Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I am thinking with the numerous vet bills I've encountered thru the years with not only Maggie but my other dog, Haley, that I should look into health insurance for the next dog!
Does anyone have any advice on what's available? Worth it? Not worth it?
Thanks!
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
We have a fair number of clients that use VPI Pet Insurance as well as the AKC insurance. Most policies will not cover pre-existing conditions or certain hereditary problems (such as cherry eye in Bulldogs) but should cover cancer, skin disease, orthopedic disease, etc. In most cases you pay your vet bill and then are reimbursed a percentage by the insurance company.
Another option that a lot of people use is a Care Credit card because you often have 6 months to a year to pay the balance without incurring interest fees. I have a card that I use when I take my dogs to the specialist but be warned if you don't pay off the balance in time the interest rate is high (20% or higher).
Pam
I had VPI with Ruthie and although I got very mad and frustrated with what they reimbursed and didn't reimburse, in the long run, I averaged about 48%...so I can't complain. I wouldn't have been able to continue her treatment without it. 48% of a lot of money is still better than nothing.
Although I'm switched to PetsBest for my new family member Tess, and I hope I never need it, insurance did give Ruthie the extra 9 months of happiness that meant so much to me.
I also have a Care Credit card that enabled me to pay for my initial out of pocket costs, but the interest rate is outrageous (22%) and I found myself with an increasing balance because the minimum balance due doesn't cover the interest incurred..good to get you through the initial surgery costs, but pay it off as soon as you can!
Pat, Angel Ruthie & Tess
I have VPI and I love it! It covers about 1/2 of the stuff we do for Comet. It runs about $60 a month on her and we started it when she was about 5 years old. It didn't cover knee surgeries.
I haven't purchased it yet on Rocket since he's young. But I had it on Rugby and had a cancer rider - it covered almost all of his bill when he died which was about $800. (didn't know he had cancer - so when he collapsed and found out it was cancer the insurance paid- our bill was around $1000 total for the emergency tests)
I will be getting Rocket insurance within the next year.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
I got the same insurance Pat did, Pets Best...I decided (all a result of the cancer with Magic...although I had cancer and kidney failure with OJ and didn't get ins. on Casper the Ghost) to get the top plan offered and I paid for a year and I added the "wellness" benefit that I probably won't add next year. It has reimbursed me for the vaccines that had not been given yet (unfortunately I had already done a bunch), only paid 100 toward the huge cost of his neutering (full blown abdominal surgery and hunting for the elusive ball) and won't pay for the gastropexy I just had done (preventative surgery)....I just sent in four claims so we will see what happens with them. One was a quick trip to the emergency room (stuck rawhide) that I had actually taken care of before we got there....so I paid to say hi to the doc and the tech who didn't speak english and then came home! But boy, paranoia seems to reside in my brain somewhere lately!!! They will pay for the kennel cough vaccine I think...and then I guess my hope is that I paid all that money for absolutely NOTHING. which is of course what we all hope with ins. I had tried to figure out if I had paid the insurance premiums on Magic for the 11 years he spent with me, would the insurance have paid off and I actually think it would have...especially if they had paid for all the chemo since I did the experimental one too...It is a tough call...I know a lot of folks recommend you take money each month and throw it in a savings account and that is probably a great idea....IF you do it. I might be able to at this stage of my life and responsibilities, but not in the past...it was pay the bills and wait for the next check! And if you have a savings acct for something like that, it is sometimes difficult NOT to dip into it if you need some extra money.
Excellent topic Tracy.
A while back we wrote an article in Tripawds news about this:
Navigating the Pet Health Insurance Maze
There's some links to different pet insurance review sites, comparisons, etc.
After coping with Jerry's cancer, we vowed we would get insurance on our next pup. We have Pet's Best on Wyatt, because it covers cancer (although it excludes some GSD diseases like hip displaysia), and we can use it anywhere, even at vet teaching hospitals.
And, we also like it because (like our own human health insurance policy), we don't have to get the bells and whistles plans (which can start at $45 a month!), just a "catastrophic" type plan with a $250 deductible that will cover major expenses like cancer, but not yearly check ups and vaccinations. If you can afford the plan that Diane's got, it's fabulous!
