Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Claim Example: Cherry Eye in Koa, a Bulldog puppy

The English Bulldog is instantly recognizable by their wrinkly faces and barrel-chested physique. But, in the veterinary world, Bulldogs are notorious for their eye problems.

Dewey and Koa, both English Bulldogs in Newcastle, DE, were no exception. Starting out with a corneal ulcer in March 2009, Dewey was the first to have troubles. By May, he underwent surgery to correct Cherry Eye (also known by the convoluted name of prolapsed gland of the third eyelid), a painful condition in which the third eye lid is prolapsed, forming a red bubble in front of the eye.

Later that year, Dewey became a big brother when Koa came home. But poor Koa wasn’t even four months old when he was diagnosed with his own case of cherry eye. So, in he went for his own corrective cherry eye surgery, and follow up treatments.

Dewey and Koa are now back to normal, happy and healthy bulldogs again.

Dewey: Total cost for Cherry Eye Surgery: $524.07
Annual Deductible remaining: $0.00*
10 % Co-pay: 52.41
Reimbursement: $471.66
*Dewey had already met his annual deductible with prior claims for illnesses

Koa: Total cost for Cherry Eye Surgery: $626.22
Annual Deductible remaining: $200.00
10 % Co-pay: 42.62
Reimbursement: $383.60

Details on Koa's claim:
This claim is pretty typical of many Cherry Eye correction surgeries in that the correction was done at the same time Koa was neutered. Since Koa's insurance policy does not cover neutering (but our optional wellness plan does), the anesthesia was proportioned to 75% cherry eye correction and 25% neutering and covered accordingly (highlighted below).

ITEM	BILLED AMOUNT	ALLOWABLE CHARGES	COVERAGE TYPE	COVERED IN POLICY?	COVERED CHARGES
Triple Antibiotic Eye Ointment	$ 13.44	$     13.44	IL	Y	$    13.44
Additional Anesth. Maintenance/30 min.	$ 41.16	$     30.87	IL	Y	$    30.87
Neuter Canine 21-40 lbs	$   195.00	$ 195.00	RC	N	$   0.00
Hardarian Gland Tack	$   276.86	$ 276.86	IL	Y	$ 276.86
Surgical Ophthalmic Pack	$ 30.76	$     30.76	IL	Y	$    30.76
Inhalation Anesthetic Maintenance	$ 64.68	$     48.51	IL	Y	$    48.51
Intravenous Induction	$ 25.87	$     25.87	IL	Y	$    25.87
IV Catheterization-Surgical	$ 26.00	$     26.00	IL	Y	$    26.00
Pain Management Injection	$ 19.93	$     19.93	IL	Y	$    19.93
Pre Anesthetic Medication	$ 25.87	$     25.87	IL	Y	$    25.87
Examination (Pre-Anesthesia)	$    0.00	$   0.00	IL	Y	$   0.00
2.5 Novox 75 mg.	$ 17.55	$     17.55	DD	Y	$    17.55
5 Tramadol 50 mg.	$ 17.55	$     17.55	DD	Y	$    17.55
Soft Recovery Collar Canine 17 cm	$ 15.64	$     15.64	IL	Y	$    15.64
Canine H3N8 Influenza Vaccine, 1st	$ 25.00	$     25.00	RC	N	$   0.00
Tobramycin 0.3% Ophthalmic Soln 5 ml	$ 13.82	$     13.82	DD	Y	$    13.82
Recheck Visit-Brief	$ 32.66	$     32.66	IL	Y	$    32.66
14 Clavamox (Antibiotic) 125 mg.	$ 30.89	$     30.89	DD	Y	$    30.89
	$   872.68	$ 846.22			$ 626.22

So the total claim reimbursement was $383.60, which is calculated below (this is the detail we send out in our explanation of benefits):

