I have lost track of the number of questions which begin along the lines of "what is wrong with my dog? I can’t afford to take it to the vet but……….." and I am getting incredibly frustrated with this irresponsible attitude. I understand that in an ideal world everyone who will love and care for a dog should be able to have one regardless of their financial situation however that isn’t the world we live in and my heart breaks for the poor creatures who are suffering while their owner comes on here and asks really serious questions instead of consulting a professional. I am expecting to come online one day and find a question which says the dog’s leg has fallen off and asking whether duct tape can fix the problem. Extreme granted but as I say I’m frustrated with it. Personally I have pet insurance for my dogs but many people have a separate bank account and pay into that on a regular basis to take care of any issues. Now I am getting down from my soapbox, does anyone else have any other suggestions? Thank you for your input.
Thank you Donald, if ever come home to find Amy in one corner and her leg in the other I will remember the flour and water trick lmao. I have to admit when my mum sliced up her finger I tried this with her and she was well impressed. Up until I told her I learned as a tip for dogs 
S
My three dogs are all insured, have been from being 8 weeks old.
My chocolate Lab suffers from allergies and is at the vets at least once a month. Her treatment has cost a few thousand over the last three years, all paid for by the insurance, so it has not only saved me a lot of money, it also gives me peace of mind knowing that if anything should happen to them l can concentrate on getting them well and not on how l’m going to find the money to pay for the vet bills.
#1 by jen01 on May 3, 2010 - 4:01 am
I pay £20 monthly insurance for my 4 yr old dobe.
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#2 by Donald L on May 3, 2010 - 4:06 am
We have never tried the pet insurance- is it really good? What we DO have is an emergency fund. we set aside a portion of money every pay period for things that are unexpected- vet bills (we have 1 dog and 2 birds), car problems, home repairs, you name it. There are so many unknown expenses, we do not have a seperate account for each, but do have the fund there for if, no when. something happens- including emergncy vet visits. We have had a bird bill for over $600.00 at the emergency vet- but these animals are like our kids!
I, like you, amd amazed at the type of serious questions that come up here. I am hoping that the askers are not the sole responsible party for the naimals care, and someone else with the money and sense intervens as soon as possible when things like we see asked here do really happen!
BTW- duct tape can be used for the occasional fallen off leg- but most here would recommend the old flour/water mixture put atop an old pair of panty hose, making a home made cast, which is edible when they run out of food for days for the dog- LOL!!
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#3 by Memphis Belle ~ Roll on Spring! on May 3, 2010 - 4:39 am
My Dobermanns are insured with PetPlan on their supreme plan.
Why do I opt for insurance?
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The cover is unlimited which means however much the bill came to, including into a new claim year, all I would have to pay is the excess. I have third party cover if my dog causes damage, complementary medicine such as hydrotherapy/physiotherapy. For larger claims I can claim direct which means the money is paid by insurance company directly to the veterinary practise.
When has insurance been invaluable to me?
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Case 1. In 2003 my male Dobermann Boris was diagnosed with aggressive skin cancer. Referred to a veterinary hospital with a specialist team of oncologist. Over 3.5 years the bill to PetPlan was in excess of £10,000, I paid £195.00. Boris lived life to the full, so worth every penny.
Case 2. A Dobermann b*tch developed pyometra, taken to the emergency vet at 23:00, out of hours surgery. Total bill over £700.00.
Case 3. My current Dobermann b*tch ruptured her cruciate & had TPLO surgery in November 2007. The total bill (including physiotherapy and hydrotherapy was £4,300. I paid £65.00.
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#4 by leeEvans on May 3, 2010 - 5:10 am
i pay £35 a month for each of my 2 dobies
its defenetly worth it
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#5 by suzi-q on May 3, 2010 - 5:30 am
I have a card from Carecredit, it lets me pay small regular payments for vet bills and I can also use it for our unexpected medical bills. I save money for the routine stuff. But this card safegaurds us for the unexpected. i always pay it down as fast as I can.
Yes it is aweful that the dogs are suffering. I would find a way no matter what, to get my dog treated.
