Cleo's Recent Illness

Towards the end of last year we noticed that our dog Cleo was looking unhappy and a bit unwell, we also noticed that she was regularly bleeding from the stomach area. We were obviously worried that she was sick and so took her to the vet. After a long examination and all sorts of blood tests the vet confirmed our worst fears!

Unfortunately our new, beloved English Springer Spaniel was very sick and suffering from a haemophilia related illness which was preventing her blood from clotting. The vet told us what needed to be done and we were so relived that we had taken out pet insurance for Cleo. The list of treatments required was long and there was no way we could have been able to afford it without the insurance, our pet would have had to be put down and that would have destroyed the family!

In the end, our dog had to endure:

• A scan
• A blood transfusion
• A hysterectomy

The vet initially thought that the problem was hormonal which was why Cleo had the hysterectomy, but unfortunately this wasn't the solution and her illness seemed to get worse.

Our dog was shaved for the operation and even a few months after it the hair is only just beginning to grow back. You can see in the picture that she has a bald stomach!

Only after putting her on cocktail of drugs did she show any signs of recovery. So after the initial treatments our dog is now having to take large doses of steroids as well as medication to boost her immune system ... these have certainly made her bulk up!

The complete cost of the vet's bills have currently come to just under £3,000!!! We've had to pay some of this, but we are so grateful to the insurance company for their help - and so glad that we took out insurance when we got Cleo. The alternative doesn't bear thinking about.