Vital insurance, sick dog.

jimbo123p

Well-Known Member
Katie was spayed on Friday 3/06/12 but as yet the problem is deemed unrelated. Sunday, day nine was like a normal day, Katie wanted out for a walk but she was still grounded, lead walk only. 2.30 she was desperate to go. 5.30 she did not want out her bed for her meal. Eventually came and took two mouthfuls. Took her for a walk in case of constipation. No joy. Monday morning very flat so trip to the vet. Temp 105' dehydrated, admitted. No signs of the problem except temp. Home Monday, eating fine, a lot brighter but not right. Still tail wagging on Tuesday When I returned her to the vet. Temp now even higher. During the day she continued to deteriorate. I had to put her into VetsNow in Edinburgh for the night. Vet there was unhappy and run more tests and X-rays. I collected her from there back to the vet on Wednesday morning. He said there was not much a practice vet could do for her. He referred her to the Royal Dick vet school in Edinburgh. She is there and responding to treatment. The cause is yet unknown. It is bacterial. It has moved through her body. They drained a litre of fluid from her rib cage. She has two drains in her chest. She is in an oxygen enrched kennel. I am waiting for the call on progress. Cost so far, my vet, £370, vets now £670, Royal Dick estimate is £3000 to£4000. My insurance ceiling is £7,500 per ailment. There will not be much to spare by the time this saga runs its course. Without insurance Katie would have had to be put down. I may still loose her. The vet at the vet school had to stop the examination and take her to ICU for oxygen. But she is a fighter and deserves the chance. Jim
 
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Jim, i'll keep fingers and toes crossed for you and the dog...

Good advert for insurance but with 4 dogs in the kennel the monthly premium is not affordable when weighed up against the vets bills I have per year, thats assumimg nothing major like this happens though.

This is by no way meant as a criticism, but what a nighmare that this may eventually turn out to have been caused by a non essential operation? What was the reason behind the original op and at what point will someone on the vets side say without doubt the infection is or is not related Jim?
 
The vets have never linked the operation and the ailment. Could be from a wound or from a pneumonia (common after an anaesthetic) But rarely severe. I doubt anyone would say the two could be linked. Spaying is a personal preference if bitch will not be bred. Cuts out a lot of ailments in later life and Katie while a well bred dog would not be a suitable candidate for breeding. Too nervy and a difficult dog to train. Does not like anything new.
She is starting to eat and is spending time out of the oxygen environment. Hopefully recovering but still not out the woods. Jim
 
As we've discussed Jim I find it incredible that after £1000 + of local vet fees and the potential of a further £3k - £4k at the Royal Dick Vets nobody has been able to pin point the cause of this illness. Katie is a super fit wee dog. Following her being spayed on 3 August she was never away from your house, none of your other dogs been effected (thankfully), she has not injured herself.
Perhaps a question for the vets on here. Is it possible for a dog to have what would appear to be a raging bacterial infection without tests being able to locate the source? My dog I would be very suspicious as to a link to the dog being spayed.

Apart from that I am very happy that wee Katie is fighting back from the brink. We need her on the shoot and beside that the thought of a day with the dreaded cocker is making me nervy. LOL
 
As we've discussed Jim I find it incredible that after £1000 + of local vet fees and the potential of a further £3k - £4k at the Royal Dick Vets nobody has been able to pin point the cause of this illness. Katie is a super fit wee dog. Following her being spayed on 3 August she was never away from your house, none of your other dogs been effected (thankfully), she has not injured herself.
Perhaps a question for the vets on here. Is it possible for a dog to have what would appear to be a raging bacterial infection without tests being able to locate the source? My dog I would be very suspicious as to a link to the dog being spayed.

Apart from that I am very happy that wee Katie is fighting back from the brink. We need her on the shoot and beside that the thought of a day with the dreaded cocker is making me nervy. LOL

I wonder how often that is the case Gazza....... that it is in fact the dog getting the invite to the shoot and not really the owner. :lol:
 
LOL. Katie having stayed at mine whilst Jim was on holiday she is like one of my own so I am seriously happy to see this dog survive. But I must agree a good dog gets you invites to places. Problem being this year is that when Katie gets back to fitness she is very welcome on the shoot but big Jimbo has got himself a new 20g and he is hitting a good few at DTL so that team may have to be curtailed LOL
 
LOL. Katie having stayed at mine whilst Jim was on holiday she is like one of my own so I am seriously happy to see this dog survive. But I must agree a good dog gets you invites to places. Problem being this year is that when Katie gets back to fitness she is very welcome on the shoot but big Jimbo has got himself a new 20g and he is hitting a good few at DTL so that team may have to be curtailed LOL

Ha ha...

You think you are popular until you have to turn an invite down and are then immediately asked if you have a mate that can work your 3 labs you would like to send along in your place!!!!

Ah well, I suppose you should be proud of the fact your dogs are at least in demand!!!
 
Apart from that I am very happy that wee Katie is fighting back from the brink. We need her on the shoot and beside that the thought of a day with the dreaded cocker is making me nervy. LOL
Half the birds on the shoot would still be hunkered down if it was not for that wee cocker. Pity she does not have an off switch. She will clear any wood effectively. Only problem is "is it the right wood?"
need a hand with the partridges?:evil:
 
Good luck and fingers crossed she pulls through, Its pretty far fetched not to be linked to the operation though and really you have to question just what s being done to rack up those sort of fees. Thats not just a dog being put on a drip with anti biotics and under observation, if it was a human you would assume they had picked up a nasty in hospital and 9 times out of 10 you would be right.
 
Perhaps a question for the vets on here. Is it possible for a dog to have what would appear to be a raging bacterial infection without tests being able to locate the source? My dog I would be very suspicious as to a link to the dog being spayed.

Yes is the definite answer. Sometimes it is quite easy to say that there is infection but it can be very hard to find. My gut feeling would be that the spay was unrelated but the vets likely concentrated on the abdomen as the likely source with the history or a recent operation. I have very rarely come across dogs with infection after spays, sometimes related to the stump of the cervix (I always presumed, but have no evidence, that bacteria entered via the vagina to the traumatised tissue that had been tied off).

It sound like the dog had a pyothorax- puss in the chest. I have never come across this as a secondary effect of any routine operation.

A quick google for a list of causes:

* Spread of infection from the blood stream

* Migration of foreign objects, such as plant material or thorns, through the chest cavity or lungs

* Penetrating wounds, particularly bite wounds

* Extension of infection from the vertebrae

* Extension from pneumonia

* Lung tumors or abscesses that rupture

* Lung or chest wall trauma






* Perforation of the esophagus



There is usually a fairly long gap between the incident that caused the infection and the development of clinical signs. When the infection is caused by an animal bite, the wound has often healed and the owner has forgotten about it by the time that the pet becomes ill.

Pyothorax is particularly common in hunting dogs where the infection is related to the entrance of a foreign body, such as a piece of plant material, into the chest cavity through the body wall. Alternately, the plant material may be inhaled and migrate through the lung.



Hope the dog is doing well. Managing chest drains is time consuming and expensive, as is keeping a dog in an oxygen rich environment. Sounds like she is getting the very best of care - without it she would die.
 
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