Cattle

Posts Tagged ‘disk’

Pet owner Julie Stern Fukuhara, of Palo, Alto, CA, said her dog Turbo (a “Puggle” who is a crossbreed between a Pug and a Beagle) began acting strangely one evening.

“He was walking a little wobbly,” she said of her floppy-eared-pooch.

Although she was initially worried about Turbo, Julie knew if she had to take him to the vet, she wouldn’t have to agonize over finances because she had pet insurance for Turbo through Pets Best Insurance.

When the dog’s condition worsened, Julie decided it was time to take him to the doctor.

“He was walking really gingerly and tenderly,” she said of her usually-energetic dog.

After leaving the pet hospital with a clean bill of health, both owner and veterinarian scratching their heads, Julie took her beloved Turbo home to rest.

“By the time we got home, he had completely lost the use of his legs . . . in the morning he couldn’t move at all, so the doctor told me to go to the surgery center.”

An MRI later revealed Turbo had ruptured a disk and that fluid had begun to collect around his spine. Doctors recommended the dog go into surgery immediately.

“I said ‘go ahead—do it,'” Stern Fukuhara said of the costly procedure.

Even when the pet hospital gave her a jaw-dropping estimate of the cost beforehand, she had no reservations when it came to saving the life of her dog.

“I remember . . . in the back of my mind I was really relieved I had the health insurance,” she said. “I submitted the claim and they sent me a check right away.”

Julie said she received a reimbursement check from Pets Best Insurance before her credit card statement (which she used to cover the expense) even arrived in her mailbox.

“This would have been a really bad time to deal with more expense,” Julie said. “If we didn’t have insurance I would be so upset. I feel so lucky that I made that decision when he was a puppy.”