Prescriptions pilfered by borzoi buddies

Meet Lilliya and Noelle, a pair of beautiful borzoi pups in Wisconsin.

Nationwide pet insurance member Deb T.’s love of borzoi dogs is nothing new. Since 1991, she has cared for these elegant sighthounds. “I’ve been owned by seven of them,” Deb says. “I just am in love with the breed. They’re just very graceful, very smart and very loving. They kind of get an attitude, but that’s okay. They're my best friends.”

Among the seven dogs, Lilliya is uniquely a diva and a trickster. In fact, she’s Deb’s first Houdini borzoi. “She’s very naughty,” Deb says. “She sneaks out of the house. She was a chewer as a puppy. She steals food. She steals anything.” Lilliya uses her long, graceful borzoi snout to open drawers, doors, plastic boxes and even meat wrapped in plastic.

Meanwhile, Lilliya's sister Noelle came into Deb’s life at one year old, having lived a free-ranging outdoor kennel life on a farm. “She’d never been in a house,” Deb remembers. “She'd never been in a crate.” Noelle had a lot to learn about moving from the countryside to her new home, but her new sister Lilliya was happy to show her the ropes. “They’ve been thick as thieves,” Deb adds. “She is the follower, and Lilliya the ringleader! She does whatever Lilliya does.”

So, it comes as no surprise that when Lilliya’s mischievous medicine munching landed her a Hambone nomination, Noelle was right there beside her to share the honor.

What happened?

When Deb returned home to find a surprise on the floor, she immediately knew who the culprit was. “Lilliya went in the bathroom, opened up a drawer and got a bottle of her Rimadyl out of it, which is beef liver flavor,” she remembers. “Even with those child-proof bottles, she got it open.”

Deb discovered that Lilliya had eaten all 14 medicine tablets from the brand-new bottle. Knowing deep down that wasn’t all, she went downstairs to find Noelle suspiciously sniffing around “the most expensive rug in the house.” Deb says, “That’s Lilliya’s rug, where she likes to throw up.

“I see Noelle sniffing around on this rug and I went, ‘I bet Noelle ate the vomit.’” Unfortunately, Deb was right.

Both dogs likely ingested an unsafe amount of the anti-inflammatory prescription—one directly and the other, erm, indirectly. Deb rushed them to the veterinary hospital. “It was storming, it was black. I was crying,” she remembers. “When I got there, there was a technician in the foyer, and she gave me a hug and brought the dogs in.” The veterinary team provided excellent care, giving the borzois treatment to settle their tummies before letting them go home.

To be safe, Deb now keeps the dogs’ beefy medicines secured in one place Lilliya can’t open. She reports, “I went through the house like I had a toddler here and I went, ‘Okay, everything's in the refrigerator.’ She doesn't open the fridge … yet.”

How Nationwide helped

Deb chose Nationwide® after a friend recommended getting pet insurance. Deb remembers, “She said, ‘I’d never be without it.’” Nearly a decade later, she’s used her coverage to protect many borzoi buddies, including Lilliya and Noelle. “Now I would never be without pet insurance either!”

Pet insurance has become part of how Deb protects both her dogs and her peace of mind, giving her the ability to follow her veterinarian’s recommended care plans. She says, “I would [ask my veterinarian], ‘Well, what would you do if it was your dog?’ And then she tells me and I go, ‘Well, that's what I’ll do then.’”

Whether it’s an unexpected emergency or savings on everyday pet prescriptions—like the Rimadyl involved in this surprising incident—Nationwide helps families manage pet care costs. As Deb puts it, “Once you have pet insurance, you never want to be without it.”