STEP 1: Calculate Potential Refund
Billed Amount:								$ 872.68
Covered Charges:								$ 626.22
Annual deductible remaining								$ 200.00
	subtotal							$ 426.22
Copay 10%	(your copayment)							$     42.62
Potential Refund								$ 383.60
STEP 2: Compare potential refund against your annual maximums
Annual Maximum								$     10,000.00
Prior refunds for this policy year								$   0.00
Coverage remaining								$     10,000.00
Your total refund is:								$     383.60

Koa's policy ($200 annual deductible, 10% copay, $10,000 annual maximum, drugs and dental extension, no wellness coverage) costs $63.65 a month. Koa's premium is higher than many dogs because English Bulldogs have more hereditary conditions than most breeds, all else being equal.

Dr Janet Tobiasson Crosby will be writing more about Cherry Eye treatment and surgery in a blog entry next week.

Related Posts:
July is Eye Month at Embrace Pet Insurance
Claim Example: Cherry Eye in Koa, a Bulldog puppy
Cataract surgery claim example: Nala 2 yr old Papillon
Guest post: cherry eye treatment options
Guest Post: lens luxation in a Dalmation

Press Release: Embrace Pet Insurance Swims Upstream To Add Goldfish Coverage to Its Product Range

Embrace is tapping into the world of fish parents who care for the 75 million goldfish in America

Mayfield Village, OH – Embrace Pet Insurance swims against the tide, adding goldfish health insurance coverage to its customizable product range.

 

Now that Embrace Pet Insurance is intimately familiar with the cat and dog health insurance market in the US, the company is leveraging its actuarial and insurance knowledge and is announcing its new customizable goldfish insurance product.

 

Laura Bennett, Embrace co-founder and the only goldfish insurance actuary in the US, explains the rational for such a move. “Goldfish might seem to be one dimensional and unfeeling pets to the uninitiated, but underneath their scaly exterior, they really have a heart of gold. Those who welcome goldfish into their family reap a lifetime of emotion from these loving pets.”

 

Bennett developed goldfish mortality and morbidity actuarial tables based on her own lifetime of experience raising the domesticated fish. “Yes, there’s a large drop off when you bring them home from the fair, but if they survive the initial shock, they settle in quite well. I loved many goldfish in our house growing up. I particularly remember my third goldfish, Jonathan, who lived to the ripe old age of 12 years. I’m sure he would have lived several years longer if our cat Lily hadn’t finally found out that cats aren’t actually allergic to water. That was a very sad day in our household.”

 

Embrace goldfish insurance covers hereditary conditions such as swim bladder and telescopic eye problem (as long as they aren’t showing clinical signs before you purchase your insurance). The insurance also covers a variety of treatments for goldfish illnesses, from antibiotics for dropsy, to weight reduction programs for overfeeding, to amputation surgery for fin rot.

 

Bennett says “Most people have no idea how expensive it can be to treat some of these every-day conditions. Fin amputation surgeries can range anywhere from $500 using aquarium sedatives, a fish net, and a pair of nail scissors, to $15,000 for a board certified specialist using a specialized breathing table developed for fish. Gone are the days of flushing a goldfish down the toilet (also known as economic euthanasia). Veterinarians can do so much more for goldfish than they used to, even 5 years ago.”

 

Goldfish premium rates range from as little as $2 up to $56 a month and are based on a number of factors such as fish age (have your veterinarian give you an estimate if you aren’t sure of your goldfish’s exact date of birth), location (fish vets in NY city are so much more expensive than those in Fargo MN); and breed (the overbred Ekoj hybrid is particularly sickly) all affect the premium. You can also get a multi-pet discount, although having a family cat dramatically increases the rate.

 

If you love your goldfish as much as we do, Embrace Pet Insurance recommends goldfish insurance for your finned friends. It’s the one thing you can’t buy when you need it. To explore your goldfish insurance options, call 800-511-9172, or go to www.embracepetinsurance.com for a customized quote.

