VMAC Statements/Speeches, January 31, 2005

By Laurie Rentas

Good Afternoon,

My name is Laurie Rentas and I am here today because on February 5, 2004, ProHeart6 destroyed a member of our family, our precious little Yorkie, Murphy, after a nine month agonizing and ultimately.. losing battle. My initial intention was to focus my time here on her loss, until other tragic stories came to my attention and showed me that the impact of ProHeart6 was much bigger than just Murphy's case. We didn't want her sacrificed so that other dogs could be saved. We didn't want our lives changed forever and we most certainly didn't want to end up a statistic of an unsafe drug and an apathetic pharmaceutical company, but we are. And because we are, I want this panel to know even MORE of the horror stories regarding ProHeart6.

I want to say right now that at no time have I ever, or will I ever, claim to be a scientist, a statistician or an expert regarding the knowledge I have of ProHeart6. The totally voluntary and unsolicited data I'm about to share with you came from a website called CAPS. The president of CAPS created, and made available, a ProHeart6 complaint form because she knew of people who suffered at the hands of ProHeart6 and wanted to see who else was out there and going thru the same thing. Complaints rolled in on almost a daily basis.

Keep in mind that at no time did ANYone go out looking for complaints.. these victims found CAPS because they were looking for answers. But they found, as we did, that there's no going back once you introduce this poison into your dog's body.

There are far more deaths than anyone was lead to believe, all which came as a result of a product that was suppose to offer "safety" against heartworm. And the veterinarians led us guardians literally to slaughter by misleading us as to the safety of ProHeart6, "the new convenient alternative to the monthly tablets". But, it was really an UNSAFE heartworm prevention promoted over the perfectly effective products that have been on the market for years! We went to these veterinarians because we trusted them to know more than we did regarding heartworm prevention and we accepted their recommendations.

There's a "denial" factor in these vets. Out of all of these reports, there are only 10 positive comments made by the guardians that their vet tried to help them, or was at least empathetic and open to the possibility that ProHeart6 could be causing the problems. Most vets wouldn't even engage in conversation regarding the possibility. Guardians basically hit brick walls in trying to "fix" what was happening to their pets.and the brick walls were Fort Dodge and the VETS that they trusted in the FIRST place! I won't even address the thousands of dollars we have thrown away as a direct result to ProHeart6. There was a test for every symptom and all it took was the guardians' credit card to carry it out. Yet, definitive answers as to the problems were never forthcoming. Were the vets lied to? Who lied to them and convinced them of the effectiveness and safety of this product?

All of us in this room were informed that the purpose of this hearing is to determine the safety of ProHeart6. ProHeart6 is not safe.the comparisons against ALL of the monthly tablets PROVE that! The numbers show unequivocally that there are not the same degree of adverse reactions in the monthly prevention drugs.

Unfortunately, there are still people who are in the midst of fighting what ProHeart6 is doing to their dog. It's only been off the market for five months so we KNOW there are still dogs out there with this poison in their system.

There was never the degree of effort spent STOPPING the use of ProHeart6.that there was in coaxing everyone into using it. In fact, there are reports of dogs receiving the shot AFTER the recall.

Over 60 adverse reactions were volunteered by guardians in 35 states.

There's no rhyme or reason to the drug's affect on size, sex or age.

There are practically equal numbers of both female and male.

There are dogs from age 15.as ridiculous as it was that ProHeart6 was even PROMOTED for a 15 yr old dog, down to a puppy that was barely 6 months old.

7 years old is the most common age of death reported...with 4 years old the being next common age of death.

We have complaints from Chihuahuas and Yorkies to St. Bernards and Great Danes!

70 of the 174 guardians (which translates to over 40 %!) responded that on the day their dog received ProHeart6, no other drug was introduced into their system.

But the most disturbing fact to come out of all of these statistics is this. Out of the 174 reports, 80 of these dogs have died. SO FAR.

Think about this statement. That's a revolting 46%.

If Fort Dodge truly feels that their product is so safe, then I question why a company of this magnitude would offer thousands and thousands of 'hush money' to the victims if they have nothing at all to hide.

Safe? You tell me.

Oh, one last thing. The one.and only one.common denominator in all of these dogs???

Right.

ProHeart6.