Leaving
our shoes and socks exposed again has been fairly liberating. Our silly but
immensely loveable Australian Labradoodle has moved beyond the phase of life
where he gratuitously ingests articles of clothing and fluffy toys (see October
21st 2015 blog, "Celebrating the Bear Facts"). Friday, however, our
dear dog took things to another level when he ingested a box of raisins we had
left on the kitchen counter. It seems counter theft has become his new thing
and we are adjusting as a consequence.
Although
they may smell intensely enticing, raisins are terribly toxic to a dog. They
can shut down the animal’s kidneys and block the production of urine. Dogs have
been known to die after ingesting raisins. It depends on the dog.
It
was early in the morning when we found the empty raisin box on his bed. We had
no hydrogen peroxide in the house, which means we could not induce the vomiting
that was recommended. The pharmacies were closed and Internet sites emphasized
vomiting should be induced within two hours of ingestion to minimize the
absorption of toxins. I went to local depanneurs. They had no hydrogen
peroxide. Firefighters at a nearby fire station explained they didn’t keep
hydrogen peroxide in their first aid kits. Finally, I went to a local hospital
where the emergency room staff very kindly filled two small containers with the
liquid.
We
mixed it in ice cream and within minutes, Bear vomited, bringing up some
raisins. We repeated the procedure in hopes of thoroughly emptying his stomach.
We contacted our vet, who insisted we bring him in for 48 hours of intravenous
treatment. They used activated charcoal to help absorb any toxins remaining in
Bear’s gastrointestinal tract.
Bear
had never been away from us and had never been caged in his life. At
some point, we learned the vet decided to a give him a mild sedative to ease
his anxiety so that he would rest a little bit. We left him at the vet Friday
morning and picked him up as soon as it opened Sunday morning. We went Friday
night to drop off home-scented blankets but decided not to see him because it
would make him frantic, tangling up and yanking out the IV line and, after
getting him calm, we would only leave all over again.
 |
| Bear |
We
were disappointed to learn he had been given a sedative without our permission
and wanted to make sure for ourselves the level of sedation was not
exaggerated. So we went to check on him Saturday and with the help of a vet
technician, watched him from a distance as the technician interacted with him. He
had a cone around his neck to keep him from chewing the IV line. He was given a
blood test Sunday morning to make sure no toxins appeared in his system. The
results were normal.
We
found the whole experience heart-wrenching and we believe that, for Bear, it
was probably far more traumatic. He’s been home for a while now and, on the
surface, seems fine, for which we are thankful. We also want to thank the staff
at our veterinary hospital. On the other hand, where our pet insurance company
is concerned, we have no thanks to extend.
My
wife had been paying premiums for pet insurance for exactly this sort of
incident. While Bear was being cared for, she filed the paperwork in hopes part
of the cost would be covered by Trupanion. They left us a phone message saying
because our dog had ingested a sock and fluffy toy in the past, we were
disqualified from any coverage. I might understand if those incidents had
happened while we were with Trupanion, but they had happened well before that.
In fact, those incidents were the reason we signed up with Trupanion, and now,
ironically, Trupanion was using them as the reason for our disqualification. I
might also understand we were disqualified from coverage had Trupanion
explained when we initially signed up, that based on Bear’s history, he might
be disqualified in certain future cases. That’s not how Trupanion works. They
take your money first and disqualify you later.
I
get the feeling from the insincerely apologetic voice message Trupanion would
have disqualified us no matter what the circumstance. I’m convinced Trupanion
is nothing more than a scam. They are not about the welfare of the
animal or the financial well-being of pet owners, they are all about our money.
The
website says pet owners are covered 90% for hospital stays and diagnostic
tests. Not quite. It also states pet owners are responsible for pre-existing
conditions. I would argue eating a sock and fluffy toy do not constitute a
"pre-existing condition". He doesn’t live with some hidden medical
condition and, moreover, the two cases are drastically different. In one case,
Bear swallowed relatively innocuous items, in the other, he ingested a poison
that could have led to kidney failure and death. There is no history of him
ingesting poisons while in our care. As far as I’m concerned, the urge to chew
and eat things is not a pre-existing condition in a dog. That’s like telling a
pet owner the broken leg sustained by their dog while running is not covered
because the urge to run is a pre-existing condition! I wouldn’t be at all
surprised to learn that ludricous reasoning is stated Trupanion policy.
My
wife wants to continue giving Trupanion money in hopes they will eventually
come through for us. I’m certain we’re barking up the wrong tree.
