type of drug.

I will always “web search” and double check any medication recommended to a family member (4 footed or 2 footed) and never again, will I just go on the word of the so called “expert”.

As I continue my research on ProHeart6, what saddens & infuriates me is that I have found numerous stories from others dating back to 2002, of similar situations where their dogs were killed by this drug. It disgusts me that it has taken 2 years to get this off the market – and who knows how many dogs have died as a result of the shot.

If this drug ever finds its way back on the market, I will always fight to influence people to take the safe route – stay away from the injection.

Max will live on in my heart forever and I will continue to spread the word for Max; so that the ending of his life may help to extend the life of others.

Nicole McKenzie