I have been thinking

[tuffystar]

After reading the forum and all of the things that go into having a dog I find it is is amazing anyone but the rich own dogs. I am so glad we have our dogs but we never planned for them. We have decided to set up savings accounts to handle vet bills. You just never know what your beautiful puppy or dog will need. What we get from our dogs demands we think of this. I am sorry to say we did not think of this before we got our dogs. I am going to recommend that everyone I know that wants a dog, visits these forums and reads all of the posts before they get a dog. There have been several times we went without medicine because I feel the dogs come first. We are so glad Kevin is making better money now but that may not last. I have talked to Kevin and if it came to living in a tent with the dogs or re-homing the dogs I would live in a tent. Since that doesn't address food and health care we had better plan ahead.

Sorry this is a bit of a soap box post but I have been so worried that we be sure our dogs are provided for in our home and if something happens to us that I just had to share these thoughts. Thanks for listening.

[Jac]

Good point, Kathy. I know what you mean. When we sell puppies, I am careful to make sure that the family understands the expenses but even then, most people are so excited to get a pet that they think it will never happen to them.

When we place our service dogs we require that the families commit to buying PetPlan insurance. The reason we specify that plan is that, while they don't cover routine care, they do cover catestrophic and even congenital issues. Most insurance does not cover congenital things. And the insurance plans are fairly affordable...and you can get up to 15 % off for various things...and you can pay monthly or annually. I used to think that when I combined the premium for my dogs it would be too much and I took the gamble that my dogs would be healthy...but just one serious event, like when Chase was so sick recently, can cost thousands...so if I only had one dog I would not hesitate to get a good insurance policy. Oh, and the younger the pup, the cheaper the insurance...

Now, I know that when you can't afford personal frills for yourselves that insurance for a dog seems really silly...but I will say that I would have been so relieved to have had insurance...many times. Our biggest bill was for an 8 week old puppy that we eventually lost anyway...and the bill then was $11,000...and that was only for the emergency vet...we paid about $1500 to other vets before we got the big bill...

So, you are right...advance planning is the key...and I honestly think that insurance is wise...very wise.

It is not just medical issues though...I mean their food (for quality food) and toys and treats and grooming and crates and beds...it all adds up!

[tuffystar]

Jac you are so right it is more than the vet bills. All my life we have had dogs and not planed ahead and had some hard choices to make. I have talked to Kevin and we are doing our best to never have to make some of the choices we have had to make in the past due to lack of money. We will be looking into insurance too but our savings will be to cover anything the insurance won't once we get it. I once had a vet say to me that if we could not take care of the vet bills for our dog we should not have them. I did not owe him anything I was asking in advance what the cost of something was. In a way I think that although he was harsh he was kind of right. The problem was we got our dogs when we thought we could afford them. Our circumstances changed and by then the dogs were getting older. I ask him what we were suppose to do now get rid of our companions of 5 and 10 years? So over time and with the help of reading forums I am getting a bit wiser and planning ahead. I think some financial counseling helped us too but mostly it was reading what my friends on the forums have gone through.

BTW the indistructible toy I wrote about cost 20$ and is destuffed but still holding its own. That was 20$ we never thought of spending! It does all add up!

[Jac]

Kathy, this is such an important topic...and I remember reading about veterinary assistance somewhere...so I checked...here is an EXCELLENT link to resources that can help: http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/what_ ... _care.html

[DrEPropp]

I researched 20 plus insurance plans out there in great detail before I chose. I created a spreadsheet to compare and contrast, pros/cons, exclusions, pre-existing etc. I felt that I needed to understand the fine print. I decided that PetPlan works best for me and my situation. (I have no professional connection to PetPlan other than that I have a policy for Montana). The Humane Society sponsors PetPlan as its ONLY pet insurance.

The things I liked about PetPlan were:

that I could slide the deductible from $0 to $50 to $100 or $200
Coverage amounts were available from $8000 to $20,000 per year. Plans levels are Bronze, Silver, Gold.
Coverage Percentage Splits can be 80 plan/20 client, 90 plan/10 client or 100 plan/0 client.
They cover CONGENITAL - HEREDITARY . The #1 reason pet insurance claims are denied is because the insurance company claims that the 'problem' is hereditary. It could leave your dog without treatment unless you can afford it out of pocket. This is a TrashCan CAUSE. It is a get our of jail free card that the insurance company can use at its discretion. I would rather rest easy and have that option off the table.
Claims are PER incident. Meaning that one car accident can take 40 visits but you only pay one deductible for that incident and then your percentage split takes over. (most plans deductibles are per visit).
You can go to ANY vet you choose. You file the claim and the plan reimburses you in 14 -21 days. This means you can use a credit card to float payment until reimbursement arrives.
There are NO usual and customary fees for vets. So if you live in a Major Metropolitan place where vet fees tend to be higher, the whole fee will be subjected to deductible and the percentage split. I hate usual and customary because I live in a HIGH cost of living area. If you live in a low cost area this is irrelevant but it means you can choose an expensive specialist when needed! The right treatment for your pet should determine where I take my dog not the fees set by insurances.

Each person's circumstances are different and finances do change. I could not agree more, plan ahead, life is not always going to follow your plan so just do the best you can.

I suggest this review site to get an overview on a variety of pet insurance plans... http://www.petinsurancereview.com/

[tuffystar]

Thanks for the links and information! I am reading all the information later today.

[cristofer]

Do you think I have a chance of becoming an actress?