Pet Insurance for Your Dog or Cat: Money Up Front

This is Part 2 of our series about Pet Insurance for your Dog or Cat: Is It Worth It?  (Read Part 1)

If you're looking at this post, you're probably looking also at 8 or so Google ads for pet insurance. So you need to be a smart shopper because businessmen have discovered that offering pet insurance is a good way to make money! So with that, let's continue:

Now my husband and I laid out an astonishing amount of money to have our Lab Joey just admitted to the medical center.

But would having pet insurance have had any less of a crash impact on our pocketbooks?

Truth is that most of the dog and cat insurance companies that I saw require you to pay the medical care bills first, and then submit the bill to them, and then they assess the charges and fees and reimburse you as they deem appropriate.

So you have to have the money up front, even with pet insurance.

In some animal hospitals, you can't admit your pet without having the money available; in others, you can't take your pet home without having it. 

That may be having up to $1000., which I saw for many pet owners whose dogs or cats had a diabetic attack, or, in our case, over $3000 for an animal that's been hit by a car, available on a credit card.

And keep in mind that many of these pet insurances also have deductibles that have to be met.

Our next post in this series is called "Pre-existing Conditions and Congenital Defects."

Health Insurance for Your Dog: Is It Worth It? Part 1

I know a lot of people who have dogs, but frankly I don't know that any of them have pet insurance. And yet when Joey was injured, we heard people ask, "Do you have pet insurance?"  The internet is pulsing with ads for pet insurance.

 

Right from the start, I'm saying that we never got Joey health insurance. Do we wish we had? Would we recommend pet insurance?

We are going to begin a short series on this question: Pet Insurance:  Is It Worth It?

First, Joey - and I hope I'm not putting a curse on him by saying this - never was sick one day in his life!  For the most part, until he was hit by the car, his medical care was entirely routine.

The worst medical condition he had was an occasionally skin allergy in the winter, that the veterinarian said was due to the long dry New England winter and his lack of being outside.  (And we solved that problem: After Joey got hit by the car, we started putting Omega 3 oils in his food once per day to help his skin heal and presto, by the next long and hard New England winter, he had only minimal skin dryness!)

So when Joey got hit by the car, and even that first day cost us a pretty penny, naturally we started wondering if we'd made a mistake, if we should have gotten our dog health insurance a long time ago, and we started wondering if it was worth it for us to get it from that point going forward (with the understanding that it would not cover any costs related to his accident).

Even that first day!  We had a fee at the first and local animal hospital that stabilized Joey, then the second and larger 24-hour animal medical center provided acute emergency care, diagnosis, etc.  Joey was in the Intensive Care Unit for 5 days, during which time he had, among other care, dental surgery.

Now, if your pet has an emergency, when you go into the animal medical center, before they will even admit your dog or cat, they will consult a doctor and create a maximum and minimum estimate of charges.  You must have that amount of money in your account or on a credit card account before they will administer your pet and provide emergency services. Your credit care is not actually charged; it's kind of like making a reservation at a hotel. They want to make sure you have the money, but you are not actually charged until the service is provided.

So let's go back to pet insurance. We went online and chose one very well-known company to obtain a free quote. We put in for the maximum coverage: Common Problems, Panic-Moment Problems (aha, here is where our dog gets hit by a car), expensive problems (which includes chemotherapy), routine care, additional care (?) and enhanced cancer care: Hocus Pocus and we have the figure $62. per month. Now do the real math.  Okay, over one year that's $744. Over a period of ten years, that's $7445. Hey, that's Joey's age!  Over a period of 15 years thats $11,160.

So a person would have to have $11,160 in medical bills (and that's after any deductibles and/or co-pays are paid) on medical expenses related to your dog to just break even after 10 years.

Now the caveat is "Pre-existing conditions including congenital defects or diseases". 

Here's where it gets tricky. What exactly is a congenital defect considered to be? Or a congenital disease? And what are the congenital defects and congenital diseases that YOUR dog might have been born with, or might develop, for which you will not be covered?

On a Labrador Retriever, the ever-so-common Hip Dysplasia is considered to be a congenital disease and is therefore not covered!  Did I see a list of exclusions for each breed - what is considered to be a congenital defect - on this website???? Did I hear any of you say "No"?

We looked at another dog medical insurance. In the rolling sidebar, it gave the following example, intended to surely hook you in to the great savings offered by getting pet health insurance:

Example #1:

"Treated for: Colon Cancer Claim Paid: $2647.xx Monthly Premium: $42.xx

Do the math.  This person was paying $507. per month for health insurance for his dog.  So if his dog got colon cancer when he or she was five years old, the dog's owner would have broken even, and if he/she'd gotten colon cancer after that age the owner would have saved money by having pet health insurance. But in our pet insurance's example, how old was the dog when he or she got cancer?  We don't know that!  We aren't told this!  Most dogs don't get colon cancer when they are 5 years old, although Joey's mom was an exception and got cancer and died when she was four. (Cancer is common among Labrador Retrievers, but not so common among other breeds.) So maybe this owner would have done better putting his money in a bank account every month and using it when needed, if needed, and taking that statistical chance.

