Everyone's heard the old saw about how the cobbler's kids go shoeless. Well, here's a cautionary insurance tale along those lines.
Two years ago, we lost our beloved 13 year old puppy to a virulent form of canine leukemia. As with many human cases, the last few days saw some rather hefty health care provider bills (which, all told, included a comma).
This past December, we decided that we were ready to welcome a new puppy into our home, and were adopted by a very cute, lovable, high energy rescue mix. Unlike our previous two, we had this one "chipped." Part of that process involved getting a quote for pet insurance, which we did. It wasn't really a major expense ($30/month? Something like that), but we kept putting it off. After all, she's only a puppy, what could possibly generate a big enough vet bill to justify it?
Yeah, I know.
This weekend, the poor thing let out a major yelp running down the hall, and hobbled back in on 3 legs, the fourth one just ... dangling. We were getting ready to take her to the emergency vet when she "shrugged it off" and resumed 4-legged mode. Okay, just a one-off, no biggie.
Except that this continued every few hours. I was able to get a vet appointment for this morning (we've used this vet through 3 dogs, well over 20 years, and they're wonderful). Take the poor little one in, and turns out she has a congenital knee ligament issue (not uncommon in small breeds like hers). Thankfully, it's not life-threatening, but it does need to be addressed, soon, and surgically.
And yes, there will be a comma involved.
And yes, that $30 a month seems much less of a burden now.
But unlike ACA plans, pet insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions. So, (expensive) lesson learned.
Two years ago, we lost our beloved 13 year old puppy to a virulent form of canine leukemia. As with many human cases, the last few days saw some rather hefty health care provider bills (which, all told, included a comma).
This past December, we decided that we were ready to welcome a new puppy into our home, and were adopted by a very cute, lovable, high energy rescue mix. Unlike our previous two, we had this one "chipped." Part of that process involved getting a quote for pet insurance, which we did. It wasn't really a major expense ($30/month? Something like that), but we kept putting it off. After all, she's only a puppy, what could possibly generate a big enough vet bill to justify it?
Yeah, I know.
This weekend, the poor thing let out a major yelp running down the hall, and hobbled back in on 3 legs, the fourth one just ... dangling. We were getting ready to take her to the emergency vet when she "shrugged it off" and resumed 4-legged mode. Okay, just a one-off, no biggie.
Except that this continued every few hours. I was able to get a vet appointment for this morning (we've used this vet through 3 dogs, well over 20 years, and they're wonderful). Take the poor little one in, and turns out she has a congenital knee ligament issue (not uncommon in small breeds like hers). Thankfully, it's not life-threatening, but it does need to be addressed, soon, and surgically.
And yes, there will be a comma involved.
And yes, that $30 a month seems much less of a burden now.
But unlike ACA plans, pet insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions. So, (expensive) lesson learned.
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