To get a basic Pet's Best plan for Wyatt, when he was less than a year old, was just $18 a month. It went up by .80 cents this year, which I assume will happen every year as he ages.
Comet, from what I understand the time to get insurance on a dog is when they are young, so it's cheaper.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Comet, from what I understand the time to get insurance on a dog is when they are young, so it's cheaper
We were late bloomers! I don't walk out of the vet's for less than $500 except for toenail clippings so surprisingly we still come out ahead!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks for everyone's comments!!! I will definitely be getting health insurance on the next dog in this household!!!
My two have cost me a 'pretty penny' that's for sure!!!! With pre-existing conditions on both of them, not worth it now on them 
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
I'm resurrecting an old topic here. Does anyone have anything to share on pet insurance? What you have. What you like. What you don't.
We are doing some forward planning for our dogs in the event something were to happen to the two of us. The dogs have homes, but we want to insure their veterinary care is covered and not a burden to the ones who were generous enough to say they would take Duke & Emmi into their homes if it was ever needed.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Hi Shanna,
This was just discussed a couple of weeks ago, I'm glad you brought it up her so we can update this topic. Here is the post:
"Looking for Health Insurance"
It's super smart of you to plan like this. More people should. We recently met a friend of Luke Robinson's who runs "Trusted Pet Partners" and he has something for exactly this situation, a legal pet care trust. We hope to have him on Tripawd Talk Radio real soon.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Love Healthy Paws!! We signed up for both our babies about 7 months before Lily was diagnosed with osteo. They pay 90% of everything (except office visit charge). They have called us just to see how Lily is doing, and they are super nice. By the time I get home from the vets or that evening, I get an email saying that our claim is being processed. Usually get check in 3-4 days. Our vet is so impressed with them.
So glad that we got pet insurance.
Joan and Lily
Our beautiful Lily was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her front leg on 12/14/11 at age 8 and had amp on 12/16/11. She completed 5 rounds of carbo. She was so brave and kicked cancer's butt daily! She lived life fully for 4 years, 3 months, and 15 days after her amp. My angel is a warrior princess. I miss her so much.
jerry said
Hi Shanna,This was just discussed a couple of weeks ago, I'm glad you brought it up her so we can update this topic. Here is the post:
"Looking for Health Insurance"
It's super smart of you to plan like this. More people should. We recently met a friend of Luke Robinson's who runs "Trusted Pet Partners" and he has something for exactly this situation, a legal pet care trust. We hope to have him on Tripawd Talk Radio real soon.
I'll go visit the links. We actually are placing our entire assets into a living trust that can be administered by a trustee if we were to meet with an accident. The trustee will know what our desires are for the dogs and have responsibility for getting the dogs to their new locations.
And, wow Joan, thank you for the input. That is quite impressive service from an insurance provider. And I really like that you don't have to pay up front for the service. Both the folks taking a dog are wonderful dog people, but not wealthy and we don't want this request to become a burden for them.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
We have Pets Best insurance and they've been pretty good, paying 80 percent of our one claim that we've had.
Read the Trusted Pet Partners FAQs about why having a separate pet care trust is more beneficial than simply putting them into a family trust. We have Wyatt in our living trust but now that I'm thinking we'll get one of these separate pet trusts. Here's why:
The basic reason we recommend keeping pets in a separate pet trust is that over 10, 20, 30 years you may want to make changes to your pet information in your family trust. Sometimes your pets have changed, or you may want to change the defined trustee or caregiver. Your pets medical conditions will most likely change over time, and we just don’t know what may happen in the future that we may want to take into account. You will probably incur attorneys fees every time you make any of these changes which can really add up. With a trusted pet partners dedicated pet trust, we allow you to log in at any time, make any changes necessary, as often as you need to with no additional charges.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I did look at the FAQ and am considering it. The trust we are working on is a revocable living will that allows either of us to make changes as needed. I like the idea of having everything covered in one document.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
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