Jamie - Lyn, you and "Precious" sissy had the Proheart 6 shot the same day, you got so sick, and your little pal, "Precious" died. We know how much this has hurt you. You have fought back so hard since your reaction to the shot. The nausea, rashes, lethargy, inability to bark for almost 2 months and extreme weight loss. .

Up to the moment prior to receiving the Proheart 6 Injection, both of you were in excellent health and had NO history of any illnesses, not even a slight cold, EVER..

God, thank you for giving Jamie the strength to survive and please forever ease her pain - we see in her eyes.

Jamie Lyn, in your strength and in sissy's name, "Precious"
We will forever pass the word, DON’T USE IT - REFUSE IT!

Mommy, Daddy, & Katie

We took Gizmo, a 3 year old Pekingese..... to get his annual vaccinations along with his heartworm pills and tests on January 2nd, 2003. The veterinarian pitched a new product, ProHeart 6, touting its rate of success and claiming it had resulted in no-side effects in their patients. I agreed to the injection, which was administered immediately after his vaccinations. From where I sat in the room, I witnessed the vet remove a bottle from the refridgerator, inject something into it, shake it up, and thus brought it in to inject into my dog. Since then I have learned that the solution must "sit" for 30 minutes before injection if just mixed, or be gently "rolled" if already mixed..

Within a few hours of getting Gizmo home, he began to vomit, often 4+ times per hour. He became very lethargic, he would lie in one position, refusing to move. We called our vet to arrange to bring him in, but was told to give him an aspirin (??) and bring him in in the morning. Meanwhile, Gizmo spent the night vomiting every 20-30 minutes. Upon bringing him to the vet for the next two days, he was given anti-nausea and other injections. We fed him Pedialyte with an eyedropper, because he was very ill and could not stand up even to drink.

Gizmo eventually began to get better. But he shook violently... for days. His veterinarian eventually admitted to us that at least 2 other dogs had reactions to ProHeart 6 just at his clinic.

My husband spoke to Fort Dodge Animall Health on the telephone.

They told him that ProHeart 6 had been the cause of Gizmo's reaction.

The vet told us it was a reaction to ProHeart 6 and Gizmo is never to receive again.

Jason and Gina

I adopted Kia, a Siberian Husky/Australian Cattle Dog mix, in late June of 2001. She saved my life that same year by detecting a mass of endometrian tissue that had comprimised my apendix and I had to have it removed. But a decision on my part.... nearly took her life.

On June 5th, 2003, Kia recieved the ProHeart 6 shot, just 15 minutes later she began to vomit and had a seizure. I raced her back to the vets. He said that she was having an allergic reaction to the meds and needed to be taken to MSU's ICU immediately. Distraught, I followed a vet tech to the location and Kia was admitted.

Frequent phone calls from the vet at MSU shared that she was getting worse. Kia was still vomiting and having bloody diarrhea. They ran blood tests and found her blood was not clotting. Over the course of 3 days Kia had recieved a blood transfusion, had to undergo many tests... while being on IV fluids and antibiotics. The vets at MSU suspected it was the ProHeart 6 that caused the reaction and called Fort Dodge Animal Health. To the vets surprise, the manufacturer admitted that they knew their product was causeing those side effects. Yet they claimed it was rare for all of the reactions to happen at once.

Kia lived though her ordeal and I am so grateful to still have her in my life.

Kia's personality is slightly different, but each day is a new one I can share with her.

Kia's Webpage

Kim Smith

Abby had Proheart 6 injections in 7/02 and 1/03. She subsequently in Jan/Feb 03 developed the first symptom of weakness in her front leg and was given a shot of cortisone. At that same time, a lump was noted in the area where she had received the Proheart shot. Within a very short time frame, the lump became huge, and she became so lethargic, that she quit eating. Abby became very, very sick, running a high fever, losing weight, and becoming more and more lethargic. We thought she was going to die. We associated the illness with the lump on her neck, which is where she had the Proheart shot.

Abby immediately was treated with Prednisone and antibiotics. Her lab results showed no infection in the lump. We had not heard of any association with the fact that she might have been heartworm positive - (she had the Proheart shot in 7/02).

Abby would seem to get better and we would wean her down from the Prednisone, only to have her get the fever again, and become weak and lethargic. So she would be put back on the Prednisone. Abby had not been out running during all of this time. She was so sick that we did not even take her on walks. She was only in our house and backyard.

Abby came walking in lame one day, putting no weight on her hind leg. She had torn her ACL. They did not want to operate on her due to the unknown illness she had. So we were waiting for a few weeks. Then she came hobbling into the house, and she had torn her other ACL on her hind leg. It was decided to do surgery. We suspect, the ACL's tore due to being on the Prednisone.

Abby then started back up with the fever and anorexia and weight loss during her recovery post-operatively.

Finally, we had her evaluated by a veterinary specialist who has run numerous tests on her. Basically, she is treating her for a fever of unknown origin, anorexia (she has lost 1/5 of her weight) and an auto-immune disease - vasculitis. Abby has developed a sore in her mouth which was biopsied. Sores on her front legs, which were biopsied. A sore on her nose (biopsied). The pending diagnosis is auto-immune disorder and vasculitis. Abby is now on Prednisone, Imuran (Azathioprine), and Pentoxylliphine (for the vasculitis), and doxycycline (there was a question of bacteria in the mouth biopsy).

Abby continues to see the Veterinary Specialist every couple of months.

Currently, as of February 2004, Abby's diagnosis is: Immune related vasculitis and she has remained on the Prednisone (we try to wean her to a lower dose and she becomes too sick, so we cannot wean her down), Imuran, and Pentoxylliphine.

Abby is no longer even close to the dog she used to be... prior to having her reaction to the ProHeart 6 shot. She used to be an extremely vibrant, active dog who loved to run fetching the ball over and over until we called it quits. Abby loved playing with soccer balls, toys, and stuffed animals, and going for long walks with us.

Today, Abby essentially remains in the house... only able to slowly walk between a few rooms.... only going outside to pee/poop. We get excited IF... on rare occasions she can walk to the end of our small yard with us, but usually she has to take a break and rest halfway there!

Abby will never run again... the use of her hind legs is quite limited, in that they no longer fully function. Abby's hair has not grown back from where she had the 2 knee surgeries. Abby is not even half the dog she used to be.

We try not to concentrate on what Abby used to be like... we try to be happy with what time we have left with her. I have no doubt that her lifespan will be shortened by all of this. We do know the quality of her life is not the same... that it has been completely changed.

Abby still has her loving spirit and we value her as one of our family.

Kay Nelson