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Vet bills for Drake the Pug

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***UPDATE***
Original Story below:

I took Drake to the vet today to have his stitches removed, excited to have the cone off his head which he has been struggling with and finally see that his eye had healed. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The surgery was not successful and the vet told me that Drake will need to undergo enucleation (removal of the affected eye), likely within a few weeks, because the ulcer at this point will not heal any more. I know many of you (as I did) will imagine that an ulcer on the eye is a simple lump that needs to be removed, but this isn't the case. It is a disease which eats away at the cornea of the eye leaving a small "crater" which, if left untreated, will get deeper and deeper until the eye "pops" as I was told by the vet. The risk of infection is also extremely high, and all I have at my disposal are antibiotic eye drops to administer to his eye to fight off any infection until I can afford the procedure. In case you hadn't read the original story below, I did have pet insurance but they have refused to pay for his first operation (due to a similar condition he had in January this year) and will not pay for his eye to be removed. Again, as a full time student I couldn't afford the first operation, let alone the removal of the eye which will cost at a minimum another £500 (without aftercare). My student loan barely covers the cost of essentials, if I had the money readily available I would have booked the enucleation surgery for him there and then as he is once again in discomfort which will steadily but surely get worse and I cannot bare to see him suffer like this. I am so angry at the insurers (which they are fully aware of) and I am so frustrated that I cannot help Drake right now and give him the treatment he needs and deserves. I have already tried eligibility checks on various animal charities who have refused to help, because I am not in receipt of benefits. (Why don't they help students????) Any help at all towards this would be extremely gratefully received, I cannot keep my mind off this and just want Drake to get better. 

Thank you.

(Below are photos of the first operation being refused cover)



***ORIGINAL POST***

Thank you to anyone reading this -

My pet pug, Drake, has an eye ulcer which refuses to heal. The vet recommended eye drops in the first instance as most cases recover very well with them, unfortunately this wasn't the case with Drake and the vet promptly recommended surgery involving debridement of the eye ulcer and sewing his eyelids shut for 2 weeks to help the healing process of his cornea. Now, being a recently returned full-time student, I was as diligent as possible and phoned my insurer (Animal Friends) before I booked surgery for reassurance that the fees from the surgery would be met by them. I was told they would.

The vet refused to claim direct payment from my insurer as they were wary of them (alarm bells ringing already) and so I had to pay upfront for the surgery which was in excess of £500, not including the 2 aftercare appointments he still needs to assess condition of the eye, administer more medication and of course undergo anesthetics again to remove the stitches. 

After the surgery, my vet sent the claim form to my insurer who quickly rejected my claim, on the grounds that 9 months earlier, Drake had a similar eye issue even though it was quickly resolved with eye drops within a few days, for which I didn't even claim for. (I had a job at the time, and the treatment was approximately £90.)

I am desperately seeking to recover these funds for Drake's treatment and for his aftercare he needs. I have nowhere else to turn and as a full time student, I simply could not and cannot afford the bills. I tried being responsible by of course paying for his pet insurance only to be let down when I needed them most. With the cost of the surgery and his aftercare which he needs urgently, I will soon run out of money long before I receive any more student loan, which anyone in the UK will realise is meager at best and is already a struggle to live on even with heavy and strict budgeting, without the added stress of payments such as these I thought I had planned for by having insurance. 



A donation to this will help cover Drake's costs, which will mean he can go to the vet to have his post-surgery assessment and have his stitches removed and further medication given, for which I would be enormously grateful as I am currently, extremely upset by the situation. I really hope any generous people out there reading this will be able to assist, in any way they can, because this 7 year old dog is my baby and seeing him in pain and distress is utterly heartbreaking.


Thank you
 

Organizer

Peter Jones
Organizer

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