Of all the dogs who you would think wouldn’t need insurance, a vets would be pretty high on your list – right?
Vet Kathryn Henderson was walking her three year old Labrador Elsa on their usual route in Castlewellan park and giving her a good swim to tire her out. Like most Labradors this was Elsa’s idea of heaven and Kathryn only let her go in at safe swimming places with an easy entry/exit point from the water. Unfortunately for Elsa on her last swim of the day she jumped in and yelped. On inspection there was cut with a moderate amount of blood on her back leg just above the back of the paw. Luckily her vet owner applied some ingenious first aid using a clean doggy poo bag and a lead to provide compression to stop the bleeding. Rather than risk any dirt getting into the wound Elsa was carried hastily straight back to the car, stopping to ask the park rangers for a bandage from their human first aid kit to replace the doggy poo bag, The next stop was Cromlyn House to find out how serious the wound was. (All of us as pet owners remember how glad we are to have access to emergency vet care 24/7 when our own pets are injured!)
It turned out that Elsa had severed several tendons in her leg which is a very severe injury, likely caused by broken glass on the lake bed. After an anaesthetic and an operation to repair the tendons, six weeks in a cast followed. Dogs don’t tolerate casts that well and they need to be frequently changed to prevent pressure sores – leading to a lot of bandaging material being used. Once the cast was off Elsa required physiotherapy to rebuild the muscle and function of the leg – which she received, via Holistic Pet NI, including use of their underwater treadmill. Altogether the total bill exceeded £2000. Vet Kathryn we are glad to say (as is she!) had Elsa fully insured so didn’t have to worry about finance when making decisions as to the best treatment for this young athletic dog. We’re glad to say three months after her injury she has just walked 18 miles in the peak district and is 100% sound.
Accidents can and do happen even in familiar surroundings so we would caution any owners to think about how they might afford a bill that runs into the hundreds or thousands.
Here in practice, we can offer you MiPet Cover pet insurance to provide you with peace of mind should the unexpected happen. Ask for more information at reception or visit mipetcover.co.uk/referral.
