Pets are Expensive
The benefits of owning a pet are countless – they bring happiness, humour, and can even improve your health. Unfortunately, they can also be very expensive. There are the costs you anticipate – food, toys, supplies, vaccinations – but there can be unexpected costs, too. Typically, the unexpected costs are the ones that will hit your pocketbook hard.
Since most pet owners are not veternarians, they are never sure if their pet swallowed something, ate something, or just caught a short bug. Either way, its important to take some precaution and have it checked out. It could be a big problem, or it could be minor problem but most veterinary test and treatments cost a lot!
Veterinary Science is Improving and Costs are Going Up!
You’ve probably noticed that veterinary care has improved in leaps and bounds over the past ten years. Well the costs have gone up, too. Over the past ten years the cost of veterinary care has increased by at least 10% each year. Everything from high-end diets and pricey training to specialized veterinary care and cutting-edge drugs means that most pet owners are at some point likely to find themselves confronting a discomfiting reality: The science and technology to help our patients may be available, but they may not always be accessible.
Economic??Euthanasia
As veterinary science improves it is likely that your veterinarian will be able to test for and treat a large majority of injuries or illnesses that would have, in the past, been fatal to your pet. While it is wonderful that vet’s can perform life saving treatments and surgeries, pet owners aren’t aware that these procedures exist nor do they know the procedures can cost tens of thousands of dollars.??When a pet owner makes the decision to put their pet to sleep because they simply cannot pay the high cost of saving or prolonging their pet’s life it is called economic euthanasia.
A hereditary, genetic or congenital condition is an illness, defect, disorder or disease that is present from birth in your pet or to which your pet is predisposed through hereditary or genetic factors. On the??ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Page??it lists out many different levels of coverage including this condition. This is extremely important to have if you have a high risk pet. I had a bernese mountain dog growing up, and we had him covered. Our reasoning was because those dogs are known as the most cancer prone dogs. All those vet visits, surgeries, etc – will all be covered and the pet owner can breathe a sigh of relief.
Budgeting
Having a policy on your pooch allows you to budget how much you want to spend on your animal. Pet insurance policies can be paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. You decide which payment plan works best for you. According to the??ASPCA,??their monthly plans can range from $10 to $35 dollars a month. That’s certainly not that much considering that some emergency visits can cost up to $5,000 out of pocket. Plus, most plans offer discounts for additional pets in the household. You can throw Mittens, Fido, and Tweetie Bird all on one policy
Freedom of Choice
Most insurance policies allow you to pick your veterinarian. Unlike human health insurance policies that may require you to use a specific health care provider, pet insurance policies allow you to seek out care from the veterinarian to who you feel most comfortable with.
