OT - doggy health care

Hey guys and gals,


Had a bad puppy incident with a new little pup that I'm holding to take to my sister in New Mexico next week. Little bugger jumped down off the porch and broke her tibia - bad puppy! Anyway, the resulting vet visit on Sunday to the Vet School and discussions surrounding surgery got me to thinking that I'm so glad I'm on the Dave Ramsey plan with an emergency fund in place. The quote was $2,200 for surgery or about half that for a cast/splint. Not an easy amount to come up with quickly - but we had the emergency fund in place, so it turned out not to be a panicked moment. O.K., I'll admit, I did panic a little - but in the long run, the money is there, so no big deal. Sis is unreachable until next week so I had to make the decisions.

I have been on a lot of boards that discuss insurance for pets - wondered if anyone on here has gone that route and if so, what were the results? I've heard from most folks that it's better to just have a specific savings (or emergency doggy fund) just for the pets. We opted to go that route. Just curious if others have a special account or if you use insurance or (if you're like I was 5 years ago)  just hope nothing went wrong.

Good for you for following Dave's plan! 

My DD's cat jumped out of a tree and broke her's too.  Her DH would not spend the money for surgery so they just had the cast put on it.  He was amazing in that cast and it didn't stop her from climbing trees etc. It healed so good you would never even know it was broken.

Awww - poor baby! 

No, I haven't had any kind of animal insurance for any of my pets.  I know it can get expensive though if they have problems. I just hoped nothing went wrong.  I did have a cat I had a LOT of money into once, had bladder control problems, emergency room visits and in the end cancer...

I almost think it would depend on the breed of the cat/dog/horse and if they're prone to medical issues.  I don't know if I would have a separate savings for it if I didn't have insurance, but would need to make sure there is some money there in case of emergencies (like what happened to your puppy).

Hope he/she heals well....

Its amazing how fast they can get into a world o trouble and how astronomically much it COSTS isn't it ... lil Mini Me got blocked ... sat in the litter box , staggered a few times ... thank GOD I took him to the emergency vet though it was 1 AM on a holiday weekend because he would have died otherwise( he was systemic having organ failure due to the blockage ) and next thing U know ... 4 day hospital stay ,emergency pet ER ... and 1200 cash... yikes

And Im sure it could've been worse ... he's a strong boy and he REALLY wanted to come home ..

I had insurance for my Bulldog for many years, although I was "talked" into it, it was never worth it. Everytime we went in they decided something else was wrong with her (that wasnt) that needed expensive tests (was always normal)but these tests were not covered by the insurance. It always ended up coming out of pocket anyway, of course the visit was free, but vaccinations were not. We were NOT allowed to EVER drop the insurance (Banfield) the contract clearly says this is for LIFE of YOU, Not the animal and their validation was that they have hospitals in every state.... I ended up cancelling my bank card (automatic draft) and told them she had died (when she hadnt) when they called, they said we have to transfer it to your other animals, I said I did not have any more.... Ok long story short, I finally got out of it but did not see any benefit in it at all...Sorry so long..

 OMG  Stacey  what a horrible contract !   sounds  ILLEGAL  

 I have been very lucky with my dogs (knock on wood) but a few months ago my Chihuahua got sick.  He has congestive heart failure and takes medication and the vet had told me a year ago that he may have a year left so I was scared to death that it was time.  I didn't want to take him to the vet because I was afraid he would tell me to put him down and I couldn't bear that.  
I knew I had to take him in, though.  He wasn't eating and just looked bad.  I brought him in and the first thing the vet said was "It looks like he is going downhill".  I have an amazing vet who I trust very much.  He is able to diagnose very accurately without a lot of tests.  He examined JJ and told me that he had a sore back and it was making it hard for him to go to the bathroom
Long story short he got a few shots for his back, some blood work and an enema.  The whole thing cost $67.  He was back to normal in no time and has been fine, since.
Since my vet is so reasonable it wouldn't make sense to have pet insurance, especially since I have 4 dogs.  It is only about $30 for an office visit.  I do most of their shots myself.  Like I said, other then JJ's heart problem they have been very healthy but I do realize that something could happen at any time.
Oh, I forgot, Pepper, one of their babies, was born with an umbilical hernia and that cost about $200 to fix, including getting him fixed.   I got the other baby, Princess, fixed and all her shots and license for about $40 through a special program with the human society.

I've had pet insurance in the past but the plans they have here in Canada are pretty much crap!  HIGH monthly premiums ($100+) and they only pay out max 80% on a claim and if you make a large claim they drop you down to 50% payout (this is for the best paying plan out there, there are others that have lifetime maximums of $20,000 and use illness categories.)

Of course 5 months after cancelling the policies on my dogs, my boy (aka the million dollar dog) broke his leg.  3 surgeries at the vet college later and a $7000 bill made things a bit tight for a while but thankfully I had no other debt and a good line of credit.  This year (May) he developed a problem with his eye, so every 2 weeks I drive him to Buffalo to see an opthamologist ($260 each time.) and he'll ultimately need surgery once the ulcer is healed ($900.) 

We won't even discuss how much I paid the dentist to fix his teeth or the wart treatment for the WORST case of viral papiloma's my vet had ever seen.

We do not have any type of insurance on Little Willie.  We love mini daschuands and they are prone to back problems.  We try to keep ours from jumping but it is almost impossible.  We have some money in savings because if they rupture their backs it is an emergency surgery and you have to do it quickly for the surgery to work.  So far we have not had that problem, but we have spent plenty of our pets. Annual check-ups, shots, teeth cleaning and special dog food and a host of other things!!  He is our baby now and very well cared for.  

 We looked into it, but we are in such a small town none of the vets here are in their plans and probably would not have been worth it for the premiums.

Daisy, who we had before Willie, had some back problems, but they could treat hers with shots and medicine.

Hope the puppy heals quickly.

Linda

Pet insurance doesn't work like people insurance. You still have to pay everything up front, and the insurance company will decide what they will/will not reimburse you for. If you have a breed prone to issues, they usually won't cover those particular issues. It's kind of expensive, too. It's really better to just have an emergency fund. Plus, if insurance ever really takes hold, vet care will likely become astronomically expensive, just like human medical care.

Abby (certified vet tech no longer in practice)