Cancelling or changing a cruise for a sickness in the family...dog?

[3DobermansDZS]

Words cannot express how grateful I am for all the kind and helpful words and ideas. I actually posted this in my roll call first because I was afraid of being slammed by the, as I like to call them, crazies but someone encouraged me to post on the main board for tips and I'm glad I did.

 

We are going to pick up our baby this morning and take him home. The vet said he did great overnight and is sleeping off the last of his morphine. We are going to speak with him regarding the boarding.

 

We usually board our dogs at our local vet so I'm completely comfortable with the care they give our children. They love our dogs and our vet has even threatened to steal our baby dobie Scarlett.

 

I'm rationalizing that even after the "device" comes off of D he will still need to be confined (at home we use an exercise pen 4 steps away from the door to go outside for potty breaks) so being in a kennel with a vet overlooking his care is really not that different and I know they will take excellant care of him. I'm just conflicted because I think I feel more guilty leaving him there while we go have fun!

 

I'll post an update later after we get him home. Thank you guys again. And regarding his natural ears- we rescued him when he was a year old and was too late to have them done but I love natural ear dobies. We got our other two dobies, Zilla and Scarlett, as puppies but I still didn't have the heart to put them through a cosmetic surgery to cut half of their ears off just for the asthetic pleasure of them looking like a "true doberman." I like the crop ear look and have friends who had their dogs' ears done, but I just couldn't do it. I don't judge others for doing it, I just couldn't put our 8 week old puppies through that, and I think they don't look a mean :p

[read52]

Although my dog has never been formally trained, she helps my husband with his seizures. We have spent more on her medically because she has some health problems too. My daughter watches her when we are gone or we take her to the local Petsmart Hotel.

[parisienneatheart]

I think that boarding with the vet is the way to go! The vet can take care of all of his needs and I'm sure Diesel will be in good hands. You will worry as any parent would, but you can call in to check on him. Calling home is not as expensive ad it used to be. My question to you or anyone else that knows is this: Does the insurance cover "dogs"? The travel guard insurance we've always taken out states "relative" or self and I know that you have to show proof I.e. Dr bill, funeral, etc...

[sunsetbeachgal]

OP, Good thoughts and good luck to you...we had two wonderful cruises booked when our two year old schnauzer was diagnosed with lymphoma last November...I could not even think of traveling I was so heartbroken and discussing treatment options, so cancelled them both as final payment had not been paid yet so deposits were refunded. We pursued chemotherapy, but she just couldnt take it and died in January...the breeder had a health guarantee so we have another dog who has now stolen my heart!...traveling again but never re-booked the cancelled cruises and much as I am tempted by the bargains in Europe I dont want to leave the new dog for that long.

 

wishing you all the best in whatever you decide to do...

[MelLG]

My question to you or anyone else that knows is this: Does the insurance cover "dogs"? The travel guard insurance we've always taken out states "relative" or self and I know that you have to show proof I.e. Dr bill, funeral, etc...

 

I am very sure that general travel insurance does not cover dogs (and the illness or emergency thereof). I, unfortunately, had to opportunity to review in detail our insurance policy earlier this year. We were supposed to cruise in March but my son was very ill, and it was iffy if the insurance would have even covered our trip for this instance (he was physically ill - which is covered - but it was the result of anxiety & panic attack issues - which is not covered). I used Travelex, but I believe that most policies are pretty specific about what they will (and will not) cover, and for whom.

[Aerorea]

Aww, poor puppy!

 

It really sounds like boarding him at the vet would be the best option. We have cats that are our babies and a friend of ours who is a vet tech house/pet sits for us while we are away. I would be so worried leaving them behind in the same situation, so I understand. The vet's office will make sure he doesn't aggravate anything and follow the other specialists' orders.

 

Also, just wanted to say hi from a former Middle Georgian (WR native). :)

[pearlie]

If i am not mistaken, the rci insurance does cover pet illness.

 

I would leave the precious pup at the vet. My pup is almost 14 and pretty much eats and pottys She is pretty lame so doesn;t do much walking, we have a beloved pet sitter who is going to New Guinea to teach, and our dog is too old to stay at the vet. She hate to go there as it is. We are scheduled for a cruise in october, Mom will stay home with her if she is still with us.

[carribeanpirate18]

We have two furry kids, a Poodle (boy) and a Coton du Tulear (girl). Molly has had back problems off and on for the past two years. Sometimes she cant move others, more like a muscle spasm. Two weeks ago, two days before we were leaving, her back acted up. My first thought was "I wonder if the travel insurance will cover this?" Our dog sitter is my mother, who can take care of dogs, but I still was hesitant leaving our sick girl with someone else.

 

I called the vet right away and they agreed that if she was not better the next day, to bring her in and they will board her as a medical case. The next day she seemed fine and I called home every day to see how she was doing. It worked out for us, but good luck in your decision.

[Racing fan]

Have your Vet you chose stay in touch with you on the cruise via the internet so you feel better and can enjoy your cruise while the dog is away.

