While on walks ..... the kids lined up for "Daisy Kisses" and she gladly complied

In the 8 years prior to our move from Garden City, MI. to Howell, MI. Daisy had become well known to the children in our neighborhood. She was not only one of the most affectionate and friendly dogs I had ever known, but was very athletic as well. She appeared to be a black lab and Dalmatian mix because of her shape and markings, but when we met her parents we realized that her lineage would truly be up to anyone’s guess. During our evening walks, the kids in the neighborhood would often line up for ‘Daisy kisses’ and she would gladly comply. Daisy was also fond of chasing balls and toys but the Frisbee was her favorite. She could chase down a Frisbee ‘on the fly’ and run it all the way back to me, or anyone, fully expecting it to be thrown again. This would go on usually for 12 - 20 throws before she would stop for some water and a ‘breather’ and then she would sit up and bark for more. During this time Daisy had been treated for some minor gastronomical problems and allergies.

Because our new home was over an hour from our old one we considered changing vets and some folks at work suggested a place nearer to our new location. We had Daisy’s records transferred and in February 2004 it was time to renew her rabies vaccine and update her records for a new dog license. At this time, the new vet recommended ProHeart 6 and described this treatment as the best thing for Daisy and never said anything about side effects. With this kind of advice from someone we believed would have the best interests of our pet in mind, why not?

In looking back, the side effects would have been noticeable in May 2004, but we didn’t recognize them for what they were. Daisy seemed more lethargic and tired out on her walks. Chasing Frisbees wore her out after 5 to 6 tosses and she often wouldn’t return them as she had before. She also had several episodes of gastrointestinal problems and developed a severe urinary tract infection. All of theses symptoms were treated and went away but the lethargy and the lack of stamina remained. During these visits to the vet we described these changes in her behavior, but we were told that Daisy, now just 9 years old, was an ‘older’ dog and these symptoms were ‘normal’.

In early August, Daisy had another more serious bout of gastrointestinal distress, in which she refused to eat, and again we took her to the vet who examined her prescribed flagyll, benedryl and vitamins and said that her next ProHeart injection would be given when she was feeling better.

On August 12 Daisy received her second ProHeart injection and the seizure activity began that day. At first we didn’t identify the activity as seizures because they were very mild, lasted for only a few minutes, and as far as we could tell were very infrequent. It wasn’t until after Labor Day when we were on a walk and some children approached us who wanted to pet her that we realized Daisy had a problem. She actually fell over and shook uncontrollably for several seconds and then seemed to return to normal. We took Daisy to the vet the following day, Friday September 17, and she recommended some tests be run the following Tuesday. That evening when we opened the mail we found the ProHeart 6 recall notice, and because the vet clinic was closed, I went to the Internet for information. We only wish we had known about the side effects of the drug earlier.

The next morning, which was a Saturday, Daisy started having another seizure around 9 a.m. so I called the vet and the receptionist put me on hold 3 times and refused to let me speak to any of the vets. Because I mentioned that the symptoms appeared to be consistent with the listed side effects of ProHeart 6 she told that I would have to call Fort Dodge. I then tried to call Fort Dodge and got the ‘We’re not open on weekends’ voice message. When I called the vet again and told the receptionist that Fort Dodge isn’t open on weekends she put me on hold and then said that there was nothing their office could do. Because there was absolutely no empathy or warmth being displayed by the new vet’s office I cancelled the tests and requested that I get copies of Daisy’s records the following Tuesday. (When I contacted the ‘new’ vet early in the week for an explanation of my treatment by her office she accused me of being rude (?). That was all it took for me to put a ‘stop payment’ on the check for the September 17 appointment!).

I then called our old vet, described our situation, and she worked us in that day. She ran all of the tests that the other vet had set up and she discovered abnormal liver function as well as extremely low glucose levels. At this time she felt that the only way we could determine the cause of Daisy’s condition would be an ultrasound and an appointment was set up at MSU on 10/5. Because of the low glucose levels our ‘old’ vet advised a regimented 4X per day feeding schedule to keep her blood sugar levels up and to give Daisy corn syrup whenever we felt that she might be having a seizure.

On October 5, Daisy and I took a trip to MSU for the ultrasound and I was able to speak to the doctor who did the testing. He couldn’t find anything wrong with Daisy’s pancreas and was surprised because of the symptoms she was having, but added that she might have ‘insulnomias’ which can be difficult to identify. He added that the liver was very unusual and was ‘lit up’ indicating that it was enlarged with inflammation and congestion ‘induced by medication’ which he couldn’t specify, but he couldn’t detect any cancer. The results were then sent to our vet and she prescribed Flagyll, Denosyl SD4 and liquid vitamin A. She felt at this time because cancer wasn’t detected that if we could maintain Daisy’s condition through February there might be some hope that her liver would recover.

All through October and November we focused on Daisy’s medication and feeding schedule and the application of a tablespoon of corn syrup was surprisingly effective in ending the seizures. Daisy was still as playful and affectionate as she had been through the summer but the lethargy seemed to be more pronounced. She had always been a finicky eater, so in order to keep her on schedule and to prevent seizures we had to spice up her diet with combinations of ground beef, turkey, chicken, rice, macaroni, toasted bread and cheese. During all this time, Daisy never whimpered or gave us any indication that she was in any pain or discomfort. Giving her the corn syrup brought an end to the seizures within a few minutes and she would either sleep or want to be close to one of us.

