PET INSURANCE ... I've said it before and I'll Keep Saying it Forever!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

As long as there are new members joining the site I'm going to keep adding this post occasionally.  This is one of the most important things that you can do when you get your new puppy.  Even before you go to the vet the very first time.  This has been on my mind so much lately as between this site and FaceBook and all of the dog friends I have there, there have been so many sick dogs lately with owners with no insurance.

Some people luck out.  They get a new puppy and they go to the vet once a year for annual shots and they all live happily ever after.  However, that just might be the exception.  The advances in Veterinary care have been so great in the last several years that the expense in many cases is so far beyond what many of us are able to take on.  That is why Pet Insurance is so important.  If it weren't for finding DK when we got our Sisters Lucy and Sophie 6.5 years ago we would never have considered Pet Insurance.  I would have just thought it was a worthless waste of money.  It was the first story about CCL injuries and the cost of surgery for that alone that made me start thinking about it.   

There are all kinds of Pet Insurance through all sorts of Companies.  If you do a search here on DK you will find many Discussions are the various plans.  Do a little research and a little sole searching and think about what you would do if your doodle had a life threatening injury or illness.  How would you handle the expenses and then make a determination for yourself about what plans you need to make.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I hope that you didn't take my post personally for some reason.  You are right, it is a personal decision.  The reason that I start this discussion again and again is that many first time dog owners (of which we get a lot here) have absolutely no idea how much it can cost to have illnesses and accidents treated.  We like to make them aware that there are affordable plans available if they plan ahead.  The problem that I see with a rainy day fund is that the type of money that is needed for many of these types of things we see over and over again would not be available for years.  If I had put aside $100 a month (which I know the average person can't afford for their dog rainy day fund) there still would not have been enough money available when Lucy needed her CCL surgery, or Sophie needed her Chemo treatments or Lucy needed her allergy testing.   Particularly now that her allergy drugs alone are over $100 a month.  I would be draining it as quickly as I was putting anything in it.  Then what if something else happened.  

Over and over again there are people who have ill dogs that are setting up donation pages depending on the kindness of friends and strangers to get their dogs the help they desperately need.  It breaks my heart every time that I see someone going through this when it could have been prevented if they were aware that there are some good insurance plans available.   Pet Insurance has had a bad rep for years, but if people look through the discussions here, there are some really good plans that have saved many of us thousands of dollars. 

Awareness, that is all this is about.  Puppies eat things, socks, kids toys, rocks, sticks ... surgery to remove these things can be $3000.  No rainy day fund is going to be ready that soon.  We had a 1 year old puppy on DK that needed two hip surgeries at something like $8000 a pop ... CCL injuries can be from $1500 to $5000 ... it goes on and on.

For those who have a significant savings already and don't mind using it or have the ability to set aside thousands of dollars fairly quickly just in case, then maybe it isn't needed.  However, I would say that isn't the majority of the people here and those are the people that I hope can benefit from these posts.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I so agree, Sheri. 

And when I receive emails asking for money to save the life of a stranger's 6 month old doodle puppy because the owners cannot afford to pay $3000 to have a sock removed from his gut, their decision not to purchase pet insurance ceases to be "personal". When I am asked to find a new home for a 6 year old doodle with Addison's Disease because his owner cannot afford the $280/month for his medication, that person's decision not to get insurance ceases to be personal. When I receive messages here on DK from people whose dogs are suffering with allergies and the owners cannot afford to take them to the dermatologist, those people's decisions not to get insurance cease to be personal. 

[Natalie & Banjo]

Agreed Jen W.

Insurance companies stay in business for a reason, and on a large scale, premiums must outweigh payouts.

Having said that, the original post is a good reminder for all to not neglect investigating this in depth. Insurance is a godsend for misfortune. There's nothing but Doodle love on this forum so understandably the passion to avoid any tragedy is strong.

-Nat's lesser half

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

You can get pet insurance on a pup before you even bring it home.  Bruin was covered at 6 weeks.  Bailey at 12 weeks.  I love having the piece of mind knowing that my doodle babies are covered... and hopefully it will be a "waste of money" and I will never have to use it!!

[Stella]

I think part of the problem is that people, particularly first time dog owners, have no idea how expensive veterinary care can be. Pretty much any orthopaedic surgery you are looking at a minimum $3000, abdominal surgery $3000, cancer treatment $10000, and it goes on. In an ideal world you'd pay those premiums every month and never make a claim, so 'wasting' your money.

I pay approx $35/month for my pet insurance, my dog is 6 1/2 years old, that works out at $2500 in the bank if I didn't have insurance and saved that money instead. I have already received payouts to equal this - stitches, swallowing latex gloves, shoulder injury including X-rays. My other dog is 5 1/2 years old ($2300 spent on premiums), we have spent almost that on bloodwork and investigations for his behaviour and skin conditions. So, I am very glad that I have insurance, and that is without anything major happening to either of them.

A work colleague of mine had her three year old dog put down because she went blind. They couldn't afford the surgery to remove her eyes and relieve her pain, so she was euthanized. Apart from her sight, this dog was healthy.

If you can't afford to pay for the insurance, maybe you should have a good long think about if you really can afford to have a dog at all. It is a harsh thing to say, but you need to be able to afford to care for your dog 'in sickness and in health'.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Amen. 

[Robin and Libby Louise]

Ditto - Amen.

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

Your last few sentences nailed it right on the head! If you can't afford to pay for insurance, or truly be dedicated to set aside an equivocal amount each month, b/c you cannot afford it, you probably can't afford to have a dog.

I stress this amount so hard when screening potential families for adoption of our dogs/puppies. I've seen too many families return dogs b/c they couldn't afford medical care. :( 

[Julie and Charlie]

Just like with human health insurance, you can choose how much you buy. I bought a pretty minimal policy, but it is for the big things, not the average run of the mill vet visit or illness. I don't want any major decisions I make about his care to be about money.

If I had a 14 year old dog, I would make different decisions than a 2 year old.

[Nicole kroeger]

I had to use it and it was amazing! My first passed at 12 weeks, and even after $5,000 worth of tests there still wasn't an answer as to why, but it was great to not have to worry about expenses while making those decisions. I am happy I never had to decide between my puppy and money and had a peace of mind knowing I really did do everything possible. They paid out within 10 days, and I even received a hand written condolences letter....... And to top it off it was in a FREE month trial period!

[Breanna]

I second the part about getting it right when you get your puppy. I waited four months and had to fight to take an exclusion off as a preexisting condition. 

I too see people on facebook whose pets get ill or injured and they ask for other people to pay their vet bills on web pages like gofundme. I don't like that. Although I have a high deductible of $250, there's still a lot of peace of mind there that I won't go severely in debt for vet bills.