Poor Martha

Past few days have been kinda crazy. Well, life in general tends to be a little bit crazy most days as anyone juggling work, three kids and a dog would know. But this time life threw a curve ball at our family when our puppy Martha, yes, the one in the pictures, got ill.

If you have ever had a pet, whether we are talking goldfish, tarantula, pony or dog you can relate to the worry of your furry or scaled family member being sick. For me, it always starts the same way. At first it’s a tad annoying when the dog starts to puke or poop everywhere, and then as she isn’t getting better but worse, comes the overwhelming worry.

Last time it was the washing detergent gel pod that caused major havoc in our household, ending the dog in emergency veterinary care with aspiration pneumonia – meaning pneumonia after inhaling something that doesn’t belong in your lungs. That time I ended up sitting on the kitchen floor giving her breathing treatments.

This time we are not quite sure what happened to her, but oh boy, what a sick gal she was. Without going into all the gruesome details, I can tell you I have been cruising between the veterinary hospital, work and home for the past four days. I drove her to the vet every morning, and picked her up a little before their office closed every evening, and then cared for her at home over night. One guess was an allergic reaction to bee stings, the other one was that she got a small amount of rat poison. We will most likely never find out what it was, but finally the antibiotics, fluids and other fine meds did their trick and she turned a corner last night. Today she has spent the day at home resting, read sitting by the pantry door begging for food - she is a Labrador Retriever after all.

We are lucky in two ways. Firstly, we have an awesome veterinarian. Brookfield Veterinary Hospital has been our trusted source of care ever since Martha was a puppy, and for our dogs prior to Martha. Dr Marie Robinson met Martha for the first time when our girl was a nine-week-old ball of fur, and has ever since been her trusted physician. For emergencies, as they are usually not planned, we have met a couple other doctors at the clinic and been equally astounded by each and every one of them. This time we were cared for by Dr Howard Robinson, a well-recognized veterinary doctor specializing in surgical care of our pets.

The first lucky event leads me to the second. When we met with Dr Marie for the first time with Martha, she recommended us to get pet insurance - the sooner the better. She knew Labradors well enough to know that we would be needing that insurance sooner and later. I’m forever thankful for her recommendation and the fact that we chose to listen to her. Pet insurance has paid for itself so many times already. Even if math isn’t your thing, I can promise you, hospital care for a dog does not come for free, and thanks to our insurance I was able to hand my credit card over the counter every single evening without shedding a tear.

So, what is the lesson of this story? There are three. A great veterinary clinic is worth gold. Pet insurance pays for itself if you have a Labrador retriever. And as a pet owner, one is ready to do pretty much anything for their furry friend.