Thanks. I’m probably not going to make a claim because not only will I need to stump up the remaining 6 months of the premium, I imagine it would lead to my premium being increased next year and actually end up costing me more in the long run
We made sure the vets accepted our current insurer and that we didn’t have to pay it up front. Though I do wonder sometimes if it’s worth it.
Yep, it's worth thrashing out the detail. We had a Bullmastiff that developed a heart condition. Poor bugger only lasted til he was three. When I totted up the vets bills it topped 10k!! Luckily he was insured. When we went to insure our next dog, the premiums had rocketed (no surprise). They try to claw the money back. We've since run our muts with no insurance and have so far been lucky.... Well, kind of. We've since lost dogs and when they've become ill, rather than throw good money after bad, we've made the call and had them put to sleep. Throwing money at a sick dog can often prolong the misery to all involved, particularly the dog.
We’ve been away for a week with my lad and his dog. This kinda sums up him (ignore the meme stuff, FB wall special )
Apologies for the long tale that follows.. We were told at the beginning of the year that Petplan would only cover a maximum of £3000 for any claims this year due to Tippi, our Doberman, now being 8 years old. At the time, we were not too bothered as there didn't seem to be anything on the horizon that would have us claiming from the insurance. In March, however, we noticed that communications from brain to back legs were starting to break down. The early indications were that the middle two claws on each rear paw were wearing down. Initially, I put it down to the fact that we had, some months before, changed our walk to a local woodland that necessitated a considerably longer walk on pavements to get there and home again. We later realised it was due to each paw not lifting clear, but being dragged forward with each step, so the pavement was acting like a nail file, in effect. Sadly, it got to the stage that one day, after her morning walk, there was blood on the kitchen floor from both pairs of claws.. with a mixture of guilt and horror I took her to the vet. He suggested, with some authoritative certainty, that it was degenerative myelopathy (DM) and that a blood test would confirm this nasty genetic defect that would be incurable and simply get progressively worse. Head spinning with the bad news, I agreed. The £300 blood test done, I took Tip home. Once home, I looked it up and, distilled into my layman's terms, it is a genetic defect - purely luck of the draw if your dog has it - where the dog's own immune system attacks and destroys the myelin sheath that covers the spinal chord, thus causing interruption to comms with hindquarters. The result of the test wouldn't be known for about two weeks! So while I stewed in the meantime, the great evil, or wonderful resource of the internet - depending on the degree of comfort, or depression to be gained - came into play. I found an excellent Aussie veterinary web site that described her symptoms and explained they could be due to, and it listed, 17 possible reasons! Once I'd discounted the specifically Australian conditions, getting kicked by a kangaroo, venomous snake/spider bites, eating a wallaby that didn't agree with the digestive system etc.. it gave an excellent explanation of about 3 strong candidates as to the cause. Needless to say, they were all spinal related and operable, or not. After about 10 days the vet phoned to give us the good news that the laboratory had confirmed it wasn't DM. I asked if they'd found anything else in the test. A noticeable silent pause followed, so I filled it with a few questions, such as, 'Do we know if there's any other genetic problem, or blood disorder, such as cancer, diabetes, or some form of anaemia?' He then stated they only test for the specific condition he requested!! Losing faith very quickly in this newly qualified, practise-owning, young vet, I put it to him that £300 a guess is a pretty shit deal for his patients.. Without missing a beat he quite happily suggested that the next step would be to send her for a £1300 CT scan and once we had the results of the whole-body image, we should be able to see where to focus a more detailed, 3D, MRI scan at £1800. Both of these to be carried out at, 'My friend's place in Wigan' (about 30 miles away). Then, as if to be helpful, 'Don't worry if you can't take her yourself, we can arrange a Pet Ambulance for her!'. So we'd be sailing close to £4000 without having started any treatment yet!! In other words, ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching, fuck you and your dog, ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching... Not once did he try to explain the possibilities I'd discovered for myself via the interwebs from the other side of the world, nor did he offer advice as to what the outcomes might be if one condition was discovered as opposed to another.. but what they did do was phone us a couple of times a day for the next five days to try and get us either up to Wigan, or into their 'Pet Ambulance', until I asked them not to phone again and that we'd be in touch. Speaking to other dog owners who have been through similar creeping incapacity situations with their dogs, the weight of advice leans towards, after about 5 years of age, letting the condition run its course. As one practising vet put it to me, 'Do you really want to go digging into her spine at her age?' So I've decided that rolling the dice isn't worth the gamble where there is certain pain, trauma and anxiety pitched against the uncertainty of surgical success that wouldn't be evident for some painful months of recovery, physiotherapy etc. afterwards. Then there's the trauma she'd experience at being left with people she doesn't know, who will