Pet health insurance??

[conny63malies]

Me and my DH wont be getting a pug, instead HE wants a Chihuahua. I'd like to get health insurance for the dog. What kind should i pick , what do i need to know about it? Should i pick coverage for accidents and injuries only or more of a premium type that includes heartworm prevention, shots.... do you have it for your pets and how much does it cost. Or sould i just save the money each month and put it aside?

 

[patandchickens]

If you already have some savings you could tap into if need be, it makes more sense IMO for most people to self-insure i.e. just sock away extra money into your savings. That way YOU get the interest on the money, and get to keep whatever's unused, rather than feeding it to someone else's bank account

If you *don't* have any way to pay for major medical emergencies right now, insurance makes more sense, if you are of the mind that you want to do whatever is can possibly be done for the animal.

But, look real REAL carefully at all the fine print, in terms of what is covered and when and what you have to pay for. The pet insurance policies I've seen require you to spend a lot up front on routine healtcare and I know at least one had a sigificant copay or deductible (I forget which). And not everything was covered. So if you are investigating it, be very cautious and thoughtful and work out all the details before you decide whether it'd really be worthwhile for you.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat, who's had major medical / mortality on certain horses at times, but not on the cats, and have come out financially well ahead this way (although of course a few people with unlucky animals it's very much the other way round)

 

[lorieMN]

IMO..you will like a chi much better than a pug anyway..pugs are not high in the smarts department..now I know lots of people have them and love them..JMHO..

 

[sandyj]

Let me tell ya, I wish I'd a had pet insurance about 3 weeks ago. Our 6 year old German Shepard got really sick on a Saturday night at 11:00 pm. Well, to the ER vet we went. He had to stay that weekend, then be tranfered to our own vet the following Monday. The ER vet alone cost us $1700.00, which we had to pay for before we left in the wee hours on Sunday morning. I can believe it, these ER vets have you between a rock and a hard place. We didn't have a choice, we had to pay to make our baby better. I even asked if we could take him home on IV's and the meds(I'm a nurse and could do this), but they said that wasn't possible. This was really stressful, but what can ya do???
sandyj

 

[wendy]

I have always had a dog and only had a big bill once.

If you select a dog that is less likely to be sick, for example my sister has Yorkies. They are adoreable. But if you search the breed they can have alot of health problems. We have a doxie, they are no life threathing illness that you see happen to them. They were breed to be very tough animals. The German's breed them to hunt badgers.

Good luck with your dog.

 

[Judymae]

I would seriously look at what the insurance will cover before purchasing. We adopted a rott mix on Saturday. Poor dog had been through so much. She was found on the side of the road on Friday. The woman who found her took her to a vet clinic because her collar was in her skin!!! Her skin had grown around the collar. Poor thing. Anyways the woman spent $295 on the visit. It covered a worming, removal of the collar, exam, meds and two shots (antibiotic and anti-inflamatory). On the bottom of the receipt it said if she had insurance she would have saved $108 on this visit. That's all?

BTW our new dog, Hannah, is doing great. She is adapting well and takes her meds with no problems. She is about 9mths old and only 29lbs. Poor girl!! The adoption center waived her adoption fee and is covering her spaying (once her neck heals) and is also paying for her first set of shots!! The hardest thing about her is walking her. She can't wear a collar yet....

And I have 2 pugs and 2 chis. I prefer the pugs. They don't have the life span of a chi but they are sooo entertaining. Mine aren't dumb at all. Very smart and house broke sooo much quicker than the chis. I just reinforce them with treats and they will do any thing I ask them to do!!

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

any savings is a good savings.

I am considering insuring my horse. Since anything that he might need surgery wise will be more than I could ever save. And in this day and age "saving" isnt as easy as it was.

Pet insurance can be very helpful when faced with an accident.
I am sure it would have saved a great deal of money when my childhood dog was hit and then run over. It smashed her entire rear end. She was a mutt but we loved her and it cost over 1500(back in the 80's ) to rebuild her and for the nearly MONTH she was in the animal hospital.I can only imagine how much the surgery and care would be now a days. Dog more than likely would have been put to sleep now

 

[ams3651]

i may get for my dog simply because its hard to save money for me, paying out of tax refund is easier one time for the insurance. I want to be covered for accidents and regular check ups, shots, etc. If it were to be something like cancer I wouldnt want to put her thru that anyway. There are several kinds, just compare on the websites. I also noticed at Petco while getting nails trimmed that they have coverage too but I havent looked in to the details on that one. PS if you have a vet ask what kind they accept, some are just reimbursement.

 

[Wynette]

I swear by pet insurance. I have 2 Great Danes and a Bouvier - all over 100 pounds each. I get the type that is just for emergencies, so it's a bit less expensive. I beleive I pay a bit less than $100 per month (I believe it's less for smaller dogs). Yes, that's extra money going out. BUT - for 3 huge dogs, I feel well worth the expense.

One thing to consider is that if something happens, it makes your decision on how to handle it MUCH MUCH easier. I've had situations twice within 5 years that my decision was either a VERY expensive surgery, or put the dog down. If I hadn't have had the pet insurance, there's no way we could have afforded the surgery.