Huxley’s story

What happened when Huxley went missing

Danielle lives on a rural property of 43 acres, and Huxley would often run 10 kilometres a day. He’s a high-energy, athletic dog. One day, all the dogs were running around, having fun, as usual, and Danielle realised she couldn’t see Huxley. She recruited some friends and they searched for three hours. It was a friend who found him. He was lying completely still, his legs rigid, and hypothermia was setting in.

Danielle raced him to the vet where he was stabilised, before being referred to the vet hospital. Huxley was paralysed from the neck down and needed X-rays, round-the-clock care and an MRI. Immediately, the costs started piling up. The MRI alone cost $5,000.

It took four days to get a diagnosis, but finally, the MRI revealed what had happened. Huxley was experiencing acute non-compressive nucleus pulposus extrusion (ANNPE). That’s a long way of saying fluid in Huxley’s intervertebral disc had shot into his spinal column, instantly paralysing him. This would have been caused by a sudden impact, like a fall, which is why it’s most commonly seen in highly active dogs.

There’s no surgical treatment for ANNPE. Instead, Huxley’s family had to learn a lot about dog rehab. First of all, he needed six weeks of crate rest, which was tough for an energetic dog like Huxley. At one point he was on 18 pills a day to keep him sedated. Eventually, Huxley was able to move parts of his body, and to Danielle’s relief, regain bladder control. Six weeks of paralysis meant he’d lost most of his muscle, so he needed daily physio, including hydrotherapy, to teach him how to walk again.

Huxley’s happy ending

Nothing can slow Huxley down – not even tetraplegia. 65 weeks post-incident, Huxley is back to running around the farm, even if he is a little lopsided. He still needs work to build his muscles - he can’t run 10 kilometres a day anymore, and he gets a little confused if his feet are folded because of a delayed response on his right side, but he’s expected to make a 99% recovery.

What pet insurance meant for Huxley’s recovery – and Danielle’s peace of mind

Danielle has had pets all her life and always knew pet insurance was a good thing to have, but she hadn’t needed it for anything more than minor accidents - until Huxley.

She was relieved at the beginning of this journey to learn that Southern Cross Pet Insurance would pay the vets directly, so Danielle didn’t have to even think about the bills and could focus all her attention on Huxley’s care. So far, her insurance has covered nearly $9,000 worth of vet bills, physio and diagnosis, and treatment is still ongoing. “He used to have lots of tricks he could do,” said Danielle, “But now his best trick is just walking.”

Special thanks from Danielle and Huxley to Georgina and the Neurology Department at Animal Referral Centre (ARC), where Huxley was first diagnosed, and to the amazing rehab team at Veterinary Specialists Aotearoa (VSA).

We’d like to thank Danielle and Huxley for allowing us to share their story. Our customers really are the best.

Note: Huxley is on a PetCare SilverRibbon plan with an annual benefit limit of $5,000, $250 excess, a 20% co-payment, consult care extra and day-to-day care extra. Huxley’s treatment costs continued over more than one policy year, and Danielle was able to claim for treatment in each policy period. See what our different pet insurance policies cover