There is a reason I get to enjoy the most gratifying job in the world as a doctor of veterinary medicine: people love their pets! Our pets are most than just animals, they are an integral component to the very fabric of our families and our lives. Naturally, we wish to protect them just as we would any other beloved family member. Below are 2 things you can do RIGHT NOW to help keep your pet safe and healthy.
1.) Pet Insurance
One of the most difficult realities of my work as a doctor are occasions where the cost of veterinary care reduces my ability to provide the gold standard of care for my patients. The look of anguish on the faces of the pet parents that simply cannot afford what is necessary, combined with the knowledge that the pet has a treatable condition, is heart breaking for the doctors and the medical team. No one should have to place a dollar figure on the health of their pet, but financial constraints are a harsh reality that some pet parents face.
The best solution to prevent this problem is to get a pet insurance premium for your pet. The monthly premium is affordable for most pet owners, and when they are faced with the crisis of a major pet illness or injury, they can have the peace of mind of knowing that 80-90% of the cost of care will be covered. The best thing a pet owner can do is to secure a premium before there are any pre-existing health issues to ensure that health incidents will be covered.
However, if your pet already has had some health issues, it is still a good idea to secure pet insurance, because other things can go wrong. For example, a dog may have had a bout of pancreatitis in the past, but if he were to tear the CCL of his knee, the required surgery will still be covered, as it is an unrelated injury.
That stated, not all per insurance companies are equal. Recently, for example, a number of them suddenly dropped the geriatric pets of people who have diligently renewed and paid their premiums on time for years. Others may unethically go out of their way to deny claims.
Thus, the only pet insurance company I endorse and provide brochures in the my clinic for is Trupanion. Since I first learned of Trupanion nearly a decade ago, they have proven to be the most consistent pet insurance company that comes through and pays out claims. What’s more, if they deny a claim based on relation to a pre-existing condition whose correlation I disagree with, they offer the attending veterinarian to opportunity to appeal the decision.
Because Trupanion is consistently fair about their claim assessments, I have rarely had the need to appeal on behalf of a client. I am happy to state that on the 3 occasions that I felt that Trupanion unjustly denied claims, I won all 3 appeals on behalf of my clients and they got paid. For more information, visit: https://www.trupanion.com/
2.) Microchip
Pets commonly manage to escape and get lost. What’s more, it is often the most unlikeliest of pets that get lost because a door was accidentally left open, there is a hole in the screen in porch, or something spooks them and they run away. We recently had a client lose his new Italian Greyhound puppy because she slipped out of her harness and took off into the woods. Good luck catching a scared Italian Greyhound! (thankfully, she was safely recovered 2 days later!)
Thankfully, there is a very effective and simple way to ensure that your lost pet has a strong chance of recovery. With a simple injection under the skin between the loose skin between the shoulder blades, a microchip can be injected. If your pet were ever to get lost and recovered by a shelter or veterinary clinic, the first thing that is done is to scan the animal for a chip. If the pet is chipped, the owner’s information will come up and he/she would be immediately contacted.
Have an indoor cat that you don’t think could ever escape? Think again! One of the most common lost animals are indoor cats that wander off because because someone simply left a door opened, or some cats are simply escape artists.
Premier Veterinary Care uses the company Home Again, whose microchip is responsible for recovering one pet every 6 seconds in the United States! If your pet is not chipped, give us a call and set up an appointment to have your pet chipped ASAP!
