Reality

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Jidano3
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Reality

Post by Jidano3 » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:34 pm

On Monday my female was run over by a triaxle delivering a load of limestone to my neighbors. From what we could tell she was hit by the tag axle which was up at the time. She suffered serious head, neck and chest trauma with no broken bones (praise God!) and had to be taken to a local Veterinarian Emergency Medical Hospital close by. She is recovering well, the doctors have done wonders to get her back on her feet. She will be coming home tomorrow! There is still a long road ahead of her before she sees the woods again. It is quite expensive for all the care she has been given. I posted this for two reasons. 1. Does anyone carry pet insurance? 2. I am curious to what extent anyone here would go for their dogs. I ask the second question because around here 15-20 years ago she would have had to been put down.


On a side note, my neighbor and I have yards that join in the middle. They have permission to drive on my side to have deliveries made. So my dog was not running out where she wasn't supposed to be. Apparently the driver had hit a deer a few days before and the only thing we can figure is my dog stuck her head in to smell some of the remains when he stopped.

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Sharon
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Re: Reality

Post by Sharon » Thu Sep 24, 2015 1:49 pm

Jidano3 wrote:On Monday my female was run over by a triaxle delivering a load of limestone to my neighbors. From what we could tell she was hit by the tag axle which was up at the time. She suffered serious head, neck and chest trauma with no broken bones (praise God!) and had to be taken to a local Veterinarian Emergency Medical Hospital close by. She is recovering well, the doctors have done wonders to get her back on her feet. She will be coming home tomorrow! There is still a long road ahead of her before she sees the woods again. It is quite expensive for all the care she has been given. I posted this for two reasons. 1. Does anyone carry pet insurance? 2. I am curious to what extent anyone here would go for their dogs. I ask the second question because around here 15-20 years ago she would have had to been put down.


On a side note, my neighbor and I have yards that join in the middle. They have permission to drive on my side to have deliveries made. So my dog was not running out where she wasn't supposed to be. Apparently the driver had hit a deer a few days before and the only thing we can figure is my dog stuck her head in to smell some of the remains when he stopped.
......................................

I won't go into many thousands of dollars of debt to save a severely injured dog. If I was rich I would spend the money. I pay dog insurance for that reason.
I'm also old, so come from a background where dogs were dogs ,and they were put down more often /sooner than I believe they are to day, when seriously ill /injured. This effects my thinking on the subject too. I could give you some examples but that would upset some people.

Glad your dog is on the road to recovery. :)
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Dakotazeb
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Re: Reality

Post by Dakotazeb » Thu Sep 24, 2015 3:25 pm

I have looked into dog health insurance on more than one occasion and have always come away with the same conclusion that I cannot see that it would ever pay. The odds of a dog being severely injured are quite low. Put the money away you will be paying for insurance and save it for when you may need it.
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Sharon
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Re: Reality

Post by Sharon » Thu Sep 24, 2015 5:33 pm

"Put the money away you will be paying for insurance and save it for when you may need it." quote Dakotazeb

I thought that too, but it always seemed to be needed for something else. Over the last 50 years I've had several serious things happen to dogs - glad to have had the insurance ( $60.00 a month for all illnesses and accidents)
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Dakotazeb
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Re: Reality

Post by Dakotazeb » Fri Sep 25, 2015 7:06 am

I went on line and checked out the pet insurance with 2 different companies that were rated the highest by consumeradvocates.org. Here's what I found it would cost on a 5 year old dog.

Company: Healthy Paws
Max Per Year: Unlimited
Deductible: $250
Co-Insurance: 80%
Premium: $43.88 per month

Company: Pet Plan
Max Per Year: $10,000
Deductible: $200
Co-Insurance: 80%
Premium: $34.19 per month

With a $410-526 annual premium plus a $200-250 deductible you would be paying $610-776 before the insurance would pay dollar one! And then you would still have to pay 20% of the balance.

Unless you really anticipate something major happening to your dog, or have deep pockets, I just don't see it being cost effective but if it works for you, go for it.
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Sharon
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Re: Reality

Post by Sharon » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:57 pm

Between the 2 of us we have taken the OPs thread off topic. Sorry JiDino3. :)
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Jidano3
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Re: Reality

Post by Jidano3 » Fri Sep 25, 2015 6:04 pm

No problem Sharon, I appreciate the input. I asked because I did pay out of pocket. The grand total was $3800 with the 5 days of care. I'm glad to report "Penny" came home tonight. She is still quite sore and groggy from the meds, but walked in the house on her own. She was content to slowly roll on the carpet and fall asleep. She is not allowed to do much of anything for 2 weeks or so. She loves to run so it will be difficult to keep her contained. We are just glad to have her home!

