Has your dog ever had to spend a few days in hospital? I was talking last week to two owners whose dogs had unexpectedly been rushed to emergency veterinary care for pretty unusual reasons.
A two year old Chocolate Labrador had chewed, and then actually eaten,another Labrador’s tick collar and as a result spent 3 days in intensive care at the Animal Emergency Centre in Springwood. Kimberly and Steve just managed to save their dog but for a cost of over $4000 at the two vets. Had Harley been insured it could have cost them as little as $100.
The other case was a four year old show Bull Mastiff that had a ruptured uterus resulting in severe blood poisoning (for a quick overview of pyometra go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyometra). She required blood and plasma transfusions and an operation. In a 36 hour period Zoe cost her owner over $11,000!
Cait had always thought ‘it won’t happen to me’ and, although she loved Zoe more than anything in the world, she didn’t believe in insurance – especially for just a pet!
Fortunately, though, she had saved for a house deposit and usedit to try to save her dog’s life. Had she had cover the total cost would also have been reduced to $100. Zoe died while in emergency care, and Cait’s emotional and financial strain would have been partially reduced by receiving $2000 for a replacement puppy.
If you are not already insured, or have friends with a dog that isn’t, and don’t want a similar financial shock, check out the website of Petplan, the largest company in the business at www.petplan.com.au.
They have the highest benefits of $18.000 p.a, the shortest waiting period for illness (21 days) and, unlike some of the other companies, they do not have breed specific exclusions and cover congenital and hereditary conditions as well as behaviour problems.
They are the only group to pay up to $2000 for advertising and reward for a lost dog or a dog that is stolen or dies from illness or accident. And, so important in these days of lawsuits at the drop of a hat, they are the only people to cover third party liability from $1 to $5 million.
Does Cait, the Bull Mastiff owner, have insurance today? At only $1.51 per day for PetPlan’s ‘Supreme’ plan, you bet she does! She tells all her friends that the question to ask is not “Can I afford pet insurance?” but rather “Can I really afford not to have it?”
(N.B. You can register on line but if you fill in a brochure at your vet or pet store the first four weeks are FREE.)