Example #2:

Treated for: Cruciate Ligament Tear Claim Paid: $2633.xx Monthly Prem.: $37.xx

Do the math.  This pet owner was paying, per year, $444. How old was the dog when he got the ligament tear, or how many years was the person paying for this insurance?  At 5-1/2 years old, the owner was breaking even.  Before that, the owner was saving money. After that, the insurance company was coming out ahead. 

Be a smart shopper.  Be a smart pet owner.

When you see these ads enticing you to purchase health insurance for your dog or cat, do the math - first.

And then there is the question from above: the exclusions for a "congenital defect" and a "pre-existing condition"!  In another post, we're going to take a deeper look at this question: For dogs, what is a "congenital defect and what is a congenital defect or disease considered to be, by these insurance companies?

Part 2: Money Up Front!

Running with Your Dog at Night or in the Dark

This below is what you'll see if you're walking or running down our street in the dark hours, very early in the morning or after the sun has set in the evening. What are these strange blinking lights, only two feet off of the ground?

Many people run in the dark after work; some run in the dark before work!  And while runners pay attention to their own safety, what about the safety of their dog?

Phil is an early-riser, and thus so is Joey. Since Joey was a puppy, Phil has been taking Joey out running at 5 a.m. In the winter and autumn, it's dark at this hour. Also, it's often dark in the late afternoon when Joey gets walked or run again.

Phil has his own see-in-the-dark vest and wears caps with see-in-the-dark stripes. And what about Joey?

First, he has purchased little lights for runners - and he clips them on Joey's collar. Joey wears two or three of these lights - one on either side of his collar. Dad turns them on to flash quickly.

This was especially helpful when Joey was recovering from his car accident, as you see below.

The blinking lights serve two purposes: They help Phil to see where Joey is, and they help cars to see where Joey is. Though there aren't many cars at this hour of the morning, when a car is out, the last thing a driver expects to see is a dark chocolate Labrador Retriever running on the street, so the flashing lights are a great warning beacon.

Occasionally, Phil places a bicyclist's reflective leg band around Joey's (somewhat thick) neck - fastening two together with the velco portions to go fully around.

In this case, it's everybody's safety that is of concern.

There is no doubt that Joey loves running - and we aim to keep him running as long as possible!

Cesar Millan and Good Books about Dogs

I never was much interested in Cesar Millan, his books or his show. That was all to change, and Joey had something to do with that.

The months after our dog was hit by a car provided me the time to read and learn a lot about dogs. How much have you read about dogs? About your breed? Here are some of the books, and what I learned from each:

I read the book How Dogs Think: Understanding the Canine Mind, by Dr. Stanley Coren, in which Dr. Coren said that dogs, being pack animals, would need to hide any signs of weakness or pain from the pack, as doing otherwise would put them at peril and at risk of being abandoned by the pack. Of course Joey would come home and sit quietly, never whimpering, always stoic, his tail wagging in gratitude and friendship.

I think it's important to understand the pack mentality. Dogs are not people, no matter how many little coats and socks we put on their feet. They are animals and have a long history that precedes domestication. And I believe we need to value and appreciate that history.

Cesar Millan is one of my favorites. I don't read his books but I do see the NatGeo shows and I love watching whether it's on the TV or if I'm on an air flight and his program is being shown. I really recommend you watch his shows. Cesar writes a lot about the energy from a human to a dog. People are not aware of the energy that emanates from them - but a dog is. They sense it, they smell it, they know it in ways we cannot possibly perceive. And they react to it. And one of the things that I really like about his show is that the owners go through a process of understanding themselves, how they react to their dog and what kind of energy they put out, and how the dog reacts in turn. He is clear that dogs are not humans, and we need to work with THEM and what they bring into life and into the relationship.

A lot of people are very opposed to Cesar. I've read comments on blogs - they think he's mean! I think he respects the dog, and out of this respect comes love, and that his perspective is something we all need to learn from. Any time I can watch one of his episodes, I do.

Building Endurance in Your Injured Dog

The bandages from his broken ankle long off, Joey was doing great: Though we watched him closely, I cannot even pinpoint exactly when our dog stopped favoring his right side hind leg, the leg that was badly hurt, the one that had the metal plate and screws, and that had three broken toes, and when he stopped hopping on three legs rather than four. But he did!

