Pet insurance is confusing, and as a first time-dog owner with Pops, I’ve made some mistakes. Here is Pops’ IVDD story and my tips for you when thinking about a policy for your beloved dog. This blog is sponsored by Bought By Many pet insurance, and I genuinely wish I knew about them and their policies at the time Pops needed them.

In May 2017, my worst nightmare became a reality. Little Pops lost the use of her back legs and was paralysed from the waist down.

Pops was one of many Dachshunds who have fallen victim to Intervertebral Disk Disease (IVDD), a genetic disorder that causes spinal disks to calcify, causing pain, discomfort and in the worst cases paralysis.

We acted fast and our vet dealt with things brilliantly, giving us an immediate emergency referral to a Neurologist within the hour. After a consultation with the spinal specialist we agreed that Pops needed an urgent MRI to see the extent of the damage and if there was hope she would walk again. Reality hit when I received a phone call during the MRI explaining that Pops would need surgery immediately, and there was a 50/50 chance she would be paralysed. 

Without hesitation I gave consent and waited 4 hours for my baby girl to come out of surgery. Two of Pops’ spinal disks had burst and were interfering with the nerves in her spinal cord, Her neurologist did all she could to ensure the cord was no longer impacted, but there was no way of telling how much damage was done to her spinal chord and if Pops would walk again.

It was a long wait. Pops spent 5 nights in a specialist animal hospital with round-the-clock care, but worryingly, she wasn’t showing any signs on movement in her back legs and had seemingly lost all bowel and bladder control. Pops was deeply unhappy away from home and had refused to eat, so the neurologist decided it was best she came home early to see if this would help her recovery. We were given lots of equipment, bags of medication and strict instructions from the physiotherapist and off we went!

After another five days of no movement, I was beginning to give up hope of Pops walking again. I’d take her in the garden to lay on the grass in the sun and feel so horrendously guilty that it was somehow my fault and questioned if I was giving her the quality of life she deserved. She had already been through so much as a puppy farm rescue, was this just too much for her to handle? And as if by magic, without warning, she stood up and wobbled 5 steps over to my lap to comfort me.

Now I always knew Pops was a fighter, but she went from strength to strength, We did everything the specialist recommended, we took Pops to regular physio, she had hydrotherapy on a water treadmill to build be muscles back up and even acupuncture. It was a long journey that required so much patience and teamwork from my whole family, but after 2 solid months of round the clock care and therapies, Pops was back on her feet and doing brilliantly. 

That’s when the vet bill came…. I foolishly assumed her insurer at the time would cover the lot, I was wrong.

The complete bill for Pops IVDD treatment and recovery, including the surgery, the MRI, X-rays, Aftercare, medication, Kennel stays, Physio, Hydrotherapy and acupuncture came to a whopping £7,500. My insurer at the time only paid £4,000. It was only after that I realised I had Pops on a policy that would not cover any more than £4,000 per condition per year. I also found out that certain therapies were not even included in the policy, such as hydrotherapy, which played a vital role in her recovery.

As if this wasn’t hard enough to swallow, I was then told that her policy has been changed and they have added exclusions. This meant that Pops would never again be insured for anything relating to her back, neck, hind legs or hips. 

Without hesitation, I decided to change insurers, which was incredibly stressful as I ploughed through hundreds of insurers online, none of which would insure Pops as she had a pre-existing condition.

That’s when I reached out to my fellow dachshund people, and I was recommended Bought By Many.

I phoned them right away and was so impressed by how approachable they were while still remaining professional.

Bought By Many was the only Insurer I found at that time that provided cover for pre-existing conditions. However, after speaking with their customer service team I came to the decision to insure Pops on their Complete policy.

My reasoning behind this was that Pops age was working against us. At five years old, it made a lot more sense to get her on the Complete cover as it was more comprehensive. I was also told that if there were no further symptoms of her IVDD for the next two years, then two years from the date of her discharge, she was covered fully again, and the pre-existing condition would be wiped from her record.

The only risk involved here was that if anything happened to Pops back in those two years, then I would have to pay for any treatment myself and I would not be covered. In the long run, this was a better solution for Pops and I, and thankfully, two years have passed and she is symptom free and fully recovered, meaning she is fully insured with no conditions once more.

Of course, you can give your dachshund a head start, don’t let them use stairs or jump down from the sofa, introduce supplements to their diet and control their weight, but the reality is, IVDD is a genetic disorder that is unstoppable, so my best advice to you would be to make sure you have an amazing Vet and a quality insurance policy, like we do with Bought By Many.