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greg jacobs
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Re: Reality

Post by greg jacobs » Fri Sep 25, 2015 7:05 pm

Good to hear she is home and on the road to full recovery. That's a pretty good bill but sounds like it was worth it.

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Sharon
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Re: Reality

Post by Sharon » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:25 pm

I'm glad she's home.

I I've had 2x 4000. +- for 2 eyes full of of cataracts on one dog = blind , and 2 x $4000. +- for 2 TPLOs on another dog. 50 years of dogs = a lot of money BUT a lot of pleasure. :)
" We are more than our gender, skin color, class, sexuality or age; we are unlimited potential, and can not be defined by one label." quote A. Bartlett

rinker
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Re: Reality

Post by rinker » Sun Sep 27, 2015 8:36 am

I thought that I have been very fortunate because I haven't had to deal with any really tragic injuries. Reading this may have changed my mind. I now think my dogs have been exercising an abundance of caution. They know I'm not going to spend thousands of dollars on them. I would just start over with a puppy.

Jidano3
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Re: Reality

Post by Jidano3 » Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:17 pm

Well, Penny is my first bird dog, so I am sympathetic because of her loyalty. I suppose if it had been #3,4,5....10 like some, It may not have seemed as traumatic and my decision may have been different......maybe.

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greg jacobs
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Re: Reality

Post by greg jacobs » Tue Sep 29, 2015 1:25 am

No. You'll make the same decision next time. But everyone has that line that they won't or can't afford to cross. 2, 5, 10, 20 thousand. Common sense needs to make the decision, not guilt. If you want that line to be higher than you can afford then maybe insurance is the answer.

BarfingCoyote
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Re: Reality

Post by BarfingCoyote » Tue Oct 06, 2015 2:39 pm

This is one dog, mind you.
As a puppy, contracted PARVO 2 weeks after last booster. Vet,3daystay+meds.

Young dog, front right foreleg snapped in 3 places from a kick by a HellBitch
mare walkin horse I "use to" own.
Orthopedic Surgeon Surgery 2nitestay+meds

5years old, training on a rainy cool day, bit by a non-rattling
Mojave Green Rattlesnake while making a retrieve.
Vet, 2nitestay + meds for neurotoxins

I wont bother with trying to remember the costs. They didnt matter any way.
Beckee was a dominate bold female Brittany that put her all into everything
she did. She died years ago, at the ripe age of 13+yrs of complications from old age.
I do miss that dog.

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deke
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Re: Reality

Post by deke » Fri Oct 16, 2015 3:17 pm

My thought is if I have the money in my checking account then the dog gets fixed, If I dont have the money he gets put down. Also depends on the age of the dog, i would be much more likely to spend a good chunk of change on a young dog than on an older dog. My current dog darn near hit his cash threshold at under a year old, he kept getting lucky though and the debit card didnt bounce. All in all I put well over $10,000 in vet bills his first year of life.

DennisCanfield
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Re: Reality

Post by DennisCanfield » Wed Nov 25, 2015 4:46 am

The main reason to get pet insurance is to pay the vet’s bills if your pet gets sick or is injured. If your pet is part of the family and you would do anything to get the money to pay for treatment, then you should consider pet insurance. If you have enough disposable income or savings to be able to pay the vet yourself, then you might not need it.

Medical bills are the main reason to buy pet insurance. Vets’ fees are going up in price and expensive new treatments are becoming available.
Once my friend a veterinarian friendswood told me. You still have to pay for regular treatment that isn’t covered by pet insurance, including annual jabs. Make sure you keep up with these or your insurer may not pay out if you need to claim. One of the things to ask yourself when deciding whether or not to buy pet insurance is – do you have a breed of dog or cat that’s likely to cost you a lot in medical care? For example, Labradors often need surgical treatment for torn cranial cruciate ligaments, which can cost thousands of pounds. Ask your vet whether your pet could be prone to any chronic or recurring conditions.