When you've had an injury, you get back to normal slowly. Little by little. You notice and complain about your aches and pains. Maybe you even go to a physical therapist. Your dog, on the other hand, wants to jump right in, back to life. He wants to walk, run, jump up on beds, jump down from beds. Does he feel aches and pains? Maybe, but he isn't going to tell you.
He is, in fact, going to act rather like your adolescent child when he or she is injured or sick.

The fact is that both Phil and I played an important role in our dog's recovery and rehabilitation:

For a few weeks there, in the glory of the summer, I was taking him swimming in the lake, taking him literally doggie-paddling, giving his legs a workout, and getting his endurance up. (At least I was doing that until I got kicked out of the lake!)

Dad was taking Joey running in the morning...building up his muscles and his endurance.

Bringing patient, and having a good watch with a timer on the run was part of the process.

At first Phil would take him running for five minutes.  Then a few days later, increase it to ten.  Then a few days later, increase that to fifteen.  And finally one morning Phil took Joey out for a big twenty-minute run.

The twenty-minute run took place, at first, once a week. After a few weeks, he increased it to twice a week...

It's important to observe your dog - including what's going on with his tongue. That can signal he's too hot or too tired.

Joey would always start every run out strong. However, unlike before, at some point in the run, his tongue would hang out.  On some days, he just got slow toward the end of his run.

The dog, so full of enthusiasm, didn't realize that he needed to stop - so we humans had to realize that for him.  You have to understand it's not your run alone; it's the dog's run, too.

But it just seems that all of a sudden I noticed  Joey was walking normally and running normally, on all fours!

When I asked Phil if he had his running partner back, he paused.

"Almost, but not quite."

Now, five months later, on the long runs, the mornings when Phil runs for 40 minutes or more, Joey can't make it all the way.

Mister Enthusiasm is good for about 15 minutes but can manage twenty.

So Phil has to figure out how to run the dog - and still get his own long run in.

It was September. The shadows that followed Joey and me when I walked him toward the pond in the late afternoon dragged behind us. The long and lanky shadows that preceded Joey and me when I walked him back from the pond also seemed anxious to climb up the hill. Even the shadow of Joey's tongue, which would by then be hanging out, seemed longer. But we were on our way!


Please read more about our dog's injury and recuperation, from Joey's point of view!

Reunion of Littermates - Ten Years Later!

Do you think that brother and sister puppies know and recognize each other as siblings?  Do you think they "know" they're related?

As I walked into the kennel one morning to bring Joey in to be boarded for one week, I'd had no idea that Joey's littermate lived in the same town as we! I knew Joey was from Connecticut, and here we lived in Boston. But that day I saw that dog standing there - those eyes - that body shape, that head shape - I knew it had to be!

"How old is your dog?" Nine.

"Where did you get your dog"? Connecticut.

"These dogs are littermates!" I exclaimed, excited and in disbelief.

And she even had the same collar and lead as Joey had!

We arranged with the kennel to have the two siblings' pens side-by-side.  It was so endearing!

We also exchanged names and phone numbers and emails and planned to get the dogs together - but then Joey was hit by the car.

We had to respect the time Joey needed to hear.

And then, six months later, that day arrived.

We had to deal with each dog's personality and attributes: Rosie was protective of her owners, and Joey was highly excitable. We had to plan out what to do so Rosie would feel comfortable around Joey, who would naturally know no restraint.

This morning a car pulled up to the sidewalk outside our home and Elisabeth, Rosie's mom, got out then Rosie got out. Joey knew something was going on outside but he couldn't see what. Still, he could hear it. Elisabeth and I had decided to keep Joey inside the home while Rosie got comfortable in a new place and with new people.

But when I came inside, Joey could smell Rosie all over her hands and arms. He kept sniffing for more and more.

The question everybody asked is, "Do they recognize each other? Do dogs who've been separated since birth have a sense of being family?"

Soon I put Joey on lead and slowly allowed him to go outside. First I had him sit on the front step of our home for a while, while Elisabeth had Rosie remain on the sidewalk, close to her. The two dogs just looked at each other and got comfortable like that for a while. It was pretty difficult. He wanted to get up but I would say "Sit" and he obeyed. Dog obedience can be a real challenge, and one thing I learned was that after this ordeal with the car, Joey had really strongly bonded with me and was considerably more obedient than he'd been. But still, it was a challenge to keep him still.


And so begins a story of reunion and - what else? Read the continuing story in Joey's blog to learn more about Joey's life and injury and the reunion and reconciliation of littermates, from the dog's perspective!

Thanks.

How Do You Keep a Good Dog In?

Is your dog also nicknamed "The Escape Artist?"