As a Pit Bull, we feel the media and wrongful guardians have ruined the breed's reputation. We are so proud of him! He is a wonderful dog with a great disposition.

On December 14, 2002 Ozzy went to the vet for his annual check up. He was 2 years old and pronounced a very healthy dog. Just after those words were stated, the vet gave him his vaccinations, including the ProHeart 6 injection. At this point no side-effects of ProHeart 6 had been mentioned. My vet stood 100% behind it and promoted Proheart 6 ( he doesn't today). I was told it would replace his monthly medication. Ozzy has never had a reaction to any kind of food or vaccination, yet within ten minutes, just as we were getting home... Ozzy began chronic diarrhea and projectile vomiting and back to the vet we went! They gave him a ssteroid shot to stop the vomiting and sent us back home.

By the next morning, Ozzy began having seizures (he never had one before). For the next 10 days, poor Ozzy was in and out of the hospital for vomiting. He was unable to keep food or water down. He needed to be left to tube feeding because he was so dehydrated from everything his body was going through. In just 4 days he had lost 7 pounds.

During the next several months, Ozzy was hospitalized again and again for seizures that lasted up to 10 minutes. I sought a neurologist and even he stated it was caused by ProHeart 6.

The torment that Ozzy endured has changed him in many ways.

Today he may appear as a healthy dog, but he continues to have seizures every 3 weeks. Now, he has separation anxiety and has an insatiable appetite due to the seizure medication.

Today Ozzy is 3 years old, but has been robbed of his youth. He no longer has the endurance he once had....... and tires very easily.

Yes, Ozzy survived.... but he will never be the same as he was prior to that day in December 2002. Fort Dodge tried to pay me off and I couldn't bear the thought of allowing them to get off the hook. I love Ozzy dearly and couldn'tg put a price tag on his life because he is priceless to me.

So today... I can continue to tell Ozzy's story.

I thank God, every day that he survived and I feel such sorrow for those who were ot as fortunate.

Chris LeDuc & Kristen Perez

Veronica is the Irish Setter on the left - the 'Survivor' Jack survived only because he will never receive Proheart 6 - after what I learned with Veronica

Veronica was 3 years old on June 27, 2003, when we headed to the vet just as we have every other year. When I signed in, I was asked if I would like to try the new ProHeart 6 shot instead of heartworm pills. I had been asked the previous year, but I declined due to the fact that the drug was too new and I didn't want to take any chances. I specifically asked the receptionist if they have had any problems or side effects with this drug and she told me "No, not at all". That they had done hundreds of dogs since Proheart 6 was released.

If I only knew then.... what I know now.... this never would have happened!

My Veronica hated taking those pills every month and I always had to force them on her, my vet didn't carry the chewables she liked. So I decided that as long as it was safe....this may be a better form of protection for her. She is my baby, I'd do anything for her.

We went into the back office and she was declared perfectly healthy. Veronica was given her shots and off we went. As I put her into the car, she vomited.... I didn't think anything of this at the time, because she often got car sick in the past. I left the my vets office and started off on our planned weekend 65 mile trip. I got as far as 1/2 mile down the road when Veronica started to loose control of her bowels in my back seat. I thought maybe she was having an accident because she was nervous from the vets, so i pulled into the nearest parking lot and began to clean the mess.

This is when I noticed she was not moving. I tried telling her to get up and she just stared at me. I knew immediately that something was terribly wrong!

I called my vet right away and they advised me to get back there immediately I drove as fast as I could. When I got back there Veronica had come out of her paralyzed state and she got out of the car, but then had diarrhea.

I took her inside and requested that we clean her up a bit. The receptionist took us down stairs and while we were cleaning her off. We noticed that she was getting irritated, as if she were uncomfortable or in pain. We noticed under her ears was dark red not gray like usual, as if she were hot or reacting to something.. From the time we left downstairs and got her upstairs into a room, (about 1 minute) her face had swollen as far back as her eyes and she started acting like she had rabies or something. Running around growling,acting crazy.

My vet rushed in and gave her 2 shots of cortisone and told me to go home and watch her for the next 1/2 hour. He said that it was the most" critical time frame" and then told me this has only happened 2 other times. I said " WHAT??? I was told there has never been a problem with this shot! He said to me: "no, there had been 2 other dogs, 1 of which I almost lost".

I was extremely angry.... I took Veronica out to the car and sat there with her for the next 45 minutes. I watched her act crazy and moan and groan in pain and discomfort! I cried with her. I apologized to her for what i had allowed them to do to her.

Finally, about an hour later she started to show some signs of improvement. I postponed our weekend trip until I was sure she would be OK.

The last six months since that day, have been hell for me. Every little unusual noise she makes, I get scared. Even now, the 6 months that it is suppose to be in her system is over, but II still can't relax.

I will always be fearful of what is going on inside of her. Veronica seems okay, but who knows what the future holds.

I hope with all my heart and soul that this drug gets pulled before it kills more innocent dogs..... leaving their guardians left with nothing but guilt! Because they said yes...... to something they had no idea would ruin their life. Jeff

As soon as we purchased our home with ample room for a dog to play, we researched and found our puppy. Our 11 week old puppy Kodie came from one of the most reputable, responsible breeders, trainers, owners and Westminister award winners in the nation.

When Kodie ws approximately 1 1/2 years old we went to our veterinarian for the annual check-up, flea/tick prevention and heartworm prevention medication. The vet recommended a once a year shot called ProHeart 6 and he emphasized that you won't have to remember giving the tablet monthly. My wife decided to get the shot and everything appeared to be normal.

In less than two days after receiving the shot, our dog went from full of energy... to barely able to life her head. Any food that was eaten was soon vomited. The little food soon turned into no food at all. Other symptoms included substantial weight loss, diarrhea and complete loss of energy. The first several vists back to the same vet involved multiple blood tests, special diet foods, x-rays, ultrasounds, several shots to help with the loss of appetite and what seemed like a complete loss to pin point the diagnosis.

I immediately thought that the sickness was associated with the ProHeart 6 injection but wasn't sure of what to do. I asked the vet and he stated that he has never had any problems with this injection and the dog must have gotten something from elsewhere. I searched the Internet, called the manufacturer of ProHeart 6, talked to their vets that they keep on staff and seemed to get nowhere. In the mean time, my dog's health seemed to decline and I was soon running out of places to go and money for paying the vet bills. I found several people online that had the same exact symptoms, and some even worse. That helped me out extremely. I even called the FDA and was on a first name basis with one of the Directors of Veterinary medicine.

The manufacturer of the injection was willing to pay for me to go see a specialist because sometime local vet's may not have all the specialty tools used to diagnosis the problem. After three visits with the specialist, I still got nowhere. Luckily, the special rice food seemed to work and the symptoms would come and go. No tests were conclusive.

It has been less then one year and she appears to be doing much better. They claim that the shot lasts about six months so the effects are gone, however, if they can not pinpoint the diagnosis, how can anyone state that the effects are completely gone?

Do yourself and your pet a favor: Do Not Get ProHeart 6 Injection!

Jeff Pulice