 

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About Embrace Pet Insurance

Embrace Pet Insurance Agency LLC is a specialist insurance agency headquartered in Mayfield Village, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Embrace was founded by Laura Bennett and Alex Krooglik, pet parents who also happen to be insurance experts, and offers self-serve, customizable pet health insurance for dogs and cats, and now goldfish. All goldfish policies are underwritten by Carp Health Assurance Company. Embrace is based on the core values of innovation and not taking oneself too seriously. On the web at Embrace Pet Insurance and the Embrace Pet Insurance blog.  

 

Addendum: if you didn't notice by now, this was posted on April Fool's Day. Just a little pet insurance humor for the day :)

Claim story: Squiggy the cat hit by a car, $12,170+ claim

I wanted to share with you the story of Squiggy the mixed breed cat who was hit by a car in September 2009. The words below are from Tracy, Squiggy's owner, who describes what happened:

We adopted squiggy from a shelter when he was 2 months old. He acted more like a puppy than a kitten. Likes to play fetch, hide and surprise you!!

The accident happened on 9/14/09 There was a knock at the door, a woman said she'd hit my cat and believed she had broken his leg, said sorry and promptly left. I found Squiggy in the bushes where he had dragged himself, could not get that image out of my head when I closed my eyes for weeks. It took 15 mins to get to the ER ( longest car ride ever) at which time he had already gone into shock and his breathing very labored.

The preliminary vet exam showed multible fractures & breaks. His back was broken in two places. He was bleeding internally. Initially we were told he'd be paralized with no neurologic function as they couldn't get any pulses in his lower extremities. They stabalized his breathing and were able to get faint pulses back. He was put on pain medication, made comfortable overnight.

Next day we saw Squiggy, he licked my hand and looked at me and I knew I had to do all I could to save him. He was operated on shortly after we saw him. The neurosurgeon told me it would be a long road to recovery with pins in his toes,leg & pelvis on one side of his body and no bowel or bladder function. We would not know if that would return for weeks or if he'd walk. He fought hard to get through this horrible ordeal.

Nine weeks later he's not only walking & climbing up on the bed, bowel & bladder function have returned. We hope Squiggy will be with us for a lot of years to come. He has of course used up about 7 of his 9 lives!!!! 

I was very distraught when Squiggy was injured and every person I spoke to at Embrace treated me like family with kind words of encouragement and lots of help submitting my claim. The claim was processed quickly. Thanks Embrace, you helped us to save Squiggy's life. 

Sadly, we got this update just 4 days later.

Unfortunately my story doesn't have a happy ending. Squiggy had a bladder infection that couldn't be controlled. He went from great one minute almost dead the next. He spent the last two weeks in the hospital where I thought he should stay till the infection was gone but no amount of medicine could fix him. I really thought if he stayed in the hospital he'd get better I'm heartbroken! I took him home and put a christmas collar on him wraped him in a christmas blanket and buryed him in a spot under the bay window in front of our house where he loved to hang out and watch the world go by. Thanks for everything.

Tracy's coverage included an annual maximum of $10,000, which Squiggy needed in totality.

RIP brave Squiggy.

Accident Month - Rocket uses two of her nine lives in a month Part 2

Continuing yesterday's post on Rocket's accidental "adventures", here's Accident #2.

[Just so you know in advance, no kittens were harmed in the making of this story.]

Last Monday night, I was multi-tasking the laundry downstairs with some blogging and email catch up in my office upstairs. It was about 11:30pm.

You know the routine: buzzer goes, run downstairs, fold prior load of laundry, pull next load from washer to dryer, put in next washer load, press go, run back upstairs again... repeat 5 times (kiddy laundry does go on and on and on...)

So, all this runnning up and down stairs gets the kittens all in a quiver. What is this very exciting activity and how can we get into mischief in it? And so they bound up and down the stairs, boing in and out of every laundry basket, and chase every sock thrown into the laundry hamper. Such an adventure!

And Rocket keeps jumping in the dryer. Why not? It's warm and cozy and seems like a very good idea to a 4 month old kitten. 

