Health Scare for Chocolate Lab is Covered Thanks to Pet Insurance Plan

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. - Feb. 27, 2014 - PRLog -- A curious dog and a holiday bandana are not a good mix, especially for Delilah (http://blog.petfirst.com/PetfirstBlog/index.php/2014/02/26/health-scare-chocolate-lab-covered-thanks-pet-insurance-plan/?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=PressRelease&utm_campaign=PR_DelilahsStory), a 5-year-old Chocolate Labrador Retriever from Coconut Creek, Fla.

“Delilah is a delightful dog, very playful and curious,” said Kimberly Bruce, pet parent to Delilah, Duke, a lab mix dog, and Daisy, a cat.  “She typically wears decorative bandanas around her neck to recognize various holidays.”

But something was different on this day.  Delilah managed to chew on the bandana and eventually ate the entire thing.  In veterinary care terms, this is a foreign body ingestion.

“At first Delilah was doing OK.  I took her to the vet and was advised to keep a watchful eye on her,” said Bruce.  “But within a few hours, her condition quickly deteriorated.”

Most pets with a foreign body ingestion will present with signs such as:

Being lethargic

Not eating or drinking

Spiking a fever which can lead to seizures and other complications

This lead Bruce to rush Delilah to the Coral Springs Animal Hospital where they performed emergency surgery to remove the troublesome bandana.  Unfortunately in this particular situation, Delilah had also become septic, meaning she had an infection in her body as a result of the foreign object.  The infection started affecting Delilah’s other organs and everything began to shut down.

“Delilah remained at the animal hospital in the Intensive Care Unit and was monitored very closely for several days,” said Bruce.  “The hospital allowed me to visit her every day, sometimes three times per day.  And in time she slowly began to come back around and eventually made a full recovery.”

Bruce has PetFirst’s Lifetime 5,000 pet insurance plan for Delilah which reimburses up to 90% of veterinary expenses after the deductible is met.  And with this plan, there are no per-incident limits, allowing Bruce to be reimbursed the maximum amount for even just one accident or illness.

“For the surgery, lab testing and x-rays, plus five days in the hospital, Delilah’s veterinary bill reached more than $11,000.  An expense I could not manage to pay myself,” said Bruce.  “Thanks to PetFirst and the pet insurance policy I chose, I was reimbursed more than $9,800 for everything.”

Bruce has been a PetFirst policyholder for more than four years and is grateful to have the pet insurance plan in place for when she needed it.

“By having pet insurance I didn’t have to worry about the veterinary expenses, I could spend my time and energy focused on Delilah and nursing her back to health,” said Bruce.

Pet parents can learn more about affordable pet insurance plans by logging onto www.petfirst.com or calling 877-894-7387.

About PetFirst

PetFirst is the fastest growing pet insurer in North America offering easy-to-understand lifelong coverage for dogs and cats. PetFirst’s comprehensive coverage is unique in the industry providing simplified policies with coverage for hereditary, chronic and breed-specific conditions with no per diagnosis limits.  PetFirst offers pet insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia through animal welfare agencies, retailers, employers as well as other partners.  PetFirst polices are underwritten by American Alternative Insurance Corporation (Munich Re) which is rated by A.M. Best as A+.  Additional services are underwritten by Lloyd’s.  For more information about PetFirst pet insurance, visit www.petfirst.com (http://blog.petfirst.com/PetfirstBlog/index.php/2014/02/2...) or call 877-894-7387.