# Pet insurance



## autopilot (Dec 2, 2004)

Hi,

So some of you may remember back in January when we got our kitten Harry (pic below as a reminder) and he spent his first night with us at the Vet with a swollen tummy and dehydration. That one night + meds cost us over $700.

Luckily I was able to shuffle some balances on my credit cards to cover it, but it is a struggle for some, especially in a case like where you have an elderly cat with cancer or smoething who it obviously in a lot of pain. Sometimes car is available, but at a couple of thousand dollars, many have to face the awful decision to put them down because they can't afford the care.

When we were paying for Harry's meds, a brochure for pet insurance caught my eye. Our three boys are all indoor cats, so I didn't follow up at the time, but' it's always been gnawing at me. I don't have a lot of disposible income right now and what little I have I am trying to use to pay off my credit card debt before I want to get into home ownership.

I checked out the various offerings again recently. The cheapest I was able to find for our three was about $30/month. Some want extra initial deposits, and a lot have different levels of coverage, so with some of those companies it's like comparing apples and oranges.

I decided instead to add another ING savings account and put $20/month (which Peter will match) aside as a pet insurance fund. The money is available immediately, is separate from my various other savings goals, and should it not be needed, I get all my "premiums" back.

I know there are other pet owners on the board and I was curious as to how many of you have/have thought about pet insurance.


----------



## Cameo (Aug 3, 2004)

Putting your money away into another savings account instead of paying someone else is a very smart way of doing it. Hopefully your pet lives a long life and years from now your 'pet insurance" has become a nice little nest egg.


----------



## Melonie (Feb 10, 2005)

Hey autopilot -

We've had seven cats and one dog in 30 years. I added up the cost-to-date about 2 years ago and it came to almost $3000.00.

Mind you, this money was spent from 1975 through 2003 (the year I added up all the receipts we'ed filed away). So the $3000.00 figure is for 28 years and 8 animals. Now this figure includes non-covered items like rabies shots, so it is artificially high. Take off a grand for stuff like that and you end up with $2,000.00.

Our animals only got rabies shots when they had to go to the vet for another issue (vet's demand). We never saw the point in rabies shots for our cats because they never got outside.

It's a crap-shoot, like all insurance.

If you have really healthy animals and don't let them outside, you may only need the vet for non-life-threatening issues like rabies shots, etc.

Mel


----------



## martman (May 5, 2005)

We looked at insurance and chose your option, seperate pet bank account. It would be pretty bad luck for the insurance to be a better deal especially with all the deductables.
By the way we have three cats, one with AIDS and a AIDS related disease (uvitis).


----------



## autopilot (Dec 2, 2004)

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, I see insurance in our case as not paramount, but in the 10% chance that we will need it (and those chances will liekly rise as the boys get older), it'll be nice to have.

And the nice thing is that we would be able to use the funds for routine stuff also, whereas insurance doesn't normally cover shots.

I'm trying to be smarter about money (joined my company's pension plan this year, want to pay off all credit card debt and purchase a house before I turn 30, etc) so any advice is helpful.


----------



## Rob777 (Dec 17, 2002)

I think it is a good idea. I have never had it, but I wish I had. One of my dogs tore the cartilage in her knee. A $1000 operation would have helped her a lot, but I couldn't afford it. A couple of weeks later the other knee had the same problem. Now 2 knees, for a total of $2000. The other option is letting it heal on its own, which is taking months. Seeing her struggling to get up stairs or stand is hard to watch.

I am not the kind of person who would do anything to keep my pet alive at any cost. If her life would be miserable I would just as soon put her down than see her suffer. The hard part is her injury is not life threatening and not really painful at all. So in this case surgery would have been a great option.

I am now in a situation where I might be able to afford pet insurance and any future pets would have it for sure.

Some people might think the idea is ridiculous. Some view pets as unnecessary and useless. My wife has a couple of family members that keep telling us to have the dogs put to sleep because they are an inconvenience.


----------



## autopilot (Dec 2, 2004)

martman said:


> We looked at insurance and chose your option, seperate pet bank account. It would be pretty bad luck for the insurance to be a better deal especially with all the deductables.


Yeah, the deductibles seem ridiculous plus what is up with "co-insurance" where they only cover part of the cost? And reimbursement after you pay upfront? Hello, I need the insurance because I don't have the funds to begin with! 



> By the way we have three cats, one with AIDS and a AIDS related disease (uvitis).


I'm sorry.  This is communicated by contact with other infected animals I presume? i.e. seen in outdoor cats? One of many reasons I feel more comfortable with my guys inside.

