Very interesting article.

This topic always breaks my heart and also frustrates me. I DO believe that it is our responsibility as pet owners to have the financial means to treat their illnesses/accidents and shudder to think that something treatable isn't done because of money. Sadly its a fact of life that people with money available tend to get better health care whether we are talking animals or human.

If the treatment/surgery etc. will restore them to baseline or an acceptable level of comfort mine are getting it. That said, especially when we are talking cancer, I'm more of a palliative type person rather than pull out all the stops because from what I've seen the end result is usually the same after months of suffering. My husband and I live simply and work like idiots to make sure we have the funds available for the next double TPLO or whatever comes our way.

Has anyone checked out www.petvetpro.com ? They have a pet health savings plan that I think might work. It looks like you can have your pet's picture right on the card.

Nightmare: I loved you comment so much I needed to add to it...

"July, bitch with pyometra on her first heat, $1500 (e-vet.) August, three vaccinated dogs (one eight months old, two sixteen months old) hospitalized with parvo, around $2500. September, broken leg requiring an external fixator, $1000."

The love of my saved animals...

Priceless.

July, bitch with pyometra on her first heat, $1500 (e-vet.) August, three vaccinated dogs (one eight months old, two sixteen months old) hospitalized with parvo, around $2500. September, broken leg requiring an external fixator, $1000. We keep a savings account for our dogs, plus we have Care Credit. I have too many dogs for insurance to be a viable option. I have talked to people who keep an account with their vet, they pay into it every month or whenever they have extra cash, and it's there if they need it.

Wow, I am impressed by the comments from everyone, some very thought-provoking ideas. As someone who works in pet insurance I can say unreservedly that many of your ideas make sense. The problem is selling them to the institutions that can make them reality; banks and financial institutions are invariably run by old, gray-haired bald guys whose job is to say "No" and for whom the concept of spending anything over $100 on a sick pet is anathema. Resonating with these guys is tough. I've been doing this 5 years and I've met very few financial service companies that understand or even care about pet owners, that's really what it boils down to in my opinion.

@ lindabcs: It's too bad your experience with pet insurance for your GSDs was a bad one. There are actually companies (like mine) that do cover gastric torsion, cancer, hip dysplasia, and other (supposedly) genetic/congenital conditions. I know that some well-known pet insurance companies don't cover this stuff but others (like Embrace) do.

What does everyone think about the issue of ownership vs guardianship. I honestly believe that just because expensive new technologies are available, we don't need to use them. We can choose a lower level of care for our owned pets, and not have to feel bad about not spending $7000 for a shunt.

However, if guardianship becomes the standard, then the guardian won't have the option to withhold care for their ward. Any pet guardian will be legaly required to spend what it takes to care for their ward's illnesses, just as a human parent cannot legaly decide not to take their kid into the hospital when he breaks his arm.

This is the dark side of guardianship that most advocates never address.

Some sort of savings/investment/insurance vehicle for pet owners would be great. It could also incorporate some sort of pet trust where the money could be used to ensure the care of the pet in the case of owner's death or injury, but that's probably a whole issue.

I can certainly understand why vets offer Care Credit. It certainly fills a void that I don't think vets should be required to fill. I just wish there were more options.

Vet bills are kicking my butt right now. My one dog had a cruciate repair ($2k) after 8 months of on-again-off-again lameness and working up. Now my old dog needs an enucleation, which is going to be significantly cheaper, but financially it really sucks. Ah well. That's the way it goes. I'm fortunate to have enough money in savings to cover it without having to worry about how I'm going to eat, but I'm still not that excited about it.

Gosh - sorry for all the typ-o's......I was rushing! Lol....

I haven't read through all the comments, and I have pet insurance that so far, had been OK. Not great, but OK. And it has come in handy witha couple of emergencies.

THank beign said, most insurance companies offer a basic "emergency" level of care for less than $10/mo. per animal. Most also cap-out around $5000 for the year, but it's a whole lot better than no coverage.