Every time she'd do it, I'd have horrors of a tumbling kitten while I pulled her out and put her across the laundry room. But she'd soon be back in as I continued folding the laundry. So I pull her out for the last time after the last piece of clothing was done, then I put the clothes from the washer into the dryer, closed the door and switched the dryer on.

[Remember, no kittens were harmed in the making of this story - just in case you were getting anxious.]

So, as I was loading the washer with yet more laundry, I couldn't help notice the clunking in the dryer. What is that noise? Did I wash one of the girls' shoes by mistake? I finished loading the laundry, put in the detergent, started the laundry and that noise kept bonking and clunking.

[no kittens were hurt in this story - just remember that]

So I opened the door to see what was going on and my heart literally stopped - Rocket rocketed out from under the towels "me-elping" (no other word to describe it). I'll never forget it.

I was rooted to the spot. I felt ill. My life rushed before my eyes. I ran after her.

By the time I caught up with a very frightened kitten, her heart was beating out of her chest, her face was so afraid. I picked her up and her breathing slowed down and the purring began. I felt so awful; what had I done? How could I have been so careless? How could I not have realized immediately what had happened? (I still don't know how she got back in - must have been when I reached into the washer to pull out the last sock.)

Rocket tumbled around in the dryer for at least 10 seconds. FOR AT LEAST 10 SECONDS :(

Miraculously, Rocket is fine. She was lining up for food with Rosie when I put her down just a few minutes later as if nothing had happened. I do marvel at the elasticity of kittens (but do not test this at home - take my word for it).

Boy oh boy though, I'll be locking the kittens up early when I do laundry next time. An angel was watching over Rocket that day; there's no guarantees she'll be there next time around.

So Rocket, please don't give me any cause for Part 3 of this series. We love you in one piece with no broken bits. No more kitty adventures. We like a quiet life.

Accident Month at Embrace - literally. I think January is going to be Wellness Month...

Guest Post: Three Surprising, and Even Excruciating, Dog Accidents

Today, we have a guest post from Dr. Rex Riggs, owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is a veterinarian, and an Advisory Board member of Embrace Pet Insurance. Dr. Riggs writes about orthopedic issues from a small animal practioner's perspective.

Dr. Riggs writes about three dog accidents he's seen in his clinic - from the unexpected to the excruciating. Don't worry though - all the dogs survive thanks to their excellent veterinary care.

Beware! These stories are not for the faint of heart. And whatever you do, do not look at the pictures at the bottom too closely if you are squeamish (really!) Don't say I didn't warn you.
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Dogs will do crazy things. They are unpredictable and just when you are sure they can’t hurt themselves, they will surely surprise you. I have included three such surprising events.

1. Surprise! Puppies really can eat - just not what you'd expect...

A lady with her small four year old daughter came in with their rambunctious 16 week old Golden Retriever puppy. The puppy seemed happy to be at the vet as he was running around inspecting all the corners of the exam room.

The little girl though had a concerned look on her face. I asked her why she brought her little puppy in to see me. She said that her puppy, Sadie, had just eaten one of her daddy’s golf balls. Being an avid golfer, I just happened to have a golf ball in my office (you have to practice your putting!). I showed the ball to the little girl and explained that Sadie was unable to swallow a ball that size. She insisted that she saw her do it. So to prove to her that her dog would be fine I decided to take an X-ray.

I was right. Sadie had not swallowed a golf ball… she had swallowed three golf balls! Just imagine swallowing one ball and thinking it was such a great idea that you would swallow 2 more! I showed the X-ray to Mom and $1800 later, I presented her with her husband’s three PINK golf balls.

2. A Family Dog Fight Turns Into Major Plastic Surgery for a Little Pug

Madison is an adorable little pug that has been visiting our practice for years. She is gentle little soul that would not hurt a fly. Unfortunately for her, her mom’s boyfriend’s Husky was not as congenial. Madison was attacked and had several bite wounds on her body.