How is the separate account working out for you?


----------



## Melonie (Feb 10, 2005)

Pets are a part of our life and a part of our family. Our lives our richer thanks to them, and our stress levels lower too. I have to go hug my cats now, 'cause I'm gettin' stressed-out on another thread!

:')

Mel


----------



## autopilot (Dec 2, 2004)

Rob777 said:


> I am not the kind of person who would do anything to keep my pet alive at any cost. If her life would be miserable I would just as soon put her down than see her suffer.


Rob, I agree that euthanasia is a humane option, for both pets and people, although more accepted in society for pets. I think insurance would make it easier to avoid a heartbreaking decision like choosing between care that would cure the pet that would have many years left otherwise, and putting them to sleep simply because the owner cannot afford treatment.



> Some people might think the idea [of insurance] is ridiculous. Some view pets as unnecessary and useless. My wife has a couple of family members that keep telling us to have the dogs put to sleep because they are an inconvenience.


I pity people who do not understand the wonderful experience of pet ownership. They are worth any inconvenience.


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

I agree with Melonie when she writes that "Pets are a part of our life and a part of our family. Our lives our richer thanks to them, and our stress levels lower too."


----------



## Rob777 (Dec 17, 2002)

If we got rid of everything that inconvenienced us then there wouldn't be much left.


----------



## Melonie (Feb 10, 2005)

And will Canada EVER get around to re-writing our anti-cruelty laws?

 

Mel



Dr.G. said:


> I agree with Melonie when she writes that "Pets are a part of our life and a part of our family. Our lives our richer thanks to them, and our stress levels lower too."


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

My wife and I shall have fairly high stress levels this week, in that this is the week that two of our doxies, Daisy and Rootie, shall mate. Since this is the first time for both of them, we need to "help" them perform this act of mating. Wish us luck.


----------



## Melonie (Feb 10, 2005)

Yikes!

Good luck!

I hope you have done your homework and have been given advice by those who have, er, assisted in this work before.

Does Daisy make Rootie do some chores first, like I make my husband do before...you know...the reward!

 

Mel



Dr.G. said:


> My wife and I shall have fairly high stress levels this week, in that this is the week that two of our doxies, Daisy and Rootie, shall mate. Since this is the first time for both of them, we need to "help" them perform this act of mating. Wish us luck.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Dr.G. said:


> we need to "help" them perform this act of mating. Wish us luck.


LOL - the mind wanders into, well territory I prefer not to explore...

Reminds me of a GWAR song I heard last night...


----------



## Cameo (Aug 3, 2004)

Melonie - I certainly agree with your statement about pets and stress. I have two dogs and a cat and they provide alot of joy to me.

I have had animals all my life and experienced twice the pain of having to put an animal down as it was suffering and would not recover - a 17 year old hound whose kidneys failed and a 13 year old cat whose diabetes overcame.
I gave him a needle every day for a year but the disease was too strong and the vet said he was suffering and would continue to do so.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Cameo said:


> I have had animals all my life and experienced twice the pain of having to put an animal down as it was suffering and would not recover - a 17 year old hound whose kidneys failed and a 13 year old cat whose diabetes overcame.


I had to put my cat down after 22years. It was a terrible experience for me as I could not affort to treat the diabetes at the time. The cat still had a strong will to live, you could see it's determination to continue to get food from its spot in the house even after I would place her dish next to her (walking was hard at this point). 
I was in the room when the vet administered the injection. I was surprised by the amount of dignity the vet gave the whole process. 

After, we spoke and learned that many people do treat their animals like a commodity. She related on how some just deposit the animal and leave, the disposal is done by the vet...


----------



## Cameo (Aug 3, 2004)

Amazing - Yes, I held onto Coco while he went to sleep - he was a loving and wonderful cat and deserved that the very least. Ruined my leather coat when his bladder let loose -never cared. Jacket could be replaced - the cat deserved to leave this world with the same love that he gave.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Cameo, it nice to see good pet owners. 

What surprises me, on another extreme, it some shelters and rescues. For the best part of 3 years, we have been waiting for a dog or cat. We live on a 15, 000 sq/feet fenced lot, adjacent to to field and forest. We have a Brittany and exercise it daily, as well as give it training sessions. There is always someone at the house. We prefer a high energy dog (to fit our lifestyle) - so far, nothing... We are asking for an older dog....
Seems recues are more like little social clubs. I have spoken to about half a dozen rescues, we have filed out all the forms. They (rescues) have asked us for donations, tried to offer animals with serious medical problems - we have given up on that route. 
We started to go breeders for non-show quality pets. In this case, we are more picky about the breed. 

