We have a 12.5 year old Labrador. We've had her from a puppy and adore her. She will get whatever medical treatment she needs - whether it's paid for by insurance or by us. There's no question of that. Having said that, we wouldn't put her through any major ops at her age and given her failing health.
Her eyesight isn't great
Ear ops mean she's deaf in one ear and only has partial hearing in the other
She has arthritis
Her mobility is now very limited
I know we won't have her for much longer and I'm fully prepared, when the time comes, to make any difficult decisions based on her best interests. But while she's enjoying 2 or 3 short walks a day, eating well, wagging her tail and showing an interest in what's going on, we're not there yet.
The yearly insurance letter from Direct Line has come today. Her monthly premiums have gone up from £135 pcm to £181 pcm. So I'm wondering if we should stop paying them. She did have ear ops a couple of years ago for which the insurance paid out £6k. 2 months ago she lost the use of her back legs and had an mri scan for which they paid £2k. She's also on gabapentin, the monthly cost of which is covered by insurance.
The mri scan showed that she has various issues going on with her spine - bony growths etc which are reducing the space for her spinal cord. She must have knocked herself and caused some swelling which caused the cord to be compressed. When the swelling went down she could walk again, but it's a very stiff legged, wobbly walk. The consultant doesn't think it's causing her pain, but the gabapentin is to be on the safe side.
Having cancelled insurance for another dog a few years ago, and then been hit with a £4.5 cruciate ligament bill, I'm nervous about cancelling this policy. What would other people do in this situation? Are there any other big bills we could incur for a dog of her age and medical history?
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Would you pay these insurance premiums?
13 replies
Medievalist · 17/05/2019 12:10
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