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#6 by MSAD on May 3, 2010 - 6:18 am
One of my dogs has very bad hip dysplasia. She has already had FHO surgery on her right hip at a cost of about $2200. I was saving up money for something else. But once my girl needed surgery…that’s what I used it for. I have since saved up anther 2K. That is "Dixie’s Surgery Fund". Her left hip is bad but has not been dislocated. So surgery is not requires at this time. But since she’s 5….it could happen in the future.
Other than that….If I don’t have it in the bank ….vet expenses are paid for by Visa or Mastercard. Have yet to find a vet that won’t take one of the two. I’m not a big fan of using plastic….but if one of my fur babies needs medical attention…..I’ll break out the card.
When I first adopted by dogs as puppies from the local animal shelter – I looked into pet insurance. But for the cost….it did not cover squat. It would have not covered the surgery for Dixie’s hips (she’s a GSD mix- so hip dysplasia is excluded under the pet insurance plan). It just made more sense to put the money in an account and use that to pay for their medical care.
In my area…the pet insurance was a complete rip off and not worth the money.
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#7 by Rotten Rotts on May 3, 2010 - 6:52 am
I have a separate bank account, that I add to each month. That account has been a life saver in many instances.
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#8 by brads on May 3, 2010 - 7:28 am
i agree with you i pay for insurance for my five yes it cost me about £70 per month but i not have worry about an expected vet bills and i do not have to worry but finding the money i can just take them to the vets
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#9 by ScottieDog on May 3, 2010 - 8:15 am
Well, you do what it takes to keep them healthy and when they aren’t healthy, you do everything you can to maintain QUALITY of life. That said, we had a very rough year with vet expenses for one of our Scotties. To pay for the bills, we cut non-essentials. We canceled two planned vacations to Disney. Changed insurance deductibles. Started cutting coupons and stopped eating out. We only bought the necessities. That means no new clothes, shoes, purses, etc. We were faced with more than most with her health issues, but she was our top priority. We found that when we began dealing with the vet specialists it was like adding an extra "0" to all our standard vet bills. We also were forced to understand that some things medicine could not fix. When we reached that point, we had that one final expense and humanely let her go. I had one credit card reserved only for her expenses. And we paid it off first.
I also learned about something called Care Credit. The specialty hospital had lots of information on this.
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#10 by Bonnie L on May 3, 2010 - 8:21 am
Wow, you’ve hit the nail on the head. I get so sick of people and their boohoo stories. I have to say, it breaks my heart to hear some of these stories, poor dogs. Of course when you suggest seeing a vet, you get shot down. We’ve all been financial crisis at one time or another, but it’s never stopped me from getting proper medical care for my dogs. I can’t even begin to tell you the THOUSANDS that we’ve spent on our dogs.
Why oh why do people get dogs knowing that they cannot afford to take care of them. I guess my real pet peave are the unresponsible backyard breeders asking breeding questions!
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#11 by Apricot Snow Girl on May 3, 2010 - 8:26 am
I tell people to go to payday loan places for a payday loan.
I don’t have pet insurance, as it’s pretty much a ripoff, but am willing to get a loan if need be.
I call ahead of time and ask about how much the visit will be. I’m going to be calling next week to ask about how much the spay will be. I have a good idea, but want to know for sure to be able to budget it in the next few weeks.
Edit: I’m just being silly here…flour and water don’t work. It’s CORNSTARCH that works…and don’t use water. Oh, wait. That’s only for small injuries, like cutting a quick, a small cut, etc. to stop bleeding. Actually, I had a small sore recently that wouldn’t stop bleeding, so I did what you would normally do for a dog and put coffee creamer(has a lot of cornstarch in it), and voila, the bleeding stopped immediately.
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#12 by MamaB on May 3, 2010 - 8:37 am
I am full of good intentions as regards putting the amount of money I might otherwise pay to an insurance company, into a separate account. But it never happens. I have not insured ours over the years for the sole reason we had too many to make it a viable option. However, over the years I have also been extremely fortunate to only have minimal running expenses, whelping (C.Sections) excepted. I also had a wonderful vet who on the odd occasion that we had something that was a bit expensive, at a time when we could ill afford it, allowed us to stage pay.
