Very worried - dog bleeding and insurance may be invalid

[OscarandLucinda]

My first time posting in this section, only been a dog owner since January last year - we have a wonderful mixed breed adopted from abroad, about 9 years old.

All been fine but started to bleed from a lump on one eye lid over the weekend - assumed isolated issue, vet said could wait for today.

Yesterday he started bleeding from 1 nostril and then from mouth on same side.

£100 for vet today to say needs exam under anaesthetic tomorrow for nose/dental investigation and for eyelid lump removal. No bloods done today for clotting etc. Told would be done while under anaesthesia tomorrow.

Very worried about potential underlying causes + also checking insurance policy and realised needed to have yearly vet checks to be valid - stupidly didn’t realise this. He had what seemed like a general check with the same vet when seen after an accident. I didn’t realise he was due for a booster around October 2022 - I’ve never had any reminder from the vet.

Now I’m so worried we won’t be able to afford his treatment if insurance invalidated (Sainsbury’s) and more so that he might have end stage leptospirosis etc as missed booster.

long shot but anyone with experience, reassurance or advice in this scenario- would welcome it.

Phone the insurance company and ask, the you will know if they will pay out or not, most vets will send a text reminder for vaccinations etc, I get them for flea/worm treatments too, so unusual you didn't get one.

It sounds as though OP’s dog might never have had a booster with that vet so there’d be no reminder generated on the system.

Some insurers offer pre-auths - do phone Sainsburys this morning to see if it’s something they offer. They will need an estimate and a clinical history from your vet if they do.

Do the vets know he was imported from abroad and was it from a country where the tick borne diseases are a concern? Bearing in mind I am not clinical but an acquaintance’s imported dog with a bleeding disorder turned out to have ehrlichiosis.

Whether or not insurance will pay out or not depends on the condition, but generally they won't pay out for illnesses that can be vaccinated against (unless there's medical reason your dog can't be vaccinated which is rare).

The same rule often applies for dental care - you need to be going for annual checks - the idea being that most invasive dental treatment is avoidable with regular cleaning and check-ups.

All you can do is ring your insurance and ask.

Please also bear in mind that Blue Cross may help with bills if you are a low income family.

Thanks all for your replies

Managed to convince the vet of the concern about an underlying bleeding disorder, rather than just separate focal issues - partly as now can see bruising on ears etc

so he’s had bloods and hoping for a diagnosis from that - maybe ITP but ehrlichiosis also apparently added

he’s mildly anaemic, still drips of blood

takes a couple of days to get results; I’m going to just pay as I go for now and then try to claim after and see what happens

of course mainly just want a diagnosis and treatment if that’s possible