The following is a guest post from Aloysa at The Kitchen Sink.
Our five year old pug got sick. He got an upset stomach and had some accidents at home which was completely out of his character. We immediately took him to our vet. And the financial adventure began…
The cost of walking into the clinic and getting a vet to examine a dog was $40. It did not guarantee any results or diagnosis. We had to pay an additional $48 to test our pug’s stool in order to determine if he had any parasites. Not to waste any time and get something done, we got a prescription for an antibiotic for another $37 and a probiotic for $25 to make sure that good bacteria would not be killed in our pug‘s stomach.
Total cost of the visit was around $150.
Results? A phone call from the vet’s office to tell us that no parasites were discovered and we needed to continue to give our dog the antibiotics.
Ten days later our little pug looked and behaved healthy. Five days later all the symptoms returned.
Another visit to the vet’s office, another exam, and this time a blood test for $138. What can you possibly test for this amount of money? Genes, DNA, genealogical tree? What did we find out? That our pug is healthy. Blood did not have any abnormalities. We, including our pug, were happy.
But I expected something more for the money we paid. I don’t know what I wanted to hear or see. Maybe I wanted a chart of our pug’s genealogical tree, his history with pictures. Maybe I expected someone to tell us that he is half pug, half human?
The day the blood test results came in, an internal medicine doctor showed up to give our pug a thorough exam and consultation. She found one small polyp, recommended to switch our pug to a prescription food. She spent with us about an hour talking in medical terms half of which neither I (English is my third language) nor my husband (who is American) could understand. Cost of medical talk $110. Results: we took home new food (cost $15) and a one-page report on our pug’s health.
Total cost for both visits and tests was a little over $400.
We are still clueless if our dog is going to get any better. When we were leaving, probably seeing our disappointed and frustrated faces, our vet suggested that we look into pet insurance.
We immediately did and this is what we discovered:
Advantages of having pet insurance (unfortunately not may):
1. Most of the plans cover vaccinations, spay, neuter, and in some cases flea medication;
2. You get reimbursed for some of the expensive procedures, depending on your coverage.
Disadvantages (unfortunately too many):
1. You have to pay a monthly fee even if you don’t have to take your pet to see the vet;
2. You still have to pay your vet the full amount and file an insurance claim on your own;
3. A pet insurance will hardly ever reimburse you 100%. Usually it pays only 80%. Some of the plans don’t cover surgeries and other expansive procedures.
4. Most of the comprehensive coverages are expensive especially if you are getting insurance for a pet who was sick within the last six months.
It is a tough decision. Do we want to get a cheap insurance with limited coverage options or should we just put away $40 (a cost of monthly pet insurance premium) in a savings account? So far, we choose the latter.
Crystal’s Question: What do you think of pet insurance?
If you want to see photos of Mr. Pug or Miss Doxie, my two dogs, head on over to Dog’s Life For Me.
Well, we don’t have a pet, so I definitely would not be buying pet insurance!
However, if I did, I would probably do what you are doing and just set aside some money every month in case of a pet-emergency.
I am sorry your dog is sick! That must be so frustrating to be out 400 dollars and still you don’t really have any answers. However, I imagine that happens with humans too.
Good luck!!
It is very frustrating. You’d expect at least to know something for that amount of money. He is doing better now, though. Thank God! Pet insurance seems like a rip off.
Interesting comparisons.
I don’t think we’ll be buying any pet insurance policies anytime soon.
I have a dog that is the love of my life and when we got her mommy (that would be my new name) immediately began researching all kinds of pet insurance. My conclusion was the same as yours: way too expensive, doesn’t cover much, possibility of being reimbursed low. In fact, the part that clinched it for me was that at $40 or so, her monthly insurance premium would be more than what I pay for mine through work. So far she’s cost only $300 combined for her annual vet visits (2 of them) so I’ve save some serious money ($560-$300=$260).
I have a dog who I absolutely love. And I don’t think I can afford $40 a month for pet insurance that might not even cover major surgery. I think it’s one of those things where you just hope your dog stays healthy and have a good savings plan to cover anything that pops up…
Sandy @yesiamcheap – so true! If my baby (my pug) doesn’t get sick with anything major, we pay only the cost of the annual vaccinations. Insurance would cots waaay to much.
