Hi, my name is Becci and I’m fundraising for my dog Chester.

For those of you that know and have met Chester, would say that he is the best dog in the world- despite being 6 years old, up until recently, he still bounces round like a puppy, he lights up every room and has the best personality! He is funny and intelligent, and loves everyone he meets!

For those of you that know me, know that he is my absolute world, he is like my son, my best friend and he gets treated as such, this last month has been absolutely hell for both of us. I miss taking long walks and throwing the ball for him, I miss him wanting cuddles and attention and most of all I miss his personality and his loving nature…

Condition- I noticed before Christmas that he was sitting on his bum with his legs out in front of him, at the time I just thought it was funny as he was displaying no signs of struggle at all and I just put it down to his personality.

Only about a month ago, (now about 8 weeks ago) I started seeing he was bunny hopping down the stairs, reluctant to sit, unable to get up, would not go up and down the stairs without really struggling and crying. Most of the signs happened over night and rapidly. He has completely changed, in his behaviour, he is no longer this happy dog but one that is in pain and lethargic and grumpy all the time, it is heartbreaking to say the least. The rapid change is so difficult to process and the stress that it has caused to both of us is excruciating.

Vets- I took him to our regular vet who examined him and put him on some meds and anti inflammatory, after two weeks there was no improvement and infact appeared to be declining rapidly in lameness.

He was referred to a specialist in orphopedics, with suspected hip displacier or spinal issues, who did various testing including X-rays under sedation. Due to the outcome of X-rays, the specialist suggested taking samples from his joints (joint tap) in multiple areas including his hind leg, front legs and knee joints, as the X-rays showed shadowing indicating inflamation around his joints, after sending off the samples to a lab, it was found that he has a condition known as ‘Immune Mediated Polyarthritis’ which basically means his discomfort and pain is being caused by this condition where his immune system is attacking his joints as it thinks there is an infection, this condition is usually caused by something else and so a lot of investigation work has to happen to find the root cause…

He was then referred to a medicinal specialist as this was no longer a bone problem. They performed assessments, CT scans, bloods, urine test just to name a few under general anaesthetic and found some clots in his kidneys and a few other abnormal minor things. We are continuing with finding the cause and he has been given steroids to manage the symptoms and (update) we have seen some improvement!

I absolutely cannot fault the service and the expertise of every vet involved!

I’ve had a few queries about the vast expense, I’m happy to share details and have a full breakdown invoice for each specialist involved. (Bills now at the bottom of this page)

Insurance- Due to the cost of all this I was quite confident that my insurance company would cover all this. You would think so…but no.

I recently switched insurance from MoreThan to Scratch&patch, firstly because MoreThan were being taken over by admiral and secondly, simply because the existing policy (who I was with for 4 years prior) was the same premium cost with very poor cover (e.g £3k per condition per year)

I switched as I would be paying the same but with a much higher cover all round (e.g £8k per condition per year) as Chester is now 6 years old I thought I was necessary and I acquired the highest cover I could possibly get.

Due to seeing the small signs before Christmas, Scratch and Patch have said it is a pre existing condition and will not pay for the massive £5k bill I am now facing. I am awaiting a response from the complaints team at Scratch & Patch, but I am assured that the decision is not going to change.. I have also complained to the onbudsman and awaiting a response. (Update- the complaint has been rejected, the vet has offered to write to the insurance company and this is currently in motion)

I am absolutely devastated and I don’t have any other choice now but to ask for help.

I am not one to usually ask for money, and feel quite ashamed that I have to, but it has become essential to try and cover at least some of this bill, please if you could spare a small amount to help towards this it would be greatly appreciated. Love to all of you xx

The barn bills ongoing

Payment receipts so far-