From: "Ron Andersen" - reandersen@att.net
To: saveourdogs@soon.com
Cc:
Subject: FW: Another (i believe) ProHeart death
Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 14:53:51 -0600

Just an update to tell you that our Giant must have a Guardian Angel on his shoulder!

We have not put our dog down. Last Friday he had spent a week at the Iowa State University Vet clinic. He is responding to the regiment of antibiotics that we have him on. Friday he really came around by the time we got to ISU to pick him up. He is still weak, but some of his normal traits are back and he is eating pretty good. I guess the steak and eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches in addition to a regiment of boiled chicken and A/D and I/D dog
food seem to be helping.

We're crossing our fingers. We will take him back to ISU sometime this week to have another blood test. As of last Friday his CBC count was up and his fever had broken. We think that the fever was causing him to feel really bad and not want to eat thus loosing over 10 pounds of weight.

We have had every test that the Iowa State clinic could perform on him. There are two more results to come bad, one on Monday and the other probably not until the end of the week. We are calling the vet tomorrw to find the results and set a time for Immo to get another blood test.

Thought you'd like to know how tough these big Giants are!!

Ron Andersen

From: "Ron Andersen" - reandersen@att.net
To: saveourdogs@soon.com
Cc:
Subject: Another (i believe) ProHeart death
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 21:18:10 -0600

Tomorrow, 13 Dec 2002 we are going to the Iowa State Vet clinic to tell the doctor that we want to put our beautiful Giant Schnauzer to sleep. He has had enough suffering over the last six weeks. On Nov 7 we took our companion into the local vet to have his yearly shots. At that point he was a slim and trim 91 pound seven year old male. He was bright and full of his normal schnauzer vigor! The vet gave him his normal three shots for DHPPC, rabies, and bordetella. He has never had any problem with these shots in the past. The vet then asked us if we wanted to use the ProHeart six month heartworm injection. He said it was very safe and would relieve us of giving our dog a heartworm pill every month. We thought that would be fine (although we never had any problem with the monthly pill). So he gave our dog the injection.

Two days later he was becoming lethargic and didn't want to eat. We took him back to the vet and he gave us an appetite enhancer to get him to eat. Didn't work... A couple days later we took him to the emergency clinic because he wouldn't eat, he was coughing, and he was drooling a very thick saliva. The clinic had to put him on IV's for two days, and found that he had a temperature on 103 and his white count was low. Back to the regular vet clinic for a couple of days. Seems to be getting better so we took him home. He would eat some, but still very lethargic. On Monday after Thanksgiving took him back to the vet. This time he did more blood work, and get him a steroid shot. The next day he perked up to almost his
normal self except that he was really weak. He was down to 81 pounds. A couple more days went by, no change in temperment (still just wanted to lie around). On Sunday Dec 8 he started wheazing and breathing hard. Called the vet Monday morning and arranged to take him to the Vet School clinic at Iowa State. He was now down to 79 pounds. He has been there all week getting every test immaginable. They have ruled out infections, and are now saying that he has a really rare form of leukemia (that they have never seen). The vet at Iowa State said that even chemo would only postpone his death by a couple of months, so we have decided not to take that road.

We feel that even though the vet cannot point directly to the ProHeart as the cause, we feel that this is the only change in his medical routine that we have been following for six plus years. We have had one vet tell us that the combination of the vaccinations and the Proheart probably lowered his immune system low enough that the cancer now had a chance to grow.

If anyone has not given the Proheart shot to their animals, DON'T START NOW!!!!!! It isn't worth the risk and heartache that the shot can have. Stay witht he known and let the Ft Dodge company work this drug on their test animals rather than testing on our companions and four legged friends.

For our beautiful Giant Schnauzer
Ron Andersen
reandersen@att.net

Anyone have any suggestions for what Karen can use besides Proheart 6? What do you use on your dog?

From: Karen Burgoon - karenburgoon@mchsi.com
To: saveourdogs@soon.com
Cc:
Subject: My dogs - heartworm
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 13:07:23 -0600

I have 3 dogs who are due to receive their 2nd Proheart 6 shot November 27. I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. I wonder if you have a new dog, and if so, what brand of heartworm pill have you chosen? They all have side effects. What’s best? Thanks, karen

GOD BLESS AMERICA
I'm a proud wife of a US Army soldier.
karenburgoon@mchsi.com

From: rowz42@juno.com
To: saveourdogs@soon.com
Cc:
Subject: ph6
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 21:01:56 -0500

Just want to thank you for your site .. and the really good coverage on ph6. I was tossing around in my mind about switching, but hadn't yet come to any conclusions. Needless to say I have now!! I have two dogs, an 8 year old blue heeler, and a 3 year old mini schnauzer .. both "adopted". I would be heart broken if anything happened to them, and now it won't, thanks to your site.

