Champion of My HeartA real-time memoir about life with a fearful border collie, by Roxanne Hawn

Send to Kindle

Depending on where you live and work, my ideas for cutting household expenses to help pay for pet care may not work for you, but here are my Best Budget Squeezing Strategies for Desperate Dog Moms.

Read the rest of this entry »

Send to Kindle

As I begin budgeting for 2013, let’s look at just how much it has cost to keep Lilly alive following the onset of vaccine-induced meningoencephalomyelitis (inflammation of the brain, lining of the brain, and spinal cord).

To recap … My perfectly healthy, brilliant, strong border collie girl received a rabies vaccine January 23, 2012, and she hasn’t been the same since. It hasn’t been cheap trying to save her. Before her massive relapse in August 2012 (after our 4th attempt to wean her off steroids), Lilly’s prognosis was good. Afterwards, her true prognosis became unknown. We just don’t know how this is going to turn out or how long it may go on.

Read the rest of this entry »

Send to Kindle

Lilly stands on the frontier of veterinary medicine as we take on the next chapter in her attempted recovery from a severe adverse rabies vaccine reaction — meningoencephalomyelitis (inflammation of the brain and lining of the brain and spinal cord).

She represents our neurology team’s first use of subcutaneous (sub-Q, under the skin) cytarabine injections to treat brain inflammation. (Or, at least, first use in a long time).  Read the rest of this entry »

Send to Kindle

Compared to the almost-coma-like, unresponsive ragdoll of a few weeks ago, Lilly has made great gains. Monday was a tad dicey, with a morning of dullness and lethargy, but she is doing better on several fronts. For example, she finally can wag again. Here is a report on today’s neurological exam and recheck.  Read the rest of this entry »

Send to Kindle

It’s official. I hadn’t added everything up since the end of June, but I did on Friday, and we topped $15,000 in expenses to treat Lilly’s severe rabies vaccine reaction. To be exact … $15,095.01. People have been asking, so I’ve again set up a chip-in, if you’re so inclined. No pressure. No expectations at all. Read the rest of this entry »

Send to Kindle

Here is part five (of five) of frequently asked questions dog lovers have asked me since Lilly’s ill-fated response to a vaccine earlier this year. This series of questions / answers covers the COSTS of diagnosing and treating Lilly’s vaccine-induced meningoencephalomyelitis / meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and lining of the brain and spinal cord), including how much the pet insurance company paid, how much Champion of My Heart fans donated, and whether or not the vaccine company responded to my request for financial help.

Read the rest of this entry »

Send to Kindle

Since Lilly doesn’t need another neurology exam for a couple of months, we thought it was a good time to recap of how much all this has cost us so far. Read the rest of this entry »

Send to Kindle

Lilly is fairly famous for her expensive veterinary dramas. Actually, all of my dogs proved rather expensive at one point or another. That’s one reason (among many) two dogs is my limit. Two dogs is what I can afford.

So, I was intrigued and then amused when the social media team from Time Inc. Lifestyle Group, which partners with VPI Pet Insurance, contacted me about VPI’s new pet cost calculator. Essentially, you put in some information about your pet, breed, where you live, etc. and it generates a list of costs associated with the most likely veterinary expenses you’ll face.

Read the rest of this entry »

Send to Kindle

I first met Laura Bennett, who gives genuine hugs and refers to herself as the “chief embracer” from Embrace Pet Insurance, at the original BlogPaws event in April 2010. We had the chance to reconnect at BlogPaws West in Denver in September 2010, where we chatted some about families actually SWITCHING pet insurance companies.

Read the rest of this entry »