I have a real soft spot for this story because Grace is our mast head dog (look up, look way up) and Brian happens to have an office about 15 feet from my desk.
If you look closely, you'll see Grace has only three legs - very fitting for a pet insurance blog.
Name: |
Brian D |
Pet Name: |
Grace |
Pet Age & Breed: |
10.5+ year-old Chocolate Lab |
Pet Treatment: |
Towards the end of 2003, our sweet, beautiful, friendly, 9 year-old chocolate lab, Grace, was diagnosed with bone cancer. She had started limping and, within 12 hours, we had her to the Vet’s. After the tumor was discovered, things happened too quickly to recall. Two days later, we were meeting with an oncologist who was scheduling her surgery for the next day. While some friends and family felt it was better to put Grace to sleep, we just couldn’t. She had a place in our hearts and in our family. What’s more, the doctors said that there was a chance of recovery. Just four days after she was diagnosed, Grace woke up from surgery without her front left leg. The next day, she got up and took her first few hops. Following some painful weeks – and nights – Grace was back in good spirits and ready for chemotherapy. Sixteen weeks of Chemo found Grace in even better spirits. She has been back in to the doctor on a quarterly basis for checkups and now has only two more Vet visits left before the doctors can declare her completely free of cancer. |
Pet Treatment Costs: |
Another painful side of this story revolves around what it costs to do what we did. The amputation itself cost $5,700, while the Chemo ran $2,500. Subsequent checkups have totaled about $1,600. Now that Grace is moving around, arthritis has appeared in her remaining legs. This is now running us about $160 a month (or about $1,900 a year). So in total, if we had to put a price on love, it has cost about $11,600 thus far. Additional office visits have put her recovery at well over $12,000. It’s been worth every penny. But, after this experience, every family member, no matter how many legs, will be insured! |
As a follow up to Grace's story, sadly she died in May 2006 after the cancer returned to her lungs (see her eulogy here). She brought a lot of joy to the people in her life, there's no doubt about that.