Madison presented to us bloody and in shock. We admitted her and aggressively treated her shocky condition and she was hospitalized with us for a number of days. She was sent home on antibiotics and some good pain medication.

On the recheck exam though, I saw that Madison’s skin was so damaged that it was dying and sloughing off. She had lost about 50 % of her skin on her right leg and neck. Since she did not have enough skin to suture together the conventional way, we had to do a plastic surgical procedure called a rotating pedicle flap. This involved moving the skin from her belly, including the mammary glands, and rotating that skin around, while maintaining a good blood supply, and suturing it in to place.

This is a delicate long surgery but it was successful and Madison looks great today after the $3700 treatment. The only difference now is that she has two nipples on her knee!

[if you are interested, I have posted pictures of the procedure down below - don't look though if you faint at the sight of blood]

3. What Can Happen Throwing a Stick for Fun - Nothing Fun At All For Dolly the Lab Mix

Probably the strangest and most unusual accident happened with Dolly, a lab mix. Dolly is a happy fun loving dog who lives to chase balls and sticks. She would do this for hours upon hours with her owner, Sally.

On this particular day, Sally was throwing a 3 foot long stick. Dolly eagerly would run after the stick and retrieve and wait to chase it again. Sally launched the stick and Dolly happily took chase. Dolly put her head down to get the stick and froze. Sally called her and Dolly would not move.

Sally ran up to her but the stick was nowhere to be found. She tried to lift Dolly’s head when she noticed the tip of the stick in her mouth. The stick had landed on end and Dolly had impaled the stick down her throat.

Sally rushed her in to see us and when they arrived, Dolly was very calm, wagging her tail for me. We sedated her and realized that the stick had traveled down her esophagus, exited at the level of the shoulder traveled under the shoulder blade and ended outside of the ribs.

It was a dicey surgery but we were able to removed the stick with remarkably little trauma to the esophagus. A couple of weeks after the $2500 surgery, Dolly was again out running after…..a ball. Never again a stick.

Related Posts: other posts by Dr Riggs
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Perhaps a few lessons learned from these? I think so!

Dr. Rex Riggs grew up in Wadsworth, Ohio, near Akron. Dr Riggs is co-owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is also on the board of the North Central Region of Canine Companions of Independence, a board member of The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Society and Small Animal Practitioner Advancement Board at The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Riggs lives in Lewis Center with his wife Nancy, their two dogs Boo and Maggie, and two cats Franklin and Speeder. Outside of work, Dr. Riggs is an avid golfer and enjoys travel and photography.

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Running Theme with our Embraced pet parents

Perhaps we shouldn't order the milk-bone flavored paper anymore? Within the last 2 weeks, we received these 2 emails:

Hello Chris,
Sorry for the delay. I had every intention on signing that paperwork and sending it back, except I really believe that my dog ate it. I know I know, that excuse doesn't even fly with grade schoolers, but I found little bits of it and half of an envelope. Would it be posible for you to remail it or email it to me again. Thanks.
george

And...

Hello!
Thank you so much for checking on the check. :)
We DID receive it but then my husband left it on the table and, this is true, the dog chewed it up. The puppy decided that since it was for his vet. services, it was his check to destroy!
Sigh...
Would it be possible to tear the check up completely and be reissued a new one or perhaps to do the instructions below and setup our account for direct deposit?
Thanks again...you guys have been so wonderful!!!

Dog ate your Embrace paperwork anyone?

Q&A: issues with an amputated toe in a dog

One of my more popular posts is on the topic of toe amputations in dogs and cats.

Recently, one of my readers, Heather Z, posted a question about her lab's post-surgical toe issues that I thought was worth separating out as its own post.

Hi. We have a 111 lb black lab and just had his third (III) toe removed on the front right paw in the middle of October. He still walks with a limp and holds it up when he stands. We keep it wrapped in a sock with a cone on his head all day every day because he wants to lick it. When he goes out, we wrap it to keep it dry.

