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Lu has always had a little bit of spice to her. The five-year-old Shepherd mix was rescued from a reserve in Northern Manitoba in July 2021 and came into her family’s life as their very first foster puppy.
Spoiler alert: the fostering part didn’t last very long.
Lu quickly became a permanent part of the family, bringing plenty of energy, attitude, and puppy chaos along with her. Over the years, she’s also become a pretty great foster sister herself, helping welcome other dogs into the home while being a loyal companion to her humans and her two furry siblings.
She’s slowed down a little as she’s gotten older and has dealt with a few health concerns along the way, but she’s still very much Lu. Which is why one normal summer evening caught everyone completely off guard.
A Backyard Play Session Gone Wrong
It was a Friday evening in June, and Lu’s family was enjoying some nice weather in the backyard. Her humans were sitting on the deck while Lu and her siblings did what dogs do best: ran around, played, and caused a little chaos.
Lu was playing with her brother, Thomas, when she suddenly cried out and ran straight back to the deck. Her family knew right away that something wasn’t right.
They brought her to the emergency vet, where X-rays showed that Lu had completely ruptured her cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) and torn her meniscus.
Just like that, Lu’s regularly scheduled backyard chaos was officially on hold.
A Very Long Summer of Taking It Easy
For a dog with Lu’s energy, the next part was the hardest.
A CCL tear is one of the most common knee injuries in dogs. The CCL is similar to the ACL in humans and plays an important role in keeping the knee stable. When it tears, walking can become painful and the unstable joint can become more damaged over time.
For Lu, getting back on all four paws meant undergoing tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) surgery to help stabilize her knee. She had surgery in the middle of July and, thankfully, everything went smoothly.
Then came the really hard part. Crate rest, limited movement, and a whole lot of taking it easy (basically, Lu’s worst nightmare).
It wasn’t exactly her preferred pace of life, but Lu took it all in stride.
After a long summer on the sidelines, her final X-rays showed that everything had healed well, with no complications, and she was officially given the all-clear. Cue the happy zoomies!! Carefully, of course.
The Easy Part? Furkin.
Between the emergency visit, X-rays, surgery and follow-up care, Lu’s little backyard mishap came with a not-so-little price tag of $10,000 to $15,000. Thankfully, they had Furkin to help make the vet bills feel like the easy part.
“Furkin was amazing. It was the easiest part of this process.”
"The claims submission process is short and easy and Furkin reimbursed us quickly. Throughout this process we have never been stressed about vet bills or costs and were able to focus on Lu and whatever she needed."
— Chelsea, Furkin Member Since 2025
And when your fur baby is hurt, having one less thing to worry about can make a pretty big furkin difference.
Why Pet Insurance Made a Difference
Like many pet parents, Lu’s family had heard the idea of simply putting money into a savings account instead of purchasing pet insurance. After this experience, they feel pretty differently about it.
"Lu’s accident has cost us between $10-15K, so even if we were saving the cost of the insurance each month, we would not have had that saved."
And with three dogs at home, life doesn’t exactly schedule emergencies one at a time.
“At any moment one or even all three of our dogs could have an illness or accident, and it’s great peace of mind knowing we have coverage.”
Today, the crate rest is over, the final X-rays are done, and Lu has officially been given the all-clear. Which means she can finally get back to her very important job of being a foster sister, family sidekick and, of course, just a little bit spicy.
