Saturday night was not how I planned to spend the weekend.
Earlier that morning, I gave Stanley his Sentinel heartworm pill — one that had originally been prescribed for our old dog, Cali. I had checked with our vet ahead of time and was told there was no reason to throw the medication away as long as it wasn’t expired and Stanley had reached the appropriate weight range. I believed he had.
At first, everything seemed fine. But by dinnertime, Stanley wouldn’t eat and was unusually quiet. A couple of hours later, when we got home after being out, it was clear something was very wrong.
He barely got up to greet us. I carried him upstairs and noticed he was wobbly, shaky, and clearly off balance. He was holding his ears strangely, staring at the couch but unable or unwilling to jump up. He wandered aimlessly, almost like he was drunk or disoriented, and still refused food.
My son and I did some quick research, and everything pointed to the same answer: vet immediately. Thankfully, I had just gotten pet insurance — and off to the emergency vet we went.
The ER Visit
Stanley was taken back right away. After an exam, we waited for about an hour while he sat wrapped in a blanket on my lap, unusually calm and quiet — too out of it to even be nervous.
When the vet came in, she told us his vitals were all normal. She asked detailed questions about what he might have gotten into, and the only unusual thing we could identify was the heartworm pill.
She walked us through our options:
Hospitalize him overnight with monitoring and bloodwork, or assume a medication reaction and treat him with subcutaneous fluids and an anti-nausea medication, then send him home if I was comfortable monitoring him.
Given that his vitals were stable and I could be with him all night, we chose treatment and brought him home. I didn’t want to leave him.
The Aftermath
Stanley slept curled up against me all night. I barely slept — waking up often to check on him — but he rested peacefully. The next morning, he was still quiet, but he did eat breakfast.
By Sunday night, he was acting like himself again: playful, alert, and eating normally.
I checked in with our regular vet and also contacted the heartworm medication manufacturer to report what happened. What makes this especially confusing is that the medication he reacted to did not contain the additional dewormer — that ingredient is actually in the medication he’s taken before without any issues. At this point, I’ve thrown out the remaining pills and won’t be using them again while we figure out the best path forward.
For now, I’m keeping a close eye on him and plan to take him to agility class tonight — with zero pressure. If he’s not feeling it, we’ll leave. Simple as that.
Stanley does seem to be a sensitive little guy; he’s had a moderate vaccine reaction in the past as well. I’m hopeful this was a one-time issue and that we were simply lucky. Planning to work with my vet to make sure we find a safe path forward.
Grateful for Pet Insurance
I’m really thankful for pet insurance in moments like this. I have a free plan through Nibbles, which I got when I signed up for their credit card, and it made the decision to go to the emergency vet feel a little less stressful.
Of course I would have taken Stanley no matter what, but removing the immediate financial pressure helped. I used the card to pay for the visit, and the next morning I received an email asking if I wanted to submit a claim — they automatically recognized the charge as a vet hospital. All I have to do is reply with the reason for the visit and they handle the rest.
I opted to include office visits in my coverage, so the cost should be covered or applied toward my deductible. I’m also reaching out to the heartworm medication manufacturer, since they sometimes reimburse expenses related to drug reactions.
Opinion: I’ve never used pet insurance before, but after seeing a friend go through spending a huge amount of money for leg surgery for her dog, I thought I would try it with Stanley. Pet insurance doesn’t change your decision to seek care — it just makes an already stressful situation easier to manage.
In Other (Much Lighter) News…
My son set up the new open-top litter box yesterday — the one I won from Catlink. It’s the Scooper Open-X. It looks like a great design! He wanted to try it first since he’s had ongoing litter box issues with Martin. I really like the look of it and I’m hopeful the open design will be appealing to Martin.
He said setup was very easy, and while it’s larger than a standard litter box, it doesn’t take up an unreasonable amount of space compared to other automatic options. I’ll share more once we see how Martin feels about it.
—
Sometimes pet ownership is routines and progress… and sometimes it’s terrifying curveballs. I’m incredibly grateful that Stanley seems to be okay — and that we listened to our instincts when something felt wrong. Have you had a scary moment with your pet? Share in the comments….
