VMAC Statements/Speeches, January 31, 2005

By Georgene Paulauski

MS. PAULAUSKI: My name is Georgene Paulauski. I'm a clinical specialist at St. Anthony Medical Center. I'm a clinical educator for Indiana University, and I --- college. I have no financial gain. I filed an adverse reaction report in December of 2003 after Cletius received a ProHeart 6 injection. I was contacted by CBS-2 News in regards to what happened to my dog. The segment aired. Fort Dodge gave their account of what happened and published this both on the internet and through mailings to your peer vets throughout the United States.

I would like to read to you an excerpt of what Fort Dodge printed about my dog. "Initial testing identifies some abnormalities. Hemolytic anemia was a possible diagnosis. He was placed on antibiotics and corticosteroids. The dog's steroid dose was decreased. Shortly thereafter he presented not acting right again. After increasing the dosage, the dog's condition improved." Now I would like to show you and let you see in reality during the seven months. These are the real facts, not what was published. Cletius received ProHeart 6 on September 27, 2003. No other injection. Immediately he developed a hot spot. Within weeks anorexia and became lethargic.

(Slide.)
Looking at the first slide I have up, in Fort Dodge's word there were some abnormalities noted. Anybody that knows a basic CBC, these are not some abnormalities. There are grotesque. These are panic value levels. This is the case of Cletius and hemolytic anemia. He is in your packets. That's his number.

(Slide.)
Medical visits, we went through 45 office visits, two separate visits in ICU stays at Purdue University, multiple emergency visits, surgery.

(Slide.)
He had 102 lab draws, multiple types and cross-matches, multiple cultures including blood, urine, gastric, blood gas analysis, and ABGs.

(Slide.)
He had two ultrasounds, abdominal scans, numerous x-rays.

(Slide.)
This next page is hideous. These are the drugs it took to keep my dog alive during his hemolytic anemia. I am not going to go through the numbers. You can look at them and gasp.

(Slide.)
The fluids to keep him alive. Multiple keep opens, 0.9 normal saline, lactated Ringers, Hespan, blood transfusion, Oxyglobin, potassium chloride, Hetastarch.

(Slide.)
Due to all this multiple complications resulted. You can't imagine anything worse on a hemolytic anemia than a dog starting to hemorrhage. That is exactly what took place. The dog started hemorrhaging, vomiting blood, tarry stools. At this time he also had grossly elevated liver enzymes. My dog's appearance became grotesque. Pot belly, enlarged liver, muscle wasting, the inability to walk, foot flop, swayed spine.

(Slide.)
Numerous attempts were made to try to wean Cletius from his immunosuppressants while the ProHeart 6 was in his system. Every attempt failed, and a lot of those attempts resulting in having to increase doses of Pred.

(Slide.)
Eventually he became over-suppressed and leukopenic. I then had to deal with bladder, bowel, and gastric infections, cystocentesis, diarrhea, numerous antifungals, antibiotics, LONOX were added. Little did we realize his over-suppression would finally become a turning point.

(Slide.)
After a lengthy conversation with Purdue and our vet, the debated on whether to decrease the dose of the immunosuppressant or finally withdraw it. The comment was made, "If it is truly the ProHeart 6, we should be able to remove all meds and this dog should do perfectly fine."

(Slide.)
After him living on over 100-and-some medications weekly, on 6/2/2004 all meds were DC'd. I spent the entire summer rehabbing Cletius, walking, swimming, rebuilding his muscles.

(Slide.)
He is since now symptom free and drug free for 209 days. He has gone back to Interceptor without any incident. I am one of the fortunate ones here today He is healthy, happy, and extremely active.

(Slide.)
As a point of interest, my dog did have mild skin allergies. This was not his first injection. If you go back and look at your data, along with the ProHeart 6 when I went to the vet he said, "Is your dog itching?" If he was they gave him a shot of Depo-Medrol. Did that save him from a previous reaction? Absolutely. The steroid protected him.

(Slide.)
The long-term effects of all the meds to keep Cletius alive are yet to be seen, but what my family and this dog went through were pure hell. It consumed seven-and-a-half months of our lives. I can't begin to tell you the bills, the time lost from work, without a single dollar recovered.

(Slide.)
It is very disheartening to know after seeing the clinical trial data after the fact I would have never have injected my dog with this knowing what you have published as an adverse reaction. Can I just give a closing comment? I say to Fort Dodge stop making excuses. You printed fluff about my dog, not faxes. As for the paper, shame on you. The hell that my family went through and what my dog went through? You continue to create a facade. You put it out on your internet, published it --