God bless you,
Rita O.

PS: I'm spreading the word, maybe putting up some notices on local bulletin boards, like at the grocery store.

From: "Burnet, Connie" - CBurnet@cme.com
To: saveourdogs@soon.com
Cc:
Subject: proheart6-- permission to copy?
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 13:23:34 -0600

Hi-

I work part-time in a doggie bakery in a suburb of Chicago. The owner and I are making attempts to educate and inform the customers about certain aspects of canine diet and health. I would like to copy your web page ("The Truth About Proheart 6"), with the source URL on it, and put it on the bulletin board in the bakery. I don't think enough people know about Proheart6. Would it be okay if I did that?

I'm very, very sorry for your loss. I can only imagine the heartbreak you have suffered.

Thanks-

Connie Burnet

From: "Lloyd Cole" - huntercole@adelphia.net
To: saveourdogs@soon.com
Cc:
Subject: Proheart 6
Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 22:06:45 -0500

I wish I had known about this sooner. On July 30th of 2002, we took our miniature schnauzer Greta to her vet for her routine check up and shots.

While we were waiting and filling out the paperwork, the vet assistant asked if we were interested in Proheart6 being given to Greta.

She went on to say how great it was, no more looking at the calendar to see when she was due for her tablet, and all that it would be more economical $48.00 vs. the $ 246.00 six months of Heartguard costs. I asked if it was safe and she assured me that it was totally safe and that there wasn’t any interaction with the Heartguard medication that Greta had been on so it would be ok. I called my wife and told her about it and that they assured me that it was ok. So we decided to let them give the shot to Greta, which they did.

We didn’t notice any changes in our baby, she was as bouncy and alert as any 4 year old schnauzer- in other words she was normal and healthy. About 9 later on 9 August is when the horror story began. Our neighbor came over to give Greta her afternoon walk, as my wife was recovering from surgery on her foot and couldn’t do this.

She had just finished putting her leash on, when Greta gave a yelp and began to have a seizure which lasted about a minute. The neighbor immediately rushed her over to the vet , who ran some tests and found that her white blood cell count was up. Since he couldn’t determine the cause of the seizure, which Greta had never had in her entire life, he attributed the white count to be a by product of the seizure. He sent her home with some antibiotics and told us to give them to her for the week end .

She was ok afterwards and showed any more symptoms for the remainder of the day. On Saturday morning , she got up, went through her normal routine-walk, eating a round of play and so forth. About ½ hour later, she got sick and threw up her breakfast. We called her vet, who told us not to give the antibiotics any more and that if she got worse to bring her to the office on Monday and not to worry about it.

She got steadily worse as the week end went by and we tried to call him but he wasn’t available. Greta got weaker, refusing to eat and only drinking water and some Gatorade. By Monday morning, she was so weak she couldn’t get out of the bed. I immediately rushed her to the vet and let him take care of it. By 10:00 am (he finally got in to the office at 9:00 ) he called us and told us that the outlook wasn’t good.

Her auto immune system had gone haywire and her auto bodies were coating the red cells and causing them to clump together. This in turn caused her white cells to attack the red cells and destroying them. When the red cells are destroyed they release the hemoglobin and the kidneys and liver tries to filter this stuff out. This causes these organs to become overworked and start to break down. In the meantime, because there isn’t enough red cells to carry the oxygen to the cells, the brain tells the lungs and heart to work harder to get the oxygenated cells going. This in turns causes these organs to start to deteriorate. The dog gets very jaundiced, and passes blood in the urine ands so forth. She has no energy and is weak. Within a very short time the dog then simply dies from the stress. According to the info I’ve been able to glean, there isn’t any pain, thank God.

The doctor didn’t recognize it and treated her with steroids to suppress the immune system, but was unable to get the clumping to stop. By Thursday, the 15th, Greta was so weak that there wasn’t any reason to prolong her suffering. So we let the doctor put her to sleep. She died in our arms and we watched the chemical give her peace.

There is NO WAY that anyone can tell me that this damn medication didn’t cause my dog’s death! She was healthy without ANYKIND of signs of illness until 9 days AFTER this vaccine was given to her. Nor was her breed predisposed to developing this disorder. This vaccine was the only thing that was changed in her regimen and I can’t help but think that this “miracle drug” was the cause of my beloved schnauzer’s demise.

It’s a crime that these companies can create drugs that are supposedly safe and get the FDA to approve them for use, only to find that our dogs and cats are “beta testers” for them. How many of our beloved friends have paid with their lives, damaged their health all to line these bozos pockets? I think –no- it’s time that the FDA start Getting tougher on these companies and have them make sure their “protection” do just that- protect.

