A Vets Choice Claims Story - Sandra & Ide

Vets Choice insurance for pets is proud to protect pets all across Australia. Since launching in June 2019, we’ve made it our mission to help more pets receive the treatment they deserve.

In one particular instance, the team at Vets Choice insurance for pets went above and beyond to help out a special little pooch Ide and her beloved owner Sandra.

Ide is an 18-month old Cavoodle, named after Sandra’s mother. Sandra, at age 73, lives with rheumatoid arthritis and no family in the small town of Tomerong NSW with Ide, her two cats and her 13 year old dog Benji.

On 23rd November 2019, Ide went to jump onto Sandra’s lap, who was sitting on the lounge, but didn’t quite make it. She fell after misjudging her jump and hurt both back legs.

After an initial consultation with Sandra’s local vet of 25 years, it was confirmed that Ide would need surgery to repair the damage to both her back legs. The surgery would be done in four stages, and was considered major surgery. They would first operate on the left leg as it was worse, then the right once the left healed.

However, around this time the bushfires hit Tomerong and major surgery could not be completed. As the bushfires approached, parts of the town prepared for evacuation orders, while others had to evacuate immediately. Her vet couldn’t get the right equipment to do the operation, and Sandra’s only other alternative was to drive to Sydney to visit a specialist vet. And just when everyone believed things couldn’t get more stressful, Ide developed gastritis and had to be treated for that on top of her injured legs.

The health of Ide was the top priority of everyone involved, and after much discussion it was decided that going to the specialist in Sydney was the best way to proceed. As Sydney is a four-hour drive in peak hour traffic one way, this posed a unique problem for Sandra, as usually the vet needs to conduct an initial consultation before booking surgery. However the team at Vets Choice was able to step in and speak directly to the vet in Sydney to organise the surgery to occur on the day of the initial consultation if x-rays could be completed ahead of time.

After the fires died down at the end of January, the x-rays were then able to be completed locally and the surgery successfully booked for 25 February 2020.

Sandra has since spoken to us about the help she received from the team at Vets Choice insurance for pets, and commends the “attention to detail, the care and the patience that was given during so much stress and uncertainty, with the fires and Ide”.

Sandra went on to say that “I’ve never had such a good experience with an insurance company. Such a good experience during such a difficult time”.

Now that the left leg is fully healed, Ide is ready for the second operation on the right leg in September 2020, but COVID has put a spanner in the works. However Sandra is looking forward to working with Vets Choice again, and knows she is in good hands.

To see how you can get protection and support from Vets Choice, get a quote today!