He has been on antibiotics and about the 2nd week it started to pus and the swelling of his fourth (IV) toe was still huge and didn't go away. Brough him in and they upped his antibiotic. Nothing was said if it was infected but that's what I think. We also put a drying solution mixed with water on it twice a day and blow dry it as recommended.

I'm just worried that something else could be wrong with swelling not going down still going on a month. It is a pain. I think we did the right thing but its just hard seeing him like this and there's no improvement with the swelling! Anybody know of this?

I passed the question on to Dr. Heather Carleton, one of Embrace's veterinary advisors and this is what she had to say in response:

My question would be why was it initailly amputated? Was is broken, arthritic, had a tumor, etc? If it was amputated because of a tumor, I would be concerned that there is recurrence. If not, I would have the foot x-rayed and make sure there is no bony involvement with the infection (i.e. with the bone above the ampuatation site). If there is, the area may need to be debrided. If it is just soft tissue that is infected, antibiotics should take care of it.

Heather Z's got back to me with an answer for Dr. Carleton:

We had it amputated because it had a hard tumor growing connected to the bone. We had it sent into the lab and it is benign. He has been on cephalaxin and ciprofloxacin, which did not work, and now we went to clindamycin. I took him in last Thursday and had the desolvable stitches they left in taken out. I started to cut them out and they took the rest out. Our vet says it should clear up and to call and talk to him Monday. Well, that is tomorrow and it is still swollen. He said the next thing will do is move up to a more expensive antibiotic that costs $100 bucks or so.

This is still really frustrating because it is not getting that much better and he still limps. I hope this next option he has in mind works or else the next move will be going somewhere else and getting a second opinion and probably an x-ray and possible debridement as you suggested.

Here's an update from Heather Z.

When I brought him in last Wednesday, the vet thought he was doing much better now that the desolveable stitches had been romoved and the swelling around the scar tissue started to heal better. I just don't get why they left them in there. I heard from other people that desolveable stitches can cause inflammation. I also think when they wrapped his foot postoperately with the sticky wrap they did it too tight and was supposed to remain that way for 7 days. I also talked to other people and they said that they rewrap and change around the 3rd day.

The vet said he looked like he was healing well and the inflammation of his big toe should not be a concern because it is part of his healing process. He is moving around better and the outside toe looks almost back to normal size but the middle toe is still very swollen but may have improved a tad since suture removal. I am supposed to check back with him in two weeks and keep giving him his clindomycin 4 pills twice/day.

So, somewhat better but he still has to have a cone on his head when we are gone and something on his foot so he doesn't lick it like mad. I left the house for an hour and he somehow pulled it off and yanked his booty off and was licking it till it bled. Uh. But that is how it is going so far. It is now one month and 1 day. Buddy is a crazy licker anyway and is always grooming. I just hope things start getting better faster!

Have you found yourself in this situation? Let us know what happened in the comments...

Related Posts:
Toe Amputations for Cats and Dogs
Ask Laura: the impact of toe amputation surgery
Ask Laura: dog weight bearing toe amputation appropriate or not?  
Ask Laura: infected ingrown toe nail on cat  
Ask Laura: to amputate or not to amputate the cat's toe, that is the question
Corns on a greyhound's toe: Dr Riggs discusses

Embrace pet: Tahlula, a seven year old rescued Rottweiler

For some blogging fun, we're going to highlight some of our staff pets. Today, we’re here with Tahlula, a seven year old Rottweiler, to talk about her life as an Embrace pet.

Q: Hello, Tahlula. Tell us a bit about yourself.
A: Hi, My name is Tahlula, but everyone calls me “Wu”.

Q: So, Wu, what do you like to do for fun?
A: I like naps in my little bed near the space heater, but when it’s warm outside, I prefer lounging outside in the sun, watching the birds in the garden.

