When we are presented with a difficult case which will require prolonged and expensive treatment a question we are often asked is, "Will it be worth it?"

This, as you might imagine, can be an extremely difficult question to answer. The best that we can usually offer is to decide whether we would treat our own pet in the same fashion.

Pet insurance can clearly help to take the financial burden out of the decision making and is always recommended - but most owners want to know that once the treatment is over will the patient still be able to have a good quality of life.

"Harry" was one such patient who was involved in a road traffic accident. The tyre of the car had evidently gone right over Harry crushing his pelvis and causing extensive soft tissue damage. Had anyone been told, at that time, that their pet would need to be hospitalised for almost 4 weeks, require 6 surgical repairs, involving extensive debridement of wounds, the insertion of drains and costing almost £2000 then they would have to think very carefully before proceeding.

Fortunately for us even at the beginning of the treatment process "Harry" remained bright and positive. It is always easier to pursue a treatment option if the patient gives out all the right signals that they are keen to recover and retain a good appetite. Consequently, when we were advising his owners as to the likely outcome "Harry" always made that task easier.

Whilst we may not be able to "talk to the animals" our highly trained nursing staff are very experienced in tuning in to the mood of a patient to help us in the very difficult task of decision making our treatment options. In "Harry's" case all the right decisions appear to have been made as I'm sure he will tell you!

Terry Dunne BVMS, Cert SAO, MRCVS

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