It’s time we the survivors start to speak for our pets-they that HAVE no voice and are at the mercy of this . It’s time WE do more than just sit back and cry and look at the pictures or the empty bed, or the unused toys and wish that they were still here. We MUST do everything possible to insure that the cure isn’t worse than the illness. We MUST ASK the vet for as much proof and do as much research about stuff that they are pushing on us to use on our babies. We MUST be knowledgeable to ALL the risks possible before we even think about using their vaccines. We must also insure that the vet knows as much about the medication as possible. After all it’s a matter of trust.

Our babies trust us to take care of them by giving them the best possible food, shelter, health care and love. We in turn entrust our vets to give them their best possible care health wise and they trust the drug companies to give them the best and safest medicines for our pets. When one breaks that trust, it usually the one at the bottom of the chain that has to pay the biggest price- the life of a beloved pet. ENOUGH!!!!

If I had known about the possible side effects of this medication, Greta would not have gotten the shot and she’d be here now a healthy 5 year old.

Don’t let this happen to your pet.

From: jstorey1@postoffice.swbell.net
To: saveourdogs@soon.com
Cc:
Subject: The 'Trouble' with the ProHeart 6 shot
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 23:59:04 -0600

Trouble was a very healthy male dog prior to receiving the PH6 shot in conjunction with annual vaccinations and I have plenty of people to verify that statement. Within 5-7 days after receiving annual vaccines along with the ProHeart 6 shot, he acquired a slight cough. Then he began to lose weight and just seem to want to lay around - not natural for his personality. Three weeks later, the first vet stated he had fluid on the lungs, a bacterial infection, enlarged heart and heart murmur. Hard to diagnose. Took him to 2nd vet - had more x-rays, ultrasound. Diagnosis, he was old, heart valve problem, Endocarditis with a secondary lung infection...recommended an internist. Final vet (#3) stated he had lung cancer and to take him home, spend the weekend with him and say goodbye...then put him to sleep next week. In conversation with the last vet, I inquired as to how long he could have had this cancer (I was feeling guilty, had I missed his symptoms, not paid enough attention to him, etc.) and he informed me most likely about two months. He did not know when Trouble had received the shot.....it had been almost two months......how coicidental is it to have your dog acquire cancer and die within 2 months - with no symptoms? From the date of the shot to the day Trouble passed - it was 58 days.
Sent an e-mail to FDA...received an immediate response.....FDA doctor informed me that the "lung cancer" could have in fact been caused due to the vaccines creating carciogenes which in turn created fluid around the heart which then could create the fluid that was seen in the lungs....xrays are not always accurate....could not be sure unless an autopsy was performed. FDA is in direct communication with Fort Dodge. Fort Dodge is required to report any adverse reaction that ANYONE feels to the FDA within 15 days. At the time I reported my story to the FDA....the ONLY report that had been turned in was "slight cough and urine leaking". The FDA informed me of this and the vet had stated to the FDA "that he had been very busy, but planned to update the records". I then had to call each vet and DEMAND they report to Fort Dodge per the FDA and gave them my dogs Case Number to report under. They did not like the paperwork to say the least! By the way, two of the three vets informed me " that you cannot believe anything you hear off the internet". Well, I know of at least six people who claim as I do that "in their opinion, their dog was healthy prior to the shot and now their dogs are dead! How many dogs have to become deathly ill or in fact die before something is done - which I feel IS the vet's responsibility not ours - to research the complaints that people have. The Vets need to investigate what we tell them. Or, is it just about the money? After all, how much money will we spend in order to save our dogs life?

Trouble died in my arms on the way to the vet in the back of my car. I will never forget what he went through.......his last breath of air, his head in my hands! My dog is dead ONLY because I let a VET convince me how safe this drug is, how great it is, blah, blah. I am on record of telling all three vets that I blamed the PH6 shot....all three of them stated these exact words (they must have it memorized as part of their training) "it is highly unlikely that the PH6 shot caused any problem with your dog". There are vets out there who feel the shot is "too new" not been on the market yet....I emplore you to seek one of them out....not the vets who are "marketing" the drug. Beware of the vet "that trys and makes you feel guilty about your decision". I have had e-mails from others that felt that the vet was "pressuring" them into giving the shot to their dog and when they refused, they were made to feel guilty. With regard to Trouble, each vet had a different diagnosis....only one common agreement......the anemia created the heart murmur which did not exist at the time of the exam by the initial vet who administered the PH6 shot and the annual vaccines.

If you feel your dog is not acting the same as he was before the shot....please be honest with your vet...stand up for what you believe.....demand they report how you feel to Fort Dodge. Request copies of the paperwork that the vet accumulates as part of your dogs file, file a complaint with Fort Dodge and by all means, FILE a report with the FDA. The FDA is on our side, it takes time to prove what we know in our hearts to be true. SAY NO TO PH6! DO NOT PUT THE ANIMAL YOU LOVE AT RISK....NO MATTER WHAT THE VETS TELL YOU.