Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Rocks

When my husband and I adopted Cody from Small Dog Rescue of Minnesota one of the first things we did was research pet insurance companies. We didn't know a ton about Dachshunds back than other than that they were very susceptible to Intervertebral Disk Disease or IVDD.

IVDD  is a debilitating and costly disease that affects many different breeds including Dachshunds. Knowing the cost associated in the surgical treatment of IVDD we did not want to be in a position of not being able to provide care because we could not financially afford it.

Researching Pet Insurance is Daunting

I'm not going to lie, researching pet insurance was a daunting task, especially because you can't always believe everything you read. (I work in marketing after all and a marketers job is to make everything sound great) When deciding on a pet insurance policy you have the same things to consider as any other type of insurance policy:

• Cost
• Deductible
• Policy Limits
• Coverage
• Reimbursements
• Restrictions
• Ease of Use

After researching online and reading reviews on Angie's List we decided on Healthy Paws. The plan we choose costs $44.58 per month, has a $250.00 yearly deductible and pays out a 90% reimbursement. The plan covers everything except routine vet care. This includes genetic conditions as long as they were not pre-existing.

Submitting Our First Claim

Cody's IVDD surgery was our first claim in the almost 2 years since we'd had insurance and was going to be a BIG test as to just how good our policy was. In all honestly I was prepared for having to go through a bunch of red tape. I just didn't believe filing a claim and getting reimbursed was going to be as easy as it claims it would be.

Healthy Paws Reimbursement

The total cost of Cody's IVDD surgery and hospital stay was $6,279.53, this included a CT scan, MRI and his stem cell harvesting and shot. Submitting a claim was super easy and I'm not just saying that. We sent everything in on Monday December 10th and 1 week later we had our reimbursement checks in hand. Here's how our payout worked....

Kudos to Healthy Paws

In addition to their super simple claim filing process, we called customer service a few times since it was our first claim and I have nothing but great things to say. Good customer service is hard to find these days and their phone reps were very helpful. They kept us in the loop every step of the way via email.

Thanks Healthy Paws!

Walk Mindfully Like a Dog

I went to a workshop recently called "Discover the Body-Mind Connection". Many believe that living mindfully affects the body in a positive way. Living mindfully requires being in touch and completely aware of the present moment without judgement.

In today’s world, it’s very common for us to go through life with numerous thoughts going our minds no matter what we are doing. And most of those thoughts are either from the past or for the future. I wonder how many people have really mastered living mindfully.

The good news is that you can start living mindfully at any time.  

How You Can Become More Mindful

There are several techniques to help us achieve a good mind-body connection. 

One of the practices to start being more mindful is to "choose a daily activity in your life where you bring your full awareness and attention". Instantly I knew that walking with my dogs would be my activity of choice. Dogs are the best teachers. They lead by example. So I couldn't think of a better way to honour my dogs than to walk and be in the moment with them, everyday.

Those of us who live with dogs are so lucky to have a constant reminder to live mindfully. All we have to do is to look into those eyes to know there is no better moment to be in than the present one.

Tips for a Mindful Walk

• Remember to breathe. Be conscious of every breath you take. Breathing deeply will keep you calm which in turn will keep your dog calm.

• Think of walking with your dog as a privilege, not a chore. You will be more open to experiencing it in a positive way.

• Learn from your dog. Your dog knows how to completely engage in his walk. His nose, eyes and ears are ready to take it all in to the fullest. Don't walk your dog, walk with your dog.

• Leave your gadgets at home. Talking on the phone or texting someone will distract you from what is important, you and your dog.

Make it a mindful walk!

IVDD Diagnoses

Cody Before Surgery

I am not a patient person so waiting to hear the results from Cody's CT scan was agonizing to say the least. The call came at 10:30 pm. They did not see anything in the CT scan that would indicate a disk rupture but his symptoms were not adding up so they would like to do an MRI in the morning.

Since we were  told that the CT scan would tell them if surgery was necessary I took this news as a somewhat positive sign. BIG MISTAKE!


Thursday December 6th

10:00 AM we get a call with the results of the MRI. Guess what? Disk Rupture and Surgery ASAP. (Mind you we brought him in at the 9 hour from symptoms mark and it was now a full 24 hours) The first thing that came to mind was did this additional time decrease Cody's chance of walking again?? I couldn't help but wonder why the most advanced surgical center for animals in Minnesota did not have the ability to do an MRI after hours, we were in the ER where time sensitive surgical procedures happen all the time. But now is not the time to dwell on that.

Cody underwent his surgery today and did great according to the doctor. We opted for the additionally stem cell injections (studies have shown stem cell injections increase the chances of mobility) so tomorrow he will go under for a second time to receive his injection. Last we heard we are going to be picking him up sometime tomorrow evening. I cannot wait to see my little guy!

Now we are busy preparing everything we'll need to help him successfully recover. I am trying to prepare myself for what I will see (shaved back and huge incision) but somehow I have a feeling even though I know what to expect, it will still be very emotional seeing him in that state.

More to come...stay tuned!

IVDD - A Dachshund Parents Worst Nightmare

Cody - Before Surgery

This is Cody, our beloved dapple Dachshund. My husband and I adopted Cody from Small Dog Rescue of Minnesota after falling in love with him as a foster and earning the title of 'foster failure"

I decided to document our journey after reading Nathan's blog that documented his journey. It will be interesting to see the similarities and differences.

Where It All Begins

Cody sleeps with us and every morning wakes us up by showering us with kisses. Unfortunately that didn't happen Tuesday December 4th. We didn't think anything of it at first other than commenting to each other how 'unusual' it was.

I proceeded to let both dogs out to go potty (we also have a Yellow Lab) and noticed that on the way in Cody came to a dead stop right in front of the small stair into the house. (red flag #1) I lifted him into the house and gave them both breakfast. After breakfast Cody normally goes back into the bedroom and hides under the covers. Instead, he laid on his brothers bed. (red flag #2) When I called him to come over to me he didn't want to move. (red flag #3) By this time my husband agreed something was wrong. Back injury came to mind immediately but then wondered how that could have happened. We are so careful, we have doggie stairs and ramps everywhere and he was in a puppy mill for the first 5 years of his life. After our second potty break I knew 100% we were dealing with a back issue when I saw he was very weak in the back-end. I called the vet right away. We use Chanhassen Vet in Minnesota - awesome place!

The vet did his exam, and did an X-RAY (worthless in detecting IVDD, more on that later) Since Cody still had some neurological function the vet thought there was a possibility things could improve treating him with 24/7 crate rest and meds. Of course that was in the event he did not get any worse. Which of course he did.

Wednesday December 5th

Cody was no better. In fact; he was worse, as the day progressed his back-end became completely paralyzed. I knew from reading that once complete paralysis sets in time is of the essence. For the best recovery success rate after surgery you have a window of 12-24 hours before the possibility of walking again dwindles greatly. I immediately called our vet, gave him the update and he called the University of Minnesota Veterinary Center.

We arrived at the UofM at 7:00 (9 hours since the complete paralysis symptoms set in) They took him back to be examined right away doing some of the same tests our local vet did. Their recommendation was to do a CT scan and that would tell them if his injury was one that could be corrected surgically. We asked why not an MRI and they told us that no one was available after hours for an MRI but assured us that the CT scan would tell them what they needed to know (Which turned out not to be the case) My husband and I had to leave Cody there, we had agreed to proceed with surgery if necessary.

I knew I would be in for a sleepless night, leaving my baby was VERY difficult.