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NEhomer
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Re: Reality

Post by NEhomer » Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:35 am

Last summer my lame and very aging Brittany got a nasty gastro-intestinal infection. I took her to the emergency vet office and the vet suggested keeping her over night and estimated the entire cost to be about $600.00. Again, the dog was lame and over 13yrs so I was ready to say good bye. The vet said that maybe they could keep it under $500.00 if she didn't need all the meds yada yada.

I called wifey who just wasn't ready to give her the needle just yet so we left her. When I showed up to pick her up the next day I got the bill.

$850.000!!!!

I said WTF? Yesterday you said five hundred.

"Yes, well that's counting today's charges."

...I had to put her down less than two months later and needless to say, I will never walk into that office again.

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BirdyBoris
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Re: Reality

Post by BirdyBoris » Thu Dec 03, 2015 6:28 pm

Its very important to find a vet you trust. I have been a vet tech for 10 years and I have worked with vets who will run tests and keep an animal with a poor diagnoises in the hospital when they should be having the quality of life talk. I have also worked for some who will ask the question how much are you willing and able to do and give the owner the prognosis.I do know that a vet can't tell you its time its something the owner has to be confident and comfortable with.The bottom line is you know your dog.You live with them and dogs are proud animals who live for routine.If they can not participate in the daily activities they live for it may be time to consider their quality of life.That being said pet insurance is great if you find the right one. Trupanion is good from what I've seen but most pet insurance companies do not work with the hospitals so you pay up front and get reimbursed. If its an unexpected illness or surgery CareCredit is great 6 months to a year no interest. If you qualify it is a medical credit card.They will jack up the interest rate to 25% if its not paid off in time.

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DeLo727
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Re: Reality

Post by DeLo727 » Mon Dec 14, 2015 2:41 pm

I would say that if you have the means than save the animal. A few years back I had my pooch eat a block of fudge while I was on a picnic date with the wifey, I tried to grab her but she knew she had done very wrong and she ran out of the park while I was trying to get her and right into the road and got hit. To this day it haunts me, she never acted so defiant before. We immediately took her to the vet because we were away from home and even on the short drive to the office she was not looking good.
In the end I made the decision to have the vet go ahead with everything that needed to be done and it cost me big time. Im not made out of money, and this cost me more than I had by a long shot. It almost put me out on the street. When I told my dog friends about the incident they were surprised and even a little disappointed that I didn't put her down even if I had to do it myself. We love our animals and they are important to us, but there are more important things. If I could go back, we would have taken our last long happy walk in the woods together.
As a result I now carry pet insurance, but I don't trust it and you still need to come out of pocket up front. Best advice I can give new dog owners is to put money away. With my new pooch I wanted everything done right. I put 1500 into a new savings account just for emergency care for the animal and I put a little into it every month. I also use the account for any other dog related costs. Food, equipment, hunting trips etc. Plus now the boss doesn't know what I spend lol.

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BirdyBoris
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Re: Reality

Post by BirdyBoris » Mon Dec 14, 2015 8:50 pm

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. I grew up with a border collie who would chase cars due to his strong herding instinct.He was hit once he made it with minor injuries but what a traumatic experience.That being said,dogs live for routine and purpose. I love my dogs as I'm sure you love yours.I work in the veterinary field and I worked for vet who some thought was a little to old school but he made a statement that has stuck with me for years. If a dog can no longer do his job or get up and go to the bathroom eat etc thats not a happy dog and his quality of life has deprecated.Quality over quantity. If my dog was hurt and he could live a life with purpose and dignity I would keep going with treatment and surgery. You know your dog and you know better than the vet if he or she is still fighting because you live with him/her.Pet Insurance can be great but you usually pay upfront. CareCredit is another option. They offer 6-12 months no interest. I have seen many dogs pull through after orthopedic surgery. It is a tough call but my dogs are family and I believe in giving them a chance and oppurtunity to heal.I would get in touch with whoever hit your dog their insurance may cover some of the veterinary costs.You may not be out hunting with your dog in a few months but may still have a great quality of life.You just need to know you may not be able to run your dog for hours but you may still have a great companion.I grew up in the horse world and many trainers would discard an injury horse as worthless but all the horse needed was a little recovery and they come back stronger.Good luck and just keep in mind that you know your dog better than anyone.I would look into Carecredit and I would if it was my dog ask about the drivers insurance.

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