Don’t tempt fate, you will find some *** will ask about taping a leg back on lol.
I do agree with what you say, it is irritating. However, I would also say that vets (in the UK) are charging increasingly alarming sums of money to treat our animals, sometimes going way over the top and at times I don’t blame people for seeking a cheaper alternative around here!
Now we are down to two only, I asked about insuring my 11 year old Basset but the quoted figure (from those companies who would entertain insuring a dog of his age) were more like buying the company rather than insuring him. My new puppy came in at a much more reasonable figure and I was tempted – until I looked at the small print, the excess figure for starters. And some will deduct up to 20% off the remaining figure. So frankly I’m not going to extend her 6 weeks ‘free’ insurance cover (they wanted £26 per month, and she’s not a breed that’s prone to any problems), and I’m going to keep my money in my bank account. Should the worst happen, I will face that, and pay for it, if and when it happens, and do my darndest to make sure my so far healthy and well-bred puppy lives a comparatively illness free life (if she survives her puppyhood – she’s manic)
PS I actually wonder whether there isn’t an element of exhibitionist about people who come on here with their ‘dire emergency’ questions – and some I take with a good pinch of salt.
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#13 by JA12 on May 3, 2010 - 9:07 am
When I lived in the UK, I had pet insurance, unfortunately I cannot get decent insurance where I now live so I just cough up the money when I have to. Luckily I have healthy animals, so it’s mostly just the annual vaccinations…
NB: Yes you can get pet insurance, but it is a total rip-off and there are so many conditions that they won’t pay out on that it’s not worth it.
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#14 by C K on May 3, 2010 - 9:28 am
I’m a student. I’m poor. But I have 5 sources of potential pet health emergency money:
1) I keep a savings account with $750-$1000 on it, and it’s exclusively for only the worst kinds of emergencies. I try to even forget I have it. I can’t really contribute to it monthly because my budget is so low, but I always put at least 50% of windfall money in there, such as income tax refunds, rebates, birthday checks from my parents, etc.
2) For less expensive emergencies, I always have the change jar. I put all my change and my spouse’s into a jar and just kinda let it sit there. There’s one to two hundred bucks in there at any given time. If I need it, I can cash it in at a Coinstar or the bank.
3) Credit card – that’s what it’s there for.
4) I’ve got nice jewelry, electronics, and plenty of other hock-able items that I’ll gladly pawn to save my pet’s life if it comes to that.
5) Credit cards that I haven’t applied to yet, and won’t unless I need to get surgery for my dog.
IMO, the worst is not the lack of vast sums of emergency fund money for the vet (I don’t understand how people can’t come up with money somehow; I think they must be either really uncreative or really irresponsible). At least not having $2000 readily available is understandable for most people; I don’t think that only rich people should be allowed pets. The WORST is people who don’t get routine checkups, heartworm, vaccines, etc. for their pets and just allow them to get sick.
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#15 by millypeed on May 3, 2010 - 10:15 am
My three dogs are all insured, have been from being 8 weeks old.
My chocolate Lab suffers from allergies and is at the vets at least once a month. Her treatment has cost a few thousand over the last three years, all paid for by the insurance, so it has not only saved me a lot of money, it also gives me peace of mind knowing that if anything should happen to them l can concentrate on getting them well and not on how l’m going to find the money to pay for the vet bills.
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#16 by kezza on May 3, 2010 - 10:58 am
I make sure I have sufficient funds before I even bring a dog home to cover vet fees, they can be unexpected and they can be costly, so it is a good idea to add to those funds every time you get paid and under no circumstances do you dip into the dogs vet care bank account as it can be a matter of life and death for a dog. A dog gives you all it has to offer so you owe it to the dog to keep it fit and healthy.
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#17 by anwen55 on May 3, 2010 - 11:45 am
I have too many dogs to be able to afford insurance for all of them & I do believe pet insurance is a huge ripoff & one of the main reasons vets’ bills have rocketed over recent years. I put £20.00 a month away, have done for years & never had to use it for an enormous bill (yet).
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