INU

A quick update...to be fair with VPI. They re-processed my claim and they are giving me $1550 for her surgery. Jazzy has been with VPI for 5 years and her monthly premium is $25 so it had costed me $1500. I'd say that was a big help in addition to giving me a peace of mind.

Tried to delete this thread but I was unable to. I finally got through to them. Turned out it was some mixup -- or 'mixup on purpose' I don't know. Anyway, they are going to review the claim again. Hopefully I get something back.

Anyone has any experience with VPI insurance on major treatments? I've had it on both of my dogs for years, never used it because I wanted to save it for bigger treatments. I submitted a claim for Jazzy's surgery and out of $4600, they reimbursed only $300. On the benefit schedules, it says the allowance for CCL surgery is $1200+. I've heard insurance companies would try to screw with you but didn't think this bad. I called them but they are having a 'meeting' and that I can only leave a message. I was wondering if it's a norm and that unless you argue with them, you would only get the smallest money back. I've read something like that about other pet insurance companies but more people recommended VPI. Here's what it says on the benefit plan for CCL surgery: Cruciate Rupture-Surgical Primary Diagnosis Allowance $1207 Primary Diagnostic Testing Allowance $152 Primary Anesthesia Allowance $125 Secondary Diagnostic Allowance $845 The only things they reimbursed were $189 for TPLO plate $126 for testing

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M.L. That is REALLY comforting to hear. I'll see if it shrinks on its on in the next 3 weeks.

Thanks for the replies. Silly me, I didn't think of talking to another vet! I did get the second opinion today and he thinks it's benign cyst as well. But I decided to have it removed anyway. The vet said he'd have to cut about 1cm extra around it. If it were to get bigger, she might not have enough tissue to remove it safely. I'm going wait until she gets her 8 week post-TPLO xrays (3 more weeks!) and confirm her tibia is attached before putting her in their hands.

I found a small growth under Jazzy's chin. I took her to the vet but he thinks it's nothing serious. He says most of those masses are benign. I asked him if he could take some fluid out and send it to the lab. He said that her mass is harder and doesn't contain enough fluid to do that. The only thing they could do is to surgically remove it and then send the whole thing to the lab for testing. I wanted to do that but he suggested that we give her a little break considering she had to go through so many treatments and anesthesias in the last 9 months. My friend's dog recently had to go through chemo because of a tiny growth in her leg. My father-in-law is going through that right now just from a tiny mole on his back. I know I'm being paranoid... but I decided not to believe everything the medical professionals say ever since they misdiagnosed her injury last year. I was hoping that some of you seen growth like hers and share the experience with me. This vet told me to wait for a month or two and if it grows bigger or starts to irritate her, then have it removed. I really want it to be nothing serious. She doesn't need any more stress right now...or me The little white dots on the growth are her hair by the way. I cut her hair around it so that I could see it better.

I met two of them which I thought were total BS but I like what you said above.

Thank you so much for all the well wishes! They corrected her knee cap, did a TPLO, and amazingly she is already using the leg 36 hour post surgery! She is acting strangely from the morphine but should get better once the morphine partch is removed later this week. She refuses to drink water. She'd only drink fluid if it's flavored. So she's been drinking beef broth (no sodium). It took her 19 hours till she finally peed yesterday. I got some photos that some of you might find interesting. Arthroscopy Normal CCL - from google search for comparison Jazzy's partially torn CCL - right side is still intact, left side has torn fibers and blood vessels Again, right side is intact Close up on the rotation Bruices on the leg.

Thank you all for the encouragement and good vibes. We sure need them!

That is so so sweet. Thank you.

I am not blaming anyone including myself. I'm thankful that I trusted my gut feeling and took her back for more exams. I'm also glad that I started saving money for 'doggie health funds' last year. The hardest thing for me to accept is that she was most likely in pain when we were doing rehab. I made her do things that were probably making the ligament worse - which was at the same time helping with her muscle injury. She trusted me and did everything I asked her to do. That just tears my heart apart in pieces. I cried all day yesterday. Her TPLO and knee surgery is scheduled for this Friday. She won't be able to work or run freely at least for another 6 months. She sat and watched Cooper work in the last 7 months. It's going to be a long 6 months for us. Please send me positive vibes. We have another hill to climb. The bright side is that at least we know exactly what is going on and hopefully the surgery is going to fix her.

Oh yes. I won't be able to do every other day anymore but as often as I can. My friend lend me one of the lasers for horses so I'll be trying that as well. I am keeping everything crossed that this would make a difference. Did you say you had MRI or ultrasound done before the procedure to narrow down the area?

Thank you all for the info and suggestions on/off-line. I met with the surgeon today and I decided to give ESWT a try tomorrow (and another one in 3 weeks). Supposely, he's one of the two major doctors that perform this in the U.S. but still, he says he rarely see iliopsoas injury. So no gurantee if this works or not.

