Cartouche

Yvan Riel, Otterburn Park, Quebec

Cartouche was such a happy English Springer. He loved to run and jump, and was often seen with his nose to the ground, sniffing out fowl. One day, as he was leaping over a ditch, he tore the ligaments around his knee. He had surgery to the knee and after one month of recovery, he was eager to get back to playing and exploring.

Six months later he fell sick. We took him to our veterinarian and it turned out our beloved Cartouche had Cancer. The Cancer had attacked one of his kidneys and the organ was so damaged that removing it was the only thing that could save his life. He wasn't even nine yet. We wanted him to live a long and healthy life so we decided to help him fight his illness.

Our veterinarian gave us options, some were quite expensive and out of our means, such as injected chemotherapy every month for $450. After we had Cartouche's damaged kidney removed, we decided to go with oral chemotherapy treatment because it was a less aggressive treatment and a lower dose of chemotherapy. The surgery was around $4,000.00 and the oral chemotherapy was around $35 per month.

Cartouche was getting better, but we could tell the surgery had taken its toll. He didn't have the same energy he once had and he slowly became sick again. This time the Cancer had spread to his other kidney, bladder and spine.

Putting Cartouche down was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make and we're still very emotional about our loss. We knew it was the right decision because he couldn't control his bladder any longer and his legs were too weak to walk up and down the stairs. He was in pain and there was nothing else we could do for him.

As much as we miss Cartouche, we are grateful that we had last summer with him. Our veterinary practice provided excellent care and none of this would have been possible if it wasn't for the financial aid that Petsecure pet health insurance provided us.

Like every pet owner out there, we hoped we would only have to visit our veterinarian for annual check-ups but it was so nice to know that because we had prepared and planned for the unexpected the help was there if we needed it. There is no doubt in our minds that the next dog we get will be on Petsecure.

Marley

Marley's Mom, Toronto, ON

Marley had been a healthy and happy dog her entire 12 years, until she suddenly suffered 3 horrific seizures. Marley was then diagnosed with a brain tumour that fortunately, was operable. We felt very secure knowing that Petsecure was there for us financially, so that we could go forward and make the decision to have the surgery done.

When we brought Marley home from the hospital after her brain surgery we were delighted to see her in such high spirits and recovering so well. Unfortunately, after a post-op check-up, we discovered another grave threat; an adrenal mass was causing her blood pressure to soar.

The abdominal surgery was also a success and Marley came home once again wagging her tail. Tragically, we weren't through the ordeal just yet. Her eyes and skin turned completely yellow from liver failure, an apparent complication from the abdominal surgery. Marley had to go back yet again.

The good news is that today, Marley is doing great and enjoying the warmth of the summer. Having Petsecure behind us, we were able to give Marley access to top-notch care from exceptional veterinarians and compassionate technicians who looked after her 24/7. Petsecure paid us over $19,000 towards Marley's vet fees, we never could have managed that amount on our own.

Thank you so much Petsecure!