In early December the seizures began to become more frequent and since we both work we hired a pet sitting service to come in around midday. They reported that Daisy was often in seizure when they arrived and we noticed that she was often confused and panting when we arrived home. Daisy then began having seizures in the night so I began setting my alarm for 2 a.m. to monitor her and give her syrup if necessary. The seizures began coming even more frequently so we made an appointment with our old vet on December 11. We had hoped that she would have another treatment ‘up her sleeve’, but she said that there were no other treatment except for exploratory surgery and she would ask for permission to euthanize while Daisy was unconscious if she felt there was nothing she could do. The only other thing we could do -- would be just to put her to sleep. We asked for the exploratory surgery but we wanted a pathology report because we wanted to know if a cause for all of this could be determined.

We left the vet’s office late that morning and rec’d a call from the vet at 2 p.m. to let us know that Daisy was gone.
She had found cancer throughout Daisy’s liver and her pancreas was abnormal as well.

Two weeks later the vet called and let us knows that she had received the pathology report and Daisy’s ashes. The pathology report diagnosed the liver cancer as ‘cholangiocellular carcinoma which is an aggressive lesion with a relatively high potential for metastasis.’ Her pancreatic condition was not life threatening but abnormal and diagnosed as ‘benign nodular pancreatic exocrine lobular hyperplasia.

It’s been a month since we last saw Daisy and said our goodbyes, but our throats still choke shut and our eyes still well up with tears when think about her. We still expect her to be waiting for us with a big sloppy kiss when we wake up or come home from work. We will always miss her playfulness and the love she showered upon us. We only hope that there is an unending supply of Frisbees and chew bones in heaven.

Dale & Polly Reeder

February 22, 2005 would have been my baby's 7th birthday. Proheart 6 stole Rocksie from me 7 months ago. Less than a year before her death, November of 2003 marked her first Proheart 6 injection. She had tested negative for heartworms. Both my dogs were on a year round regimen of Heartguard chew-tabs and had tested negative each year.

Rocksie's only illness prior to Proheart 6 was a bout with pancreatitis in June of
2003. She had recovered fully. My other dog, Holly, (a survivor), also had her first Proheart 6 shot in Oct. of 03. Holly had been the picture of health all her life (she's 8 as of 12-25-04). Then 16 weeks after Holly's first injection, she had a petite mal seizure. She has never had another episode since.

Both my girl's had their 2nd Proheart 6 shot in May of 2004. Three weeks later, Rocksie had 2 grand mal seizures in one day. My vet told me to 'moniter' her and call if any seizures recurred. Twelve weeks post Proheart 6 (2nd) injection, Rocksie had 2 seizures on the afternoon of 7-30-04. My husband didn't leave me a message about those seizures (I wasn't home).

Early on the morning of 7-31-04, I was awakened at 1:30 am by Rocksie having a severe grand mal seizure. She did pull out of that first seizure and I let her outside to potty.
She collapsed on her way back in, again in a bad seizure. I carried her inside. She continued to
experience one seizure after another. She only regained her feet one more time in her life. That
was in a blind rush, as if she were trying to 'run away' from the seizures. Once I had taken her
into the house, she also never again was aware of her surroundings. Her temperature was 106.
I kept her as cool as I could and brought her fever down somewhat. I was unable to drive, as
I am disabled and take meds at night which I cannot drive on. I waited til morning and called the vet.

I was told to take her to the hospital, which I did. Rocksie was actively seizuring upon arrival.
Her temp was up to 107.4, her prognosis, "poor". She was given IV and diazepam to help her
tremors. I asked why she wasn't being given phenobarbital. The vet said that "it was highly
unlikely for a Boxer at age 6 1/2 to suddenly develope epilepsy."

I was given 3 options:

One, leave her under their care for 48 hours. (He told me I'd most likely be getting a phone call at 3am that she was DIC (dead in cage) if I did that.)

Two, send her to a neurologist for a brain scan. (He seriously doubted that it would even show anything.) Of course they wouldn't bill me for the 3,000 plus. I had to come up with it immediately, which was impossible. (My husband had just lost his job on 7-29-04.)

The third option was euthanazia, which I chose.
I stayed with her the entire procedure, tho she couldn't see or hear me. I stroked her and told her I loved her and what a good girl she was.

The first shot relaxed her. Her face no longer twitched and the panting stopped. Then he injected the OD into the IV. Her breathing slowed and stopped. She let out one last snort, just as she always had before going to sleep.

I brought her home with me where she is buried in our yard.

It wasn't until 11-04 that I even became aware of Proheart 6 being unsafe. I took my beagle, Holly for her 3rd shot and was told it had been taken off the market. I immediatly asked if that was what had killed my boxer. I was told, "NO"!!!

It was only a few weeks ago that I saw the news blurb on CNN about all the lives taken by this horrible drug.

There are no words to describe the pain, the anguish I went through the day I lost my best friend.

Now I suffer the guilt of having allowed her to be injected. I'll never forgive myself for that, even though I know I felt I was doing a good thing for both my girls' health at the time.

CHERYL