Jazzy injured her iliopsoas muscle back in Sep. We thought it was CCL partial tear until several weeks ago. after few weeks of more strict rest with meds (per ortho doctor) and with no improvement, I took her to a licensed physical therapist. I have been taking her every other day for two weeks now. When we started, she said that if we didn't see much improvement in two weeks then we can try accupuncture or ESWT - Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy. It is used on humans and horses and some dogs. Supposely, it re-injure the muscle with low shockwave to activate healing process all over again. Right now, she has a scar tissue that didn't heal right and she is not able to extend her leg. When she measured her extension, her left leg could go up to 162 degrees where the right leg could go only up to 120 degree or so. During physical therapy, she gets joint mobilization (slowly extending her muscles) and laser treatment. We were going to put her on water treadmill later but she is not ready yet. I walk her daily and let her do certain tricks (walking backwards, taking bow etc) for up to 5 minutes (per therapist). I met with an acupuncturist last week but I wasn't sure if I liked what I heard. Honestly, money is not an issue because I will come up with it..whatever it takes. I just rather spend my money on something more promising. So I kind of like the idea of this shockwave therapy. But I am a little skeptical about the laser treatment (the one she's getting now) and I don't know if ESWT is something similar to it or not. One of the orthopedic doctors I talked to said the laser treatment is all superstitious. I asked around but I don't know anyone who had this shockwave therapy done on their dog. I have a consultation with another orthopedic doctor on Monday to discuss this option. I want to do my research before I meet with him. Any information is appreciated.

That's wonderful! I went through the same thing for 2 month with my lab when the first vet diagnosed him with OCD - turned out it wasn't. I am now going through something similar with my BC, in the last 3 months (not as strict as you had to be) and it's miserable... I am so glad surgery was a success and he is doing well! He looks so happy in the photos

Interesting question. When I baby-talk to them, I think they hear it more like music to their ears. They respond by moarning or flattering their ears. When humans are talking to each other, they seem to know the difference too. They do ignore the words they know when they are not addressed to them. The tone of my voice changes when I really want to communicate with them so they pay more attention to each word I say. I also call their names before commanding. I notice that my BC pick up words in sentences much better than my lab. It's probably because she has more vocabulary. I did the little test where you throw some words in ramdom sentences too. The BC scored much higher.

Tug-a-jug works great too. I have two for my two dogs. The problem is my lab still can't figure out how to work it. I use it only for my border collie. I use it more for entertainment purpose but it also slows her down.

wow this is an old thread. How did you come across it? It's been two years since I started this but I still feel the same way... I keep coming back to it.

Thank you Barb. The trip to Japan was much more smooth than the trip to Australia (13 hours instead of 60 hours). Mom is doing well and she was surprised and happy to see me. Leaving Jazzy with my husband was hard but I know he will look after her. It's probably better that I'm not there for two weeks while she rests. I miss her so much... I can't wait to give her 'snuggle'.

We had a consultation with an ortho-vet today. Turned out her CCL was good but it was her iliopsoas muscle. I was ready to schedule her TPLO/TTA surgery but we didn't have to! He gave me a different type of NSAIDs to try. I am leaving the country tomorrow to take care of my mom after a surgery and I was getting really stressed out about leaving her for two weeks. I am so glad I took her to the specialist.

When Cooper got bit by water moc two weekends ago, we did use sawyer's snake kit. I hear different things about this and wasn't sure if it helped. I went ahead and used it anyway. We gave him some benedryl in the field, kept him quiet, then transported him to a vet on call (it was sunday) within 30 minutes. Vet didn't give anti venum but 4 sets of shots (including stereoid and more antihistimine) and sent him home with anti biotics. He swelled up some and did form a little but he did good. I was more worried about him blocking the airway if he gets swelled up. The snake probably didn't inject full venum. It was a large snake. It would have been worse if it was a baby one. We saw tons of baby ones everywhere. The vet said we could give 3 benedryl tablets next time for his weight. He's 57lbs. Most larger dogs are supposed to survive from moc bites. Now I really don't know what you could carry for aligators... you can't kill them so all you can do is avoid or run.

I'm on my way out to the vet's office now, with a list of breeders to avoid and few other tips. It was partially my assumption that he would not do anything special with his new dog. I can find out more if I see him. He recently lost a Border Collie and he said he loves BCs. Don't know much about the previous dog as I only started going to him this past summer. I do get the problem a lot. People see how calm and well-behaved dog is at PR events and they want one just like her. I have to explain to them really how much time and patience I put in the training to get here. On the list for the vet, I explained all that.

Rescue groups would let you take the dog and x-ray him before adopting? I don't see that'd be a problem for the vet as it wouldn't cost anything for him.

I guess I should have said in the message that I need names of the breeders to 'AVOID' as I stated in the title. I can't help him with a breeder for his purpose. But I could at least tell him what to avoid. That's why I didn't know what to tell him. The first thing I thought was the rescue but when he said about the health issue, I didn't know what to say to that.