[gerif]

Catmom here, and I totally agree that cats do much better in their home environment. Dogs usually do fine being boarded, however, and I would definitely leave him with the vet especially if his two buddies will also be there.

 

I really don't recommend postponing the trip because, at least with my group, something is always going on with one of them and you will never get away.

[FloridaMomma]

Okay, first let me say that my husband and I came home a day early from our honeymoon because we missed our 3 dogs! So definitely no laughs from me!

 

I would plan to still go. If I had to make the decision about what to do with him, I would go with vet boarding. They will make sure he is relaxing and not running around too crazy on it.

 

Good luck with your decision, and many healing vibes to your precious boy!

[3DobermansDZS]

We just picked up our Diesel and are heading home with him. We spoke to both the vet and vet tech and they told us not to cancel our trip. They are a surgical practice and only see pets with a referral from a regular vet. She said they normally don't do boarding but offered to keep him for us of our local vet couldn't watch him.

 

I am so relieved and feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! I think the best care for him would be at either of our vets. He does well with boarding and doesn't get stressed. This practice has gone above and beyond to make sure they took the best care of him and he heals well!

 

[ATTACH]239292[/ATTACH]

You can see the metal arch around his knee. The titanium rods are covered with those bandages so they don't get caught on things.

 

Thank you all again for all your well wishes and kind input. I guess you can post on these boards and get helpful advice!

[FloridaMomma]

I am so relieved and feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! I think the best care for him would be at either of our vets. He does well with boarding and doesn't get stressed. This practice has gone above and beyond to make sure they took the best care of him and he heals well!

 

That is great news. I'm glad you are feeling comfortable. Hope you have a fabulous time!

[Heidils]

We just picked up our Diesel and are heading home with him. We spoke to both the vet and vet tech and they told us not to cancel our trip. They are a surgical practice and only see pets with a referral from a regular vet. She said they normally don't do boarding but offered to keep him for us of our local vet couldn't watch him.

 

I am so relieved and feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! I think the best care for him would be at either of our vets. He does well with boarding and doesn't get stressed. This practice has gone above and beyond to make sure they took the best care of him and he heals well!

 

[ATTACH]239292[/ATTACH]

You can see the metal arch around his knee. The titanium rods are covered with those bandages so they don't get caught on things.

 

Thank you all again for all your well wishes and kind input. I guess you can post on these boards and get helpful advice!

 

I'm so happy for you! Seems like you just took a deep breathe! Hugs!

[3DobermansDZS]

 

Also, just wanted to say hi from a former Middle Georgian (WR native). :)

 

We are in WR! Hope to get out one day but can't leave our good jobs behind!

[madelinerose]

Yay for you and Diesel! ;)

[critterchick]

I'm so glad Diesel did well in surgery! Our old Shepherd mix had a catastrophic fall 5 years ago at the age of 10. She was paralyzed for

the neck down but, after a late night trip to the ER and cat scan the following day (thank goodness for pet instance!), they said she had ruptured a disc and would likely recover fully with time. This all went down a week before a 2-week cruise. We had to board her, since we couldn't provide the required level of care. We visited daily before we left, and she cried when we went away. It was horrible.

 

 

But we went on the cruise, had a wonderful time, checked in every few days and came back to Carmen the Wonder Dog (the vet called her that), who

had made an almost full recovery. She was the star of the clinic while she was there - the techs would take naps with her and spoiled her rotten.

 

She is still with us at 15, deaf and gimpy, but happy as can be expected. We have taken quite a few trips leaving her at home. Our sitter will board her if there is a problem (she is a goddess) and, touch wood, she keeps going.

 

Rnjoy your trip knowing that Diesel will be getting excellent care.

[Loves_Dogs]

So glad that it worked out for you and Diesel :) . And no 'guilty' feelings for enjoying yourself. Sounds like he will be in excellent care. Give him a hug for me and have a GREAT cruise!

[mjm325]

oh, poor baby =( Hope he's healing good! I would definitely board him with your vet(will all 3 be boarded together? that would be good).... and don't worry about how much you spent on the surgery, it's just money... and dogs are our children. I would do anything for my Princess, she's 11 and her knees are starting to get bad (chihuahua) and I think we have double knee surgery in our near future =(

[kc320]

So glad your baby is on his way home!! Hugs & healing wishes for all of you!

[newcruisergal]

What a gorgeous dog! I am so happy to hear he is home and on the mend with you. Also glad you got some peace of mind. My question was going to be what will the other 2 dogs be doing, as keeping him with them might help with boarding stress. But it sounds like you have two great options with the vet offices and him not stressing about boarding.

 

How GREAT are vet staffs? Our Golden is having a problem with arthritis and a bad reaction to Rimadyl and our vet and his staff have been unbelievable in trying to help with solutions that will make her more comfortable. She gets so fussed over every time she is in the office! I'm so grateful for these folks.

 

Get well soon Diesel!