This is another joke - breeders are asking between 1000$-2500$, forcing us to choose their vets for services and all complain about "this species is dying out" or "we have to promote this breed".... We are asking for pet quality only... it's a joke...


----------



## Cameo (Aug 3, 2004)

Sounds like a "joke" - sorry it has been so tough. Good for you for looking at rescuing a dog or cat though. I wish you luck and when you do find one I know that it will have a fantastic and loving home.


----------



## martman (May 5, 2005)

autopilot said:


> 'm sorry.  This is communicated by contact with other infected animals I presume? i.e. seen in outdoor cats? One of many reasons I feel more comfortable with my guys inside.
> 
> How is the separate account working out for you?


Yes, we don't let our cat's out anymore...
The account works great! I recomend this route rather than real insurance. To many clauses and deductions with real insurance.


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Melonie, we have read as much as we could and spoken to persons who have done this before. It seems that next to helping doxies "do the deed", helping out a giraffe is the only four legged mammal that is more difficult to help. We shall see.


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

AS, my wife is the lead person here in NL for doxie rescues. She has a strict form for the potential owners to fill out, in terms of suitability, but there is no cost involved. She was going through Halifax and picked up a dog and had it shipped here to St.John's under her seat. She handed off the doxie to the new owners, and that was that. No cost to the owners, but just another doxie that has a good home.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Dr.G. said:


> AS, my wife is the lead person here in NL for doxie rescues. She has a strict form for the potential owners to fill out, in terms of suitability, but there is no cost involved.


Dr. G, I'm quite sure we meet the requirements - we have a Britanny at the moment - 3000 Sq/foot home, 15, 000 fenced (high fence yard), fields and woods. Looking for an active mid-sized dog (doxies are a little small). 
Household income is above average....

Just a little frustrated that we have a good loving home to offer some less fortunate animal and can't seem to find one.


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

AS, you would qualify I believe. Of course, you would not believe the 19 page test my wife has created for potential doxie owners of a litter we breed. I failed Dachshund Anatomy and Physiology, bearly passed Dachshund History, and failed the Psychological Test. Thus, I am not a fit person, according to this test, to own a doxie.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

And I'm sure you are a fine owner....

19 pages? That's more than what it takes to get a handgun...


----------



## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

Dr.G, you are a sick man! lol We have been giggling all night in the ehmac chat room about the mating doxies post


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Comprehab, if you only knew the entire "series" of helping maneuvers we shall have to undertake, you would not believe the dogs ever could mate. I want to leave them in a room by themselves for a few hours. My wife has a variety of dog breeding books that say otherwise. 

The trouble is that if Daisy and Rootie don't want company, it shall be more difficult to "help" them than it would be to "help" two drunken giraffes on roller blades. We shall see.


----------



## autopilot (Dec 2, 2004)

The male's name is "Rootie"?!?!? Hahaha, if this was New Zealand....

I'm sure he'll mate fine.


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Autopilot, Rootie was named after a cartoon character from my youth -- Rootie Kazootie, "the little boy full of zip and joy".

http://www.tvdays.com/rootie.htm


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Dr.G. said:


> "the little boy full of zip and joy".


Given the task at hand, Rootie* is an appropriate name....


*Root is a slang also for "to do the deed"


----------



## autopilot (Dec 2, 2004)

ArtistSeries said:


> Given the task at hand, Rootie* is an appropriate name....
> 
> 
> *Root is a slang also for "to do the deed"


Yeah, that's where I was going with that...


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Well Rootie had better be full of "zip and joy" because we don't have dog insurance for him, and AI is not really an option because our vet is on vacation.


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

"LONDON, England (CNN) -- Dog lovers often talk at length about the benefits of having a four-legged friend in the family -- and doctors are coming around to the idea too.

A group of physicians in southeast London has been discussing alternative treatments -- including giving patients pet dogs to boost their health."

My doctor has advised me to get rid of our dogs due to my allergies and the stress levels they create for me.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Dr.G. said:


> My doctor has advised me to get rid of our dogs due to ........ the stress levels they create for me.


Rather involved aren't we?


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

AS, I am a teleprofessor, so I work from home. Luckily, doxies like to sleep, but when it comes a certain time of the morning, afternoon or evening, THEY are in control. Try as I might, I have to give in to their "demands", which usually mean "take us outside and play with us".


----------

