Coming home to Doodlekisses!

[Diane Margetts]

 Although I regularly check the forum or recommendations, I have not participated in Doodlekisses for several years. It’s been a roller coaster ride: lost my husband, then immediately my mother, shortly after I retired, moved and most very recently lost my beautiful Dakota.

On the happy side, my new puppy was born a few days ago and will come home the end of March. I’ve been researching pet insurance on Doodlekisses this morning. It looks like PetPlan or Healthy Paws is the way to go! Love this site for all of the extremely helpful information.

Diane

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Welcome Back, Diane! I am so sorry for all the losses you have suffered, but glad that you're back. Can't wait to see pictures of the new puppy. 
I got my new puppy Jasper last March, and also had to decide between Healthy Paws and Pet Plan. Here's a link to that discussion, it may help you in your decision. (I went with Pet Plan)
https://doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/those-who-have-healthy-paws-i...

[Jennifer and Jack]

Hi,.   Oh my goodness. I am so sorry for all those major losses in your life.  That is so much to deal with.  I hope a new puppy will bring you a lot of joy and happiness to fill some of those sad spots.

I have had pet plan for almost 10 years.  Up until this month, I had $100 deductible per illness, per year with 90 percent reimbursement and no yearly limit of what they will pay.  Due to the huge increase of his and kept premium this year, 126 to $215 I changed his limit to $200. per illness and kept the no yearly maximum,. 

I have always been very happy with their prompt payment and never disputing a claim.  MOlly, my mom's dog has her teeth cleaning covered because she has periodontal disease.

My Jack has Mital Valve Disease and I belong to several groups where people have sick dogs and have Pet Plan. Pet Plan has in their verbiage that they can at FREE WILL drop your coverage when it is time for renewal.  I know three different people this has happened to this year.  Their coverage for their senior dogs with many health problems has been drastically reduced and those who have no yearly out of pocket max now have 15K a year.  This is extremely devastaing to a lot of people as having a cardiac dog can be really expensive.   They targeted people who have sick dogs and put in a lot of claims and reduced them.  At first I didn't believe it, but I have seen the people's letters saying their coverage was drastically reduced. They didn't have any legal recourse because Pet =Plan can choose not to renew your policy each year and you could be stuck with a dog with many medical problems and limited insurance. 

While I have been happy with Pet Plan, I would never choose a company if i had a choice that would have the power to drop Jack's coverage in a time when he needs it the most.    I can show you more information about that if you would like.  my heart is broken for the people that it has happened to.

We just renewed,  They did not do this to me but I had over 75 dollar increase a month which is why I had to go with 200 deductible per illness instead of 100.

Be as educated as you can and good luck to you.

[Diane Margetts]

Oh my goodness—thankssomuch for that info. I’ve been leaning toward Healthy Paws or even Trupanion (more expensive butcertain advantages). I will check out cancellation options on all ... 

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Welcome back! Hugs and kind thoughts to you, so much loss in such a short itme.  Enjoy your new puppy. 

I lost my beloved Roo Christmas of 17, and Murphy came home to us in January of 2108.  I was 71 and hoped I was everything Murphy needed as much as i needed her.  She is now one and an awsome bundle of energy and love.

Hope your new puppy brings you as much comfort and love as Murphy has brought me.  

Roo had heart disease for the last two years of his life, this was on top of Addison's disease since he was 1and1/2.  I had Petplan and dropped it after the first year with his heart.  It didn't even pay for itself let alone help pay the bills.  i would have been better to put the money in a dog savings account every year.

P.S. Tigger (10 years+) is of two minds about her, sometimes she is really a pill and other times they really enjoy each other.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Maryann.  I am so sorry about Roo... What kind of heart disease did he have?  My mom got her first dog ever when she was 70 and I can tell you for a fact, that dog has an amazing life as does yours I am sure.  It is good to hear from you.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Diane, I am so very sorry for your losses.  I remember a photo of Dakota on one of the calendars.  I loved that photo!  Welcome back. I can't wait to hear about your new puppy.

[Diane Margetts]

Awww! . . . Sweet of you to remember! He was actually in a few calendars and on the cover of the 2012 calendar.

[Pauline Rackley]

Hi, Check out Trupanion. I didn't have insurance for Zeus since I work for a veterinarian and get very generous benefits. However, when he was diagnosed with cancer, I opted to use specialists for his care. These costs were out of pocket and amounted to many thousands of dollars Fortunately, I was able to do this, but I know that many could not. I also have an 8 yo afghan hound and realized that something like this could certainly happen again. I decided to get a plan with a high deductible to cover another catastrophic illness. The premiums are very reasonable and we recommend it to our clients. The plans can be customized to your needs.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

You take stunning photos and I know he was in more than one calendar, but the one of him all wet in the reeds is one of my all time favorite photos as is the other one I posted. (I went to your page and borrowed).

[Diane Margetts]

Thank you so much! You know, I love both of those photos of Dakota but I have to agree with you the ‘wet boy in tules’ is one of my all time favorites because it is soooo Dakota!