Don’t leave home without it
LTJ and I learned a valuable lesson this week: emergency vet visits are costly and we need a Visa card.
Bogart all better
Bogart first vomited Tues. night around 11 pm and then again in the morning with LTJ. Throughout the day anytime he ate or drank anything he vomited and it was coming out a frothy yellow bile. By the time LTJ got home, we were ready to bring Bogart to the vet but the only thing open at that hour is the emergency hospital in Palo Alto. We were there for about 3 hours while they poked and prodded our furry little baby. They did blood tests, x-rays, and fecal tests and couldn’t find anything wrong with him. The vet was very nice and said that from the x-rays it looked like there was a lot of air in his intestines, a sign that something he ate had irritated his stomach. Since he’s such a huge fan of other dog’s poop, maybe it was that. It could’ve been a snail. We were worried that he ate a mushroom as it’s the season for them here but all his blood work was normal. They gave him an injection of fluids and sent us home with some medications for anti-vomiting and diarrhea.
I was betting the bill would be $350 and Brandon wasn’t sure. It ended up being $548… all to find out that there was essentially nothing wrong with him.
And of course, they don’t take American Express or Discover Card so I had to use my debit. Imagine if there had been something seriously wrong and it cost even more! So lesson learned, we need a card that is accepted everywhere for these types of emergencies.
Bogart was great for the vet though. The doctor said he was the perfect patient and didn’t put up any stink about all the poking and prodding they did to him.
Admittedly as new parents, we probably jumped to bring Bogart to the vet (and hence needed to go the emergency room) faster than others would but with a puppy that’s vomiting it’s probably better to be safe than sorry.
I’m happy to say that Bogart is all better now and back to snacking on all his usual treats. He was so thrilled to be given some of his favorite treats again as he hadn’t had them in so long. We are walking him on the 6′ leash again rather than a flexi-leash so that we can keep him closer and away from anything nasty that might make him sick again. If it’s within our control, we’d like to avoid shelling out 500 bucks again.
We have posted some new pics of Bogart. I just bought him a hat yesterday. He looks so cute in it! Also, the ones from the beach are pretty funny. Here’s the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thediatribe/
Mrs. Larby
http://www.petcareinsurance.com - This particular insurance carrier is a favorite of many of the people I know who have animals. They swear by it! And for the minimal annual cost, totally worth it, especially in situations like your first emergency dog visit where insurance would have virtually paid for itself in one shot.
I learned my lesson a few years ago when I was in charge of our 20 year old huskie (Winter) who got very sick while my parents were away. My sisters were freaking out and I did not know what to do with the old boy so of course we went to the hospital and admitted him for 4 days, complete with IV and his own room, ect…needless to say 4 days and almost $2,500 later my father made my mother get insurance to cover their second doggie.
Now, every time snobby little Phoebe gets a sniffle my mom just has to pay the 20.00 co-pay and all are happy! If only it covered her bi-weekly the grooming expense as well, my father would truly be a happy man. Incidentally, Winter died peacefully in his sleep oustside his dog house about 9 months after the hospital incident.
March 26th, 2007 at 7:48 am