A pit mix named Sydney proves that life is full of adventure
With pets, life is full of surprises
With their hearts set on adopting a pit mix, Mally and Scott were excited to bring Sydney home. He quickly adjusted to hiking through the Colorado mountains and endless playtime with his husky/border collie sister, Bowie.
From the moment Sydney joined his family, he was showered with love and security. Mally is a retired vet tech and worked in an emergency vet hospital. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, she immediately signed Sydney up for pet insurance.
“Life with Syd and Bowie around means there’s never a dull moment,” said Scott. Sydney’s adventurous nature has sometimes led to unexpected vet visits — proving their choice to get pet insurance was a good one.
Dental
Sydney once bit off more fun than he could chew. Being a natural acrobat, Sydney would sometimes leap to his neighbor’s trees and tear down branches. One time, Mally and Scott noticed that half of a tooth was missing and wondered if chewing a branch was the cause.
Their vet suggested that Sydney get a root canal to prevent pain and future health issues. He got the surgery and before long, he was back to his adventurous ways.
Emergency vet visits
After going through Mally's purse, Sydney landed on a piece of gum which had the ingredient xylitol, a sweetener that's toxic for dogs, in it. He went to the vet to get his stomach cleared, but, thankfully, it turned out he didn't eat the gum — just the wrapper.
What to expect when you're expecting a fur baby
Get the most comprehensive health handbook for
NEW
dog parents.
X-rays
Sydney also enjoys chewing his toys. But one day, it turned out that the fun went a little too far. He couldn't keep water down and was throwing up. After getting X-rays done, they found that he had eaten the squeaker from a toy. Luckily, he passed the toy while going doing his business and quickly returned to his playful self.
Unexpected surgeries
After hiking, Sydney began limping. He was taken to the emergency clinic and the doctors determined that Sydney was suffering from a partially torn ligament in one knee and arthritis in the other. He needed multiple surgeries back-to-back. But after the knee surgery to repair his torn ligament, he had a bad reaction to a medication that was supposed to help him calm down. They rushed him to the emergency clinic when he started vomiting and suffering from diarrhea and they were told to stop giving him the medication.
“Sydney’s surgeries were so close together that even under the best of circumstances, to pay for all of those would be hard,” Mally said. “Pet insurance was key in helping us pay for all the surgeries.”
Fetch saved Sydney’s pet parents $5,074 in medical expenses and he was able to get back to his adventures.
“They are our kids and so it’s been helpful just to have some peace of mind in paying for all of these unexpected vet visits,” said Mally.
Do you have a story to share about how Fetch saved your pet? Share your stories with us by emailing [email protected].
The Dig, Fetch's expert-backed editorial, answers all of the questions you forget to ask your vet or are too embarrassed to ask at the dog park. We help make sure you and your best friend have more good days, but we’re there on bad days, too.
Photo by Mally