[avazah]

I'm so glad it worked out! Unfortunately not everyone understands the 'pets are like kids' thing, but really, they really are a big part of your life!! I'm glad you'll be able to cruise and the puppy is ok :)

[cherylroslyn]

Hmm..I wonder how many laughs I would get with RCI about cancelling/changing a cruise because of a sickness in the family....dog. :eek:

 

Facts:

We are scheduled to set sail on Oasis on Sept 1st -7 weeks and 4 days from now with my DH, Mom and Dad. We have planned and looked forward to this cruise since April (I know that is not as long as most plan, but it sure does seem long!). Our flights are booked through RCI's Choice Air roundtrip from ATL. Final payment has come and gone. We have trip insurance through RCI.

 

Now, a little background and the latest drama:

The DH and I are 25 and have been married 2 years. We do not have "human" children, but instead have 3 dobermans who are most likely more spoiled than some children (hence the s/n). Last year (the weekend we closed on our first house we had built) our "first born dog" Diesel tore his CCL (ACL in humans). Without thinking twice we spent the $4k to go to a specialized orthopedic vet 2 hours away in Atlanta for the surgery to fix him (The surgery is called a TPLO- they cut off the top of his tibia and rotated it to change the angle then fused the bone back together with a metal plate and screws and the only option for a dog of his size, age and power). It was a long 12 weeks of confinement and recovery but he healed beautifully and after 6 months my "vicous" 96-lbs Doberman was back to his 100% self doing his favorite thing- chasing birds and butterflies around the back yard. This alone confirmed that we made the right choice in doing the surgery so he could return to his youthful quality of life.

 

Flash foward to this past Saturday- we noticed he was limping again on that same leg. We thought he was begining to reject the metal implant they used in surgery (they told us this was a possibility and it would have to be removed should it occur). So we took him to our regular vet as soon as they opened Monday to get x-rays done and sent to the ortho vet for review determining what was next.

 

Well, yesterday I recieve a call from the ortho vet. He had good news and bad. After reviewing the x-rays he determined the metal plate was fine and not the problem. The problem is that he had fractured his patella. So we rushed him up to Atlanta last night and spent another hunk of cash equivalent to a really nice cruise for the surgery to fix this- again, I was told he is too big of a dog, too young and full of power for this to ever heal on his own. He was in surgery for 3 hours today but the vet says everything went smoothly and he is happy with how it looks. (I had been a nervous wreck all day waiting to hear news and probably annoyed the vet staff to no end calling every 2 hours for an update while he was waiting to go into surgery/in surgery/and post surgery- I don't see how you parents handle this!) We can pick him up tomorrow and start the recovery process again!

 

The Problem:

He has pins, titanium rods, and wires spanning the entire length of his leg on the outside to immobilize the knee while it heals. This will come off by week 6 which puts us dangerously close to him being boarded when Sept 1st comes around. Remember, we leave in 7 weeks and 4 days.

 

I have no idea what we are going to do. If all goes well we may be able to board him with our vet who can monitor him closely and keep him confined as the recovery protocol states, but it makes me so nervous to leave him as of right now. The only trusted dog-sitter I would leave him with, my mother, will be on the cruise!

 

I don't know where to go next. Should we cancel the cruise now or wait and see how he improves over the next few weeks. We will speak with both the ortho vet and our regular vet tomorrow when we pick him up, but when I spoke with him today and yesterday the cruise was in the back of my mind.

 

So, with the novel I just wrote. What would you do? Any helpful advice, insight or ideas would be really appreciated. I just ask everyone to kindly spare me the "I would've put the dog down" comments as it was not an option and I've gotten enough of those from family, "friends", and coworkers. How could you do that to a dog this cute?

That is one gorgeous dog......

 

 

I hope he heals well and that you are able to enjoy your cruise!!!!!!!!

[Maimou]

I'm so happy for your family! And those natural ears just make him look more lovable! (Good luck on leaving WR! I'm a native Atlanta girl and know WR from visiting friends.)

[3DobermansDZS]

We got my boy home and got him sleeping in the exercise pen where he will spend the next 6 weeks. Once we got him settled in we went to our regular vet to pick up our girls- we dropped them off for boarding when we left to take D to the ortho vet. While we were picking them up I got to speak with our regular vet about boarding D while on the cruise. She assured me they would be able to handle him and she was well trained to care for D and we'd better not cancel our trip.

 

So in the last few hours I've had 3 veterinary professionals plus the numerous support you guys have given me tell me it will be okay to board him and I'm going to take everyones advice.

 

When we go on other trips we usually have my mom dog sit all of them at our house (we've got a big back yard with a fence so they can run freely) or if she can't or we are going on a longer trip we board all 3 together. The vet found out if Diesel can't see the girls when they are being boarded he will bark and cry until they put them together. He really is a sweet boy, so I think with the girls in sight and Diesel safely isolated he will do fine.

 

I cannot thank you all enough for the encouragement and advice you've given me. I pray your furry children will be safe and healthy, as well.

 

I took this of him in the car once we got him loaded up to bring him home. The whole contraption on his leg just breaks my heart.