shave her and stick needles into her, before causing her great pain. We simply couldn't explain it to her, or prepare her for it. Perhaps we are endowing her with too many of our human thought processes, but it is hard not to do so when we have lived in two way communication with her all her life. The condition has worsened since March. Mercifully she has never shown any sign of pain, or suffering, which has made it so much easier to bear and has given us a few more months without having to make what would be/will be a very hard decision. At first, she fell over quite a lot as she hadn't yet modified her own movements; she'd still want to chase after her friends, but with reduced coordination would miss her footing and fall, looking bewildered. Depending how she fell, she'd be able to get up, or not, so I'd spend a lot of time picking her up. If a dog came towards her and she wanted to adjust the distance by stepping back, she'd fall onto her backside, then because the golden rule of the animal kingdom, 'fight or flight' had suddenly reduced with no flight option, she'd bare her teeth defensively to warn them to stay back. Over time, she has become less probe to falling as she had moderated her movements. She now moves much more slowly and deliberately. Just lately, she walks with her head much lower than before, which is indicative of a condition that is known to affect, most notably, Dobermans. Cervical Spondylomyelopathy is more commonly known as 'Wobbler Syndrome' and I feel that it is now more more likely to be this than the other front runners I'd had under consideration, namely Fibocartilagenous Embolism where a small piece of cartilage becomes detached and blocks an artery - usually with no sign of pain, or Lumbosacral Stenosis, a slowly progressive loss of hind leg function due to pressure on the spine from a narrowing in the last spinal joint, again with no signs of pain. Yesterday it finally became apparent that a long walk was no longer a kindness. One of her rear legs has begun to look more paralysed than the other, even though it bends quite happily when she's lying down, it doesn't move very well at all when she's walking. In the last 3 weeks or so, the signals seem to be breaking down on their way to her backside and despite being an impeccably clean girl ever since she was a puppy, she has now started to have 'accidents'. I can't understand how cleaning those up has become exclusively my job, but waking at 02.30, or 04.15, or 05.00 to deal with the mess and clean/shower her, change her bedding, bag waste get rid of the stench etc.. generally means there's no getting back to sleep, so sleep deprivation becomes your new best friend and yet it ain't about me, its all about Tippi. She's been the most placid, universally loved, dog we could have hoped for, when we got her from the RSPCA when she was just 3 months old. We can leave her with our grandchildren without a second's unrest, they can try and put their hands in her mouth and she won't let them, she's always turned her head away if anyone tries to open her mouth and I've always suspected that really she's a cat in dogs' pyjamas! I just hope we all know when she's had enough and that we have the courage to let her off her leash at the right time
Well done matey. When you love them, you do what they need. We've had £8k+ Vets bills in the last year (about a third covered by insurance) and don't begrudge a penny. Sadly, in your case and in the not too distant, it sounds like she'll need you to let her go. Can't begin to understand how that's going to feel. Be brave for her.
I can relate to a lot of this. My mum and dad recently had a very similar condition with their Staffordshire Bull Terrier. As you say, the feeling in the back end eventually goes. Old Olly became doubly incontinent and required wheels/harness for walks. It was a bloody shame watching him go down hill like he did. He finally died fitting on the kitchen floor. Poor bugger had to go the whole miserable distance. My poor elderly mother was exhausted trying to keep the house clean…. My dad simply didn’t have the strength to have him put to sleep. Despite me, my brother and sisters all chiming in…. Awful story I know, but it can be hard to let go. But we know when it’s time
That was a real tear jerker to read and I can only imagine how hard it is not just emotionally but also all the broken sleep. Iggy had 4 day and nights of accidents when he had his gastro enteritis recently and it wore us out so I can only imagine how hard it is for you. I’m so sorry you’re all suffering but she’s lucky to have such loving (and rich) humans to take care of her
Thank you for your good wishes and I’m so pleased to read that Iggy has pulled out of what must have felt like a nose dive at some points!
@Borgo Panigale Have you thought of doggy diapers for her? I imagine she’ll need to be trained not to tear them off herself but it may be worth the perseverance if the alternative is incontinence which is distressing and exhausting for you both. https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/simple-solution-disposable-dog-diapers#
After 6 weeks with Ray. He’s growing at a startling rate. But he’s smart and adorable. His training is coming on great, he walks to heal really well now and his recall is pretty good but not quite there yet. But it’s early days. Oh. And he loves my home made liver cake.
Yes, she’s been in them for a week. As always, she accepts whatever we might impose on her, like the little walking boots I put on her for every walk, so she can wear them out, and let her claws grow back. She’s never questioned those, although she does look a bit embarrassed to be put into her nappy every night..! There are upsides and downsides to the diapers, but I won’t go in to detail - it comes down to what is easier to wash and the answer is arrived at on an incident by incident basis...