Another thing, and this is totally old skool- I belong to a breed chat room. Three times now (two of which were non-animal related. TOne member was facing foreclosure on her home and one is facing cancer treatment), regular posters have pulled together when a member was in a horrible situation and helped out BIG TIME financially. We have a very strong community that has developed over the internet, but we feel like a family and we help each other when we can. So, I guess there's truly something to be said for an old-fashioned sense of community!!!! We've even tossed around the idea of starting an emergency fund, but no one want to be in charge of it. None of us are good with money! Lol....;)

This excellent conversation's got me to thinking: Perhaps there's a better way. How about the life insurance/savings plans that are on the market for humans? This model helps deal with the possibility of catastrophe through some financial compensation (catastrophic-type insurance for the big stuff) while also serving as a savings plan for all the smaller stuff.

Like Dr. Link mentioned above--even vets aren't immune to the big money vet expenses. This kind of plan would make sense for people who can handle the basics and prefer to use their own savings but who wouldn't be averse to having some protection in the event of a week-long ICU stay at the local Vet School's hospital.

MeriGray: Rescue groups make that call all the time. And I agree with your main argument--at what point does it become irresponsible to decline to treat a given condition because of limited funds? I talk to clients about this every day: when they can't afford to fix a cruciate ligament, when disc disease means either a k9 cart, surgery or euthanasia (as in Jen's case), or when just unblocking a cat becomes financially untenable. As long as euthanasia remains an alternative, I counsel my clients that to relieve suffering is a perfectly reasonable, responsible option. In the case of chronic diseases like osteoarthritis and diabetes, all they need do to be a responsible caretaker is to know when to say "it's time." Huge money doesn't make a responsible owner, as we all know. it just takes the understanding that when our limits intersect with theirs we need to put an end to their suffering.

I agree that having 1. a savings account 2.credit card or line of credit dedicated to emergencies is the way to go. I had insured my small Doxie/MinPin with VIP for 6 years and hardly ever turned in claims and then when she was diagnosed at 6 years with a liver shunt, their answer was well that is not covered. They paid zilch and were not even very sympathetic. Who would have guessed that a six year old dog who had been a very healthy pup would suddenly start showing symptoms. Not even my daughter who is a veterinarian. I spent over $7000 at U C Davis. They did their best but she did not survive undamaged. She was worth it and I would do it again.

But I will not trust any pet insurance company. There is no way that I can know what my dog might or might not have that will not show up for 6 years.

As much as I applaud the advances in vet medicine, I am concerned that all of the advances, which every "responsible" pet owner "must" take advantage of, is leading to an atmosphere in which people who truly love animals and love to have them around but don't have the income to pay for high tech vet care will not be allowed to own pets. If rescue groups can refuse adoptions to families with small children or families that live in apartments, what's to stop them from refusing adoptions to families below a certain income thresh hold?

Between my parents, sister, and I we have 10 pets including a dog with chronic allergies, a hyperthyroid cat who also needs cardiac monitoring, a cockatiel who needs a prescription diet (I love how he insists on tossing it to the dogs!), and a sad old rabbit who they are doing all sorts of end-of-life therapies for because my sister can't make the decision to let him go. We don't add up all the money we spend on our zoo because we'd rather not know. How much would you suggest a family has tucked away per pet for the unexpected?

I can't agree more with the whole planning for the inevitable idea. I'm a vet. My worse nightmare came true when my young heeler sustained major trauma in May. He broke away from my husband to chase a feral cat and was HBC. I am thankful every day that I was right there with my training when it happened. Even with my "free" service to him, I still had to refer to my alma-mater for orthopedic repairs. All-in-all, we spent close to $3000 and that is without the full 24 hours of stabilization and diagnostics (including transfusion and chest tube) that I performed in-house. In the rural area where I practice, I see clients everyday who do not have checking accounts, let alone credit cards. The level of care that my pet received would have been unattainable for the majority of my clients. A Case like my little boy's would not have had a happy ending.

I looked into pet insurance and was going to cost almost $600 a year for my two young cats. And they're 'mutts.' That's a lot of money for most of us to spend when you still have to pay virtually all the regular vet costs.

I'll take a savings account over pet health insurence any day. I've got two adult rescue GSDs, and like most purebreds, they have a long list of things that are known to occur in the breed, and this means that the health insurance programs won't really cover them.

