Every parent of young children knows that time of day called “the witching hour.”  It’s the time of day when normally sweet, adorable children turn into monsters and just wile out.  Tantrums, mayhem and general unruly behavior reign.  I survived that stage with my kids and was happy to have that unpleasantness behind me.

Except that I’m here again.  Everyday between 5-7 p.m. Chili Dawg loses his mind.  My normally sweet, doe-eyed cuddly fur-baby turns into a wild-eyed, stalking beast.  We call him Menace or Rascal during this time.  My friend Laura calls hers Damn Puppy.  Yeah, that works too.

Okay, maybe he’s not a menace to society, but definitely to my house!  He steals paper from the printer, he gets into the trash can, he digs at the rug, he shreds newspaper–he literally stalks the house looking for things to destroy.   Nothing is safe and unless things are placed on a VERY high surface, they will be eaten, torn or chewed.   As the sun sets my house echoes with shouts of “DROP IT!”, pounding feet and scuffling paws as the kids try to rescue whatever he managed to steal this time.   We’re hip to his game and batten down the hatches when he starts to prowl, but he’s a crafty one and finds new ways to wreck havoc everyday.

Usually we’re exasperated, annoyed and inconvenienced by his antics, but when I saw this, I was scared.

He stole the bottle off my bathroom counter sometime between 6-7 p.m.   I found 5 aspirin on the floor and could only guess that the rest (about 25) were inside Chili Dawg and the piles of vomit on my bed.   A call to poison control and the animal ER confirmed that it was serious due to possible kidney failure, stomach problems and bleeding out.

A quick visit to the emergency room turned into a 4 day stay in the animal hospital.  The vet called each time they instituted a new procedure.  And the business manager called to tell us how much it would cost.   My husband asked, “how much?”  And I answered, “You don’t want to know.”  Some things are best left unsaid.  Just know that it was lots and lots and lots of hundreds.

Thank God that we had the money to pay.  And thank God that I had the good sense to buy PetPlan pet insurance not long after we got Chili Dawg.  Because of insurance I didn’t have to make a decision about my pet’s medical care based on finances.   Chili Dawg was in serious jeporady and we wanted the vet to do whatever necessary to ensure his full recovery.  We were so scared and couldn’t even imagine our little boo hooked up to IVs in the hospital!

(Sidebar: this when social media becomes more than just cyber chit-chat; people in my networks were so helpful with information and supportive with prayers and thoughts about Chili Dawg.)

The vets and techs at Village Vets took great care of Chili Dawg (an awesome practice, if you are here in Atlanta) and PetPlan took care of my claim quickly and without dispute.  Within 11 days of submitting the claim, I had a check in my mailbox for the full amount of my vet and ER bills, minus the deductible.  Most pet owners I know don’t have pet insurance; they think it’s an unnecessary expense or that it’s a scam that won’t pay out when redeemed.  Well, I can tell you that it does work and it is worth having.

Chili’s first day home from the hospital.  See his bandaged leg and sad eyes?

As for Chili Dawg, after a week of recovery at home he’s back to his rascally rabbit self.   Just today alone he’s stolen several socks, my camera (!), 3 towels, paper, a dyer sheet, a stuffed animal, a sweatband and a pillow.  He’s a menace, alright!  But we love him so much and happy to have him back where he belongs.

*I bought PetPlan after careful and exhaustive research of all pet insurance, hoping never to use it, but thinking that it just made sense to have it.  I was not paid or prompted by PetPlan to write this blog post.  That would be ridiculous, of course, because I wouldn’t know if it worked unless my pet was ill, but I’m saying it anyway because you never know how some people think.  I only identified the company in my post because I was impressed by their customer service and fast response.  The moral of this post is to put all medication up very high–higher than you think necessary–for the protection of your pet and that pet insurance is worth the expense.

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Related posts:

1. He’s Just So Cute!
2. Chili Dawg: Escape Artist Extraordinaire
3. LickALots: Doggie Ice Cream!
4. We Should Have Named Him Chewbacca
5. Chili Dawg’s Bad Hair Day