pet connection

Pet health insurance absolutely makes no sense if you’re one of those people who, when facing a veterinarian bill over, say, $300, tells himself “it’s just a pet” and then grumps that it’s cheaper to shoot the animal than have the veterinarian perform a humane euthanasia.

Fortunately, these kinds of pet-owners are fewer all the time.

For many of the rest of us, though, the time is here. Look at pet insurance. There have never been more choices, and the business is growing so there’ll be more. Personally, I honestly can’t imagine NOT having pet insurance. Seriously. And that has nothing to do with the fact that a major insurer is one of our banner sponsors. In fact, most of the bloggers at Pet Connection all have pet insurance, and we pay for policies from five different companies.

Why? Because we each have diffent kinds of pets of different ages, and we’re in different financial situations. So we all looked for what fit us best.

It’s pretty funny that whenever I write about adopting a new pet — as with Pip last year from German shepherd rescue and Ilario, the kitten coming later this month — I get a note from my pet-insurance company letting me know what the new premium would be, because the folks there read the blog. Would I like to add Pip and Ilario to my policy? Why, yes, thanks, I would! Swell!

On the Main Street site, there’s an article on pet health insurance. Headline: “How much do you love your pet?” which is unfortunate because, for me, it’s not about loving my pet at all. It’s about economics, and the advancement of veterinary medicine. When I started writing about pets more than 20 years ago, there just weren’t a whole lot of options for many pet illnesses. You had a very sick pet, and you ended their suffering. In many cases that was all you could do, and so you did it.

But now! Nearly all the options of human care are available in veterinary medicine. My pets aren’t on my HMO policy (gotta talk to HR about that!), so I have to pay for the choices I make. And since “economic euthanasia” — putting down a pet because you cannot afford available care — is not a decision I care to be making, I carry pet health insurance.

It’s not about “love,” it’s about “money.” And for me it’s about never walking away from a veterinary hospital with an empty collar in my hand knowing I could have done more … if I’d only had the money. Pet loss is hard enough without a pile ‘o guilt on top of it.

From the piece:

Given the emotional and monetary investment of being a pet owner, and with the breadth and cost of veterinary care increasing every year, pet insurance is an increasingly popular option. While still far from the norm, less than one-half of 1% of U.S. pet owners enrolled in some form of coverage, pet insurance is a growing industry. There are currently ten major companies offering pet insurance, and pet-food giant Purina is launching their own plan this spring. “When larger brands come into the space you know it’s gaining some traction,” says Laura Bennett, CEO of Embrace Pet Insurance.

But does pet insurance make sense for you? It all depends on the attitude you have towards your furry friend. “There’s a subset of pet owners who treat their pets like their children,” says Bennett. “If you’re the kind of person who would pay whatever it takes to make them better, pet insurance really is for you. If your pet’s disposable, then it’s not. You have to ask-are you a pet owner, or a pet parent?”

Bennett stresses that insurance is really intended for unexpected medical emergencies—the animal equivalent of “catastrophic coverage” for humans—and generally is not designed to cover routine check-ups or basic preventative care. For most pet owners, it makes more sense to pay out of pocket for these occasional visits. What becomes prohibitively expensive are the unexpected mishaps, like an infection or a broken limb. And as advanced treatments like CAT scans, prescription drugs, and specialized surgery are becoming more available for pets, it’s easy to rack up thousands of dollars in veterinary costs.

“It used to be if your dog got cancer, there wasn’t much you could do. Now there are all sorts of choices,” explains Bennett. This might be great news for your pet, but it can be catastrophic for your budget.

The Wall Street Journal took a look a couple weeks ago. If you’re a WSJ subscriber, you can get that article here.

If I weren’t a Dyson cult member before (I love my DC-15 Animal upright), my adoration of the Dyson DC-16 Animal bagless handheld vac.would surely put me in that category now. Dyson sent me a test model a few weeks ago. The charger base mounted easily on the side of my garage cabinets and the vac slipped just as easily onto that base. Charged it up overnight and took it for a spin in the morning.

Mind you, I feel sorry for vacs in this house. At this time of year my dogs shed enough every day to make a cat. I can vacuum a furball that’s clinging to a table leg, and an hour later there’s another in the same place.