Newlyweds on a Budget – yes, coverage actually is really bad. And what about the hassle of submitting a claim and waiting for a payment to come in? Way to cumbersome for the cost!
Aloysa is a very entertaining writer, her post always bring a smile to my face.
A while back, we purchased pet insurance for our 2 cats for one year and then discontinued it. The vet never found any problems with our cats. The only thing we got done was to get their teeth cleaned. It was terrible, the cats were terrified and they had to knock out Zoey to get her teeth cleaned. When Zoey got home, she walked around like she was drunk the whole next day, poor girl. That was it. We really minimize the vet visit since that time. They are indoor cats anyway. I think they live a happier life without the vets.
It’s so weird to me that your vet would recommend pet insurance after your pug had already been sick. Any vet should know that pet insurance won’t cover pre-existing conditions, so anything related to what your pug was going through wouldn’t be covered anyway.
I believe in pet insurance, but only before the dog becomes ill. You can save a ton of money if you invest early (of course, it’s a shot in the dark, because if your pet never becomes sick, you’re out the money, but that has NEVER been the case for me, or for anyone with pugs, I would imagine, they tend to be prone to stuff) and I must say that I never would have saved up enough to pay for some of my dogs conditions before needing the money.
I’ve had good experiences with my pet insurance company – Trupanion.
Good luck with the sick baby! Hope he comes out of it happy and healthy!
retireby40 – We have a cat too! He is an indoor cat and we still give him vaccinations because when we travel, both of our boys go to a pet boarding place. It is really hard to take them there or tot ake them to the vet. They hate both places.
Heather – our pug has something going on at least once a year. I wonder if it is a breed. But he is also a very neurotic dog. I guess it might be a combination of both.
We too decided that pet insurance wasn’t for us… too expensive.
If people would take the time to do the math like you did, I doubt anyone would buy pet insurance…
@Aloysa – Exactly what I’m talking about. My Italian Greyhound also seems to have something going on every year and because I enrolled her before all that stuff happened (she was 9 months old when I enrolled her) everything is covered. I’ve saved a ton of money, and I love knowing that if she gets really sick I can immediately agree to any care that she needs without worrying about the cost. You know? It’s never, “Well, if it gets to $1,000, I’ll have to think about it.” or “Okay, now if it gets to $5,000, I’ll have to think about it.” You never want to have to put a price on you pet’s health.
@Heather, what is the coverage offered by Trupanion? Does it cover a certain percentage or do you just pay a flat fee like a copay?
@Crystal You pay a monthly fee like most pet insurance companies. You can choose to lower your monthly fee by taking on a deductible, but I didn’t do that. Then they pay 90% of your vet bill (minus the office visit, which they don’t pay for). I find it very reasonable.
@Heather, 90% is great! I’ll have to look into their monthly rate when I get home. Do they cover medicine on the bills too? Lab fees?
@Crystal They cover prescription medication, but not preventative, like heartworm meds. And they cover lab fees like diagnostic testing and all of that. I’ve unfortunately had to have a lot of that done.
@Heather, so have we. Mr. Pug’s lab work was more than $150 last time…
The Wife and I opted for pet insurance. The way I look at it is it would probably prevent having to make that decision of – is this procedure too expensive to keep my dog alive.
Instead of being mad at the insurance company, maybe you should get a new vet for misdiagnosing your pups twice!
P.S. I love pugs! I have 2 friends each with one. They are great but it seems like a chore for the dog to even breath LOL
P.P.S Want to see my dog? Be warned it is literally the opposite of manly: http://www.myjourneytomillions.com/articles/life-ignore-costs/
@Evan, you have a Pomeranian?! What a cutie! I babysat our friend’s Pom for a long weekend and fell in love…he is a little black fluff ball and is sooooo friendly. Pet insurance on a Pom may be a really great idea since they are notorious for having bone and joint problems. I hope Tinkerbell is 100% healthy forever! I couldn’t imagine owning a 5 lb doggy but she is so cute…Mr. Pug seems small to me at 21 lbs…
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