An Edinburgh family has been left devastated after one of their puppies was found dead just hours after having its first vaccine.
Lyndsey Carter says her granddaughter was left 'balling her eyes out' after coming across the lifeless pup at her home just five hours after they returned from getting three puppies vaccinated.
After taking the trio of Old English Bulldogs, who were just six weeks old, to Jollyes at Hermiston Gait last Wednesday, April 4, Lyndsey says she was given a leaflet about the vaccine used on the puppies and noticed it was a different form of injection to the one she had previously come across.
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The accredited vet clinic used by Jollyes, Eville & Jones, used the L4 vaccine which helps protect dogs from four strains of Leptospirosis as opposed to the L2 vaccine which only counters two strains.
After bringing the puppies home, Lyndsey - who breeds dogs as a hobby - noticed they were very quiet the same evening. Despite this, the pups continued to eat and drink as normal but when she came downstairs a short while later, one of the dogs, Romeo, was lying dead on the floor.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live about the heartbreaking incident and her experience with Jollyes, Lyndsey, from Clermiston, said: "I usually take my puppies to a vet in Clovenstone but a friend told me that Jollyes at Hermiston Gait were only charging £33 and you got the second inoculation free, which is a really good deal.
"The puppies were only five or six weeks old and the day before they were due to get their jags I phoned just to make sure I was booked in and the price was right. At the time I thought there must be a catch as it was so cheap.
"I took them into the store then got shown to a small room at the back where the puppies were put on a table and given their jags. There were a few members of staff taking pictures but everyone makes a fuss out of puppies so I thought nothing of it.
"The vet said it was their 14th appointment of the day so they were really busy. I thought it was odd though as they never carried out a full check of the puppies or weighed them which usually happens.
"After they were all injected I got given a leaflet and noticed it had L4 vaccine written on it, which I had never heard of. When I took them home Romeo's poo was black and they were all very quiet. When I came downstairs later he was lying dead on the floor.
"I was beside myself and had no idea what caused it. I ended up sitting all night watching the other two thinking the same was going to happen to them."
Lyndsey instantly thought the vaccine was the reason behind Romeo's sudden death. When she searched the L4 vaccine online, she read about potential adverse effects seen in dogs, albeit the risk of which are incredibly rare.
The next day, she phoned up the store and tried to speak to a member of staff about what happened and question whether or not the vaccine is dangerous and why she wasn't warned beforehand.
Lyndsey continued: "I instantly thought 'what have I done?'"
"I phoned Jollyes on Thursday and the manager said it was nothing to do with them and gave me another number for the vet team. I got through to someone who said she was the head vet so I told her what happened but she assured me the vaccine was clinically approved.
"I just want people to be aware of what has happened. When I came off the phone I wrote to Jollyes too and found various Facebook groups about the same vaccine and the effect it had on their dogs.
"I put a post on Facebook and people were messaging me sharing similar stories, my inbox was full within a day."
Lyndsey has also since noticed a lump on the neck of her remaining two male Old English Bulldog puppies.
Since being contacted by Edinburgh Live, Jollyes has provided a response on behalf of themselves and their fully accredited veterinary service provider E & J. The company also apologised profoundly to Lyndsey for what had happened.
They added: "In our initial discussions with them they’ve confirmed that the vaccines dispensed are fully approved and certified and fatal reactions to the approved vaccines they use are very rare."
Following reports in the media regarding the L4 vaccine in recent years, information has been made available via the Government's Veterinary Medicine's Directorate to reassure pet owners and states that reactions to either vaccines are rare.
They say: “VMD has received fewer than two adverse reactions for L2, and fewer than six for L4, for every 10,000 doses sold. This includes every suspected adverse event reported, even cases that were considered unclassifiable or were later found to be unrelated to the vaccine”.
The letter from Jollyes to Lyndsey continued: "E&J have also confirmed to us that even where there has been a reported adverse reaction to one of these vaccines, this is usually due to an underlying condition specific to that pet and their immune system, not the vaccine itself which is why that VMD information makes reference to that too.
"I know talking about numbers and data when you’ve unexpectedly suffered the loss of a pet will be of little, if any, consolation and that’s why we’re really sorry.
"Nothing is more important to us at Jollyes, and the team at Hermiston Gait, than making sure we look after all our customers."
Jollyes have also asked E & J to cover the cost of any post mortem so they can attempt to "find out the facts."
For the full government reports on the L4 vaccine, you can view information from the VMD here.
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