Q: So you’re pretty laid back then?
A: Yes, sometimes my body is sore, so I like to nap more than most. I had to have surgery in both of my knees a few years ago when I tore my cruciate ligaments, whatever those are! Mom said that her $50 shelter dog ended up getting $4,000 bionic knees, but I feel much better with them. They still have some arthritis and I also have hip dysplasia, but I take pain relievers for that now, and it doesn’t bother me much. I guess it’s just part of being a senior Rottie.

Q: So you think that these issues are because you’re a Rottweiler?
A: Well, probably. My back pain is also part of being a big dog.

Q: Ow, a back problem?
A: My mom says it’s called IVDD. It means one of my discs slip and put pressure on my spinal cord, which is not only painful, but scary. The first time it happened, I couldn’t walk so well. I would fall over like a baby deer, but I didn’t even realize my legs weren’t working.

Q: What do you do when that happens?
A: My people give steroids, and they drove me to a vet’s office that gave me physical therapy in the underwater treadmill to help me walk again. I got to go every week for a long time! Everyone said that was much better than another surgery, and I agree. It’s on youtube if you want to see.

Q: So you liked therapy?
A: Yes-it helped me pump up my big muscles. Rottweilers look funny with little scrawny legs. Plus, I liked it when they used the blow dryer on me afterwards.

Q: How did the back injury happen?
It flares up if I get too excited and put strain on my neck. Like, a couple of weeks ago I saw a cute puppy on our walk, and we played, but then I was paying for it the next day. Mom says I can’t wear collars anymore-only harnesses, so I don’t strain.

Q: But otherwise you’re life is pretty normal?
A: Yep, it’s good. I can do most everything I want, including visit my friends at the Embrace office. They’re nice, and some of them share their lunches with me. But, that’s off the record, because I’m not supposed to tell my mom.

Q: You like to eat? What is your favorite food?
A: Oh yes! I love fruits and vegetables. My favorites are bananas and apples but most of all green tomatoes! Speaking of which, I should be going. I think I need to remind my mom that it’s almost time for dinner...

Thank you Wu for joining us today. I've got some noms at my desk when you come to visit - we won't tell mom :)

September is National Pet Health Insurance Month

September 2009 is National Pet Health Insurance Month and the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) is celebrating by wanting to put money in your pocket or that of your favorite veterinarian.

We like money in our pockets, don't we?

What do you need to do?

Either:

for a $500 prize to you: 
submit a story of how pet health insurance has helped you in a situation when your pet was in need of medical care.

...and/or

for an educational grant and a plaque of excellence for your favorite veterinarian:
nominate your favorite veterinarian by telling NAPHIA why their vet deserves this honor.

Check out NAPHIA's webpage on National Pet Health Insurance month for more details but just so you know, all submissions must be received by September 30, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST so get them in now!

FYI... As I'm on NAPHIA's Board, I'll be reading your stories and nominations - I can't wait to see them!

Time to say good bye to Barnes

As you may know, my cat Barnes has dealing with his kidney disease for a while now - for nearly six years - and he has been doing pretty well all things considered. 

 

As with chronic illnesses like this, he's had his ups and downs but a couple of months ago, he was definitely on an up, galloping around the house with Lily, his little "sister", shaking off the winter blahs. 

 

But then in the last month, his appetite dropped off and he started to loose weight and things started to go down hill from there. I've been hydrating him with sub-Q fluids and we have been working on his food, trying to get him to eat, but to no avail.

 

Early Sunday morning (yesterday), he retired to the basement and only came up because I carried him. Then he couldn't jump up on the bed. Then last night I noticed he'd stopped drinking - a very bad sign for a cat with kidney problems.

 

This morning, when he could hardly walk, we knew it was time to say goodbye to the old fellow and I held him in my arms as he was put to sleep. He looked at me with his lovely green eyes just being with me as he passed on.  

 

Thank you Barnes for your friendship and love. We will sorely miss you.

Related Posts:
Lily and Barnes visit our new office
Update on Barnes
I Heart Barnes
Lily and Barnes at the vet