I slipped the crevasse tool onto the Dyson and have been using the lightweight and easy to maneuver handheld a couple times a day since. As advertised, the thing sucks like a demon and doesn’t lose power as you work. When it’s time to empty the cannister — every few minutes, in my case — simply hold the unit over the trash can, press a button and all the crap drops into the trash. Snap the bottom back into place and off you go.

Like all the Dysons, high performance doesn’t come cheap — the DC-16 retails for $200. But its smart design and great performance will make you happy you popped for the little beast. Hair-Be-Gone.

Hmmm … no time isn’t really running out. You can sign up any time. But you do need to sign up by tomorrow to be eligible for the very first of our $1,000 monthly prize drawings. We’re just pulling winners randomly from our e-newsletter subscriber list, so you’re eligible to win each and every month.

On April 1 — no fooling — we’ll be drawing for pet gear from Premier Pet — $500’s worth of pet gear to the winner, and $500 worth of pet gear to the shelter or rescue group of the winner’s choice. Shipping included.

Details and sign-up information start on the PetConnection.com home page. Clock’s ticking on that Premier gear prize package.

Dr. Marty Becker — a/k/a my Dad — went to the Big Apple last week to do television and radio. If you missed his appearances on “Good Morning America” and GMA on XM radio (Channel 155) ,you can go to ABCNews.com and take a look or listen. “On Good Morning America” he profiled some of the top new pet products from the Global Pet Expo and was his usual corny self; for example, when profiling a bird stroller (which contained a crow by the way … where was the live bird?) he pretended to be a New York City pigeon elbowing another bird in the wing to draw his attention to a feathered friend traveling not via wing or foot, but in a pimped out bird mobile! I hear you groaning, can you imagine having lived under his wing for 22 years hearing crap like that (no pun intended)!

After GMA, Dr. Daddy — a/k/a “America’s Veterinarian”– taped two segments for ABCNews.com — one on pet obesity, the other on new equipment to make walking dogs safe and easy — and these will show up on ABCNews.com this week. Then it was time for a quick car ride about 10 blocks south to tape two segments for “The Martha Stewart Show.” These two segments, one on tips to give pets meds, the other on household products your veterinarian may ask you to use in an emergency, will air on the Monday, March 24. (Check your local listings for air times.)

If you’ve ever given your own cat a pill in the privacy and sanctity of your own kitchen, imagine Dad’s task for the “tips on giving pets meds” segment, of taking a strange cat, adding in new smells, a dog, dozens of staffers, cameras, microphones, rehearsals, a live studio audience, then meeting up with Martha to do the segment live. If this sounds like a recipe for disaster, it almost was. (more…)

A few minutes ago I pulled the furniture throws out of the dryer, something I’ve done every week for about 10 years. Same set of throws, originally purchased from Drs. Foster and Smith. That means they’ve been washed in excess of 500 times, on heavy duty cycle, and then dried on high heat. Every week they’ve been pretty well loaded with dog hair, and when I was living on the beach in north Florida, the dogs left hair, salt and sand on the throws. Recently, cat hair has been added to the blend.

Honestly, I have no idea how much I originally paid for these four couch-sized throws, but it’s safe to say I’ve gotten more than my money’s worth. And they’re good for a while longer, but not too much so. They’re getting pretty threadbare, and one of them has a 14-inch gap in the middle of it.

So I went back to Drs. Foster and Smith, but they don’t have the same color choices. Drat. I’d seen some furniture covers in the Orvis Dog Book, so I hustled over there.

I love the Orvis Dog Book. Sure, some of their items can be found anywhere, and probably cheaper. But they always have a few items exclusive to them that show that they know what dog-lovers like. Over the years I have bought some wonderful small Stephen Huneck rugs (which are no longer exclusive and are now on sale at his own Web site, just FYI). From Orvis I’ve also ordered the WaterTrapper mats and a pet memorial or two. Always liked this company, especially after a zipper broke on a piece of five-year-old luggage  and they replaced it without hesitation. That’s customer service.

Orvis has a new couch cover I was considering, and then I read the comments. The people who took the time to review the product all pointed out that it was too small, so the flaps protecting the couch kept coming loose. The fact that Orvis let this discussion go on and emphasized again and again that they’d refunded the money to each unhappy customer was really impressive.

No, I didn’t order the couch cover. But I will, when they get the bugs worked out, which I bet they do before the next catalog cycle.