Bloat? Nope. Arthritis? Cancer? Dysplasia? Nope. Megaesophagus? Perianal fistulas? Nada. Pretty much the only good they'd do me is in case of a traumatic accident. I guess being able to get coverage is one big bonus to mutt ownership.

I've got a credit card that's designated for gas and vet bills, once that's maxxed out, I'd have to apply for CreditCare or similar to deal with emergencies. It's not a matter of love, it's more a matter of me being a student and having to pay all my other bills to get by.

Jen: I agree with everything in your comment with the exception of the statement about:

while I understand why so many vets offer it, it almost seems almost unethical to dangle those terms in front of someone in a tough situation

The unfortunate truth of the matter is that many pets would never have any sort of care for traumatic injury or illness without the benefit of CareCredit. You are SOO right, the interest rates are astronomical if you don't pay within a specified time frame. But, these rates are really no different than most other same as cash options you might find elsewhere. AND, in 14 years of working with CareCredit through the veterinary hospitals I was involved with, I rarely had cause to fault CareCredit. They helped many people in those tough situations. Without them, the pet owner will turn to the veterinarian for help, and, as we have seen in Dr. K's previous blogs, that happens far too frequently anyway, causing stress for veterinarians and staff.

I have an equity line of credit and only use it for emergencies or the very rare large expenditure that I know I won't pay off in a single month. Its much lower interest than most credit cards.

I went through this a few years ago. My little terrier slipped a disc jumping out of bed. I was given two options. I could wait for her to become paralyzed and fit her for a wheel chair, or I could spend thousands on back surgery and hope she recovered. I personally couldn't wait for her to become paralyzed, and I was lucky to have the money in savings.

I think having savings is much better than pet insurance or Care Credit. With the medical problems that my three dogs have had, even with the back surgery, I've still spent less than I would have on insurance premiums. And like Regina said, the interest rate on Care Credit is insane; while I understand why so many vets offer it, it almost seems almost unethical to dangle those terms in front of someone in a tough situation.

If I hadn't have had the money for the surgery, my dog probably would have had a decent outcome. From the vets I've talked to, it seems like most people don't have the luxury to opt for surgery and end up waiting. And outcomes for those dogs have gotten much better. Still I recommend socking whatever you can away for emergencies.

Cindy: I agree, that's why the whole line went...

"All of it requires that your family truly care for you, have sufficient monetary means to pay, in advance, for your worst case scenarios, and have the smarts and wherewithal to make it all happen."

That's an awful lot to expect from most people, regardless of whether they fullfil the first part of the statement.

Your point on the inequity of it all is something I talk about with my SO a lot. It somehow seems absurd to be a companion animal vet in a world torn apart by poverty, war and famine--not to mention the impending doom of global warming. I could go crazy stressing out over it all--or I could continue to do my thing and take my best stab at making the world a better place.

Cindy, we are in a similar situation. I know that our cats have better medical care than many humans do. We just lost our kitty last week to IBD/intestinal cancer, and over the last two or three years spent thousands of dollars on ultrasounds, endoscopies, and the radioactive iodine procedure when his thyroid went bad, in the middle of all the other routine blood work checks and medications. I wouldn't have changed a thing. He was very special to us and as long as he had a good chance of responding to whatever treatment he needed, we were willing to do that.

I realize we were lucky that these tests and procedures were spread out enough over time that we somehow managed to absorb them into the budget. Should we ever have a kitty that needed major surgery...I'm not sure what we would do. As we are in the position of looking for another kitty or two to adopt, this post comes at a good time. My only concern is that we hope to adopt an adult cat, and I don't think many pet insurance agencies will offer coverage for adults. It may be best for us to just put aside money in savings.

I was introduced to CareCredit a number of years ago when I had a pup with complications from stomach surgery and ran up a bill for over $12K in a matter of a week. The appeal for me was that it allowed, I think, 90 days interest free - which allowed me the time to get my finances sorted around so that I was able to avoid most if not all of the interest charges.

I am so torn on this subjct- I expