----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Necessity of Pet Insurance: A Personal PerspectivePet insurance can cost more than $120 per year without annual check-up coverage. If you want to add vaccination and routine examinations to the coverage, you should expect to pay at least $300 a year. Many people are questioning the necessity of pet insurance due to the higher cost. It is, however, an excellent idea. You never know when an emergency might occur.
The day I was born, my parents' neighbor's Siamese cat had a littler of kittens. Because the kittens and I shared a birthday, the neighbor offered the pick of the litter to my parents as a baby gift. They accepted and the kitten came home. I grew up with this Siamese. We shared an incredible bond up until the day he died, exactly six months short of our twentieth birthday.
After I got married, my husband surprised me with a Siamese. I was attached to the breed and loved my new kitten to pieces. Routine health care was handled yearly, but I never even thought about the need for pet insurance. On his second birthday, he became extremely sick. The veterinary bill was amazing. $120 for an IV of fluids, $200 for x-rays, $300 for three days of hospitalization, $100 for antibiotics, $20 for special food, $150 in blood/lab tests, and other miscellaneous charges.
After spending almost $1,200 in emergency veterinary fees, check-ups, lab tests, x-rays, and IVs, he was healthy again. He'd developed a bladder infection that led to a blockage and kidney infection. It was apparently a flaw with purebred Siamese. A month later, he became very sick again. Our vet was out of town, so we took him to another vet and learned that he had a serious bladder deformity. Our option was having him put to sleep or paying for an $8,000 bladder restructure. Due to the cost, we had to put him to sleep.
Had we purchased pet insurance, the surgery would have been partially covered and we would not have had to spend that initial $1,200 in fees. Our vet still missed his deformed bladder with the x-rays, though the new vet showed us quite clearly where the deformity was on the original x-rays. In the end, we lost our pet in a tragic manner, far before his time should have been up.
Today, we still miss our Siamese and wish we'd made the commitment to purchase insurance for him. Had we done so, he might still be alive and well today. Do yourself a favor, purchase pet insurance for your pet! You never know when an illness or accident may occur that will put you in the same position as I was – with pet insurance, you won’t be forced to make such a painful decision.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Username:
dragonqueen
Profile:
I am a New Yorker that loves to write about all kinds of subjects. It is great to have forums like this, so I can really write, and write about things I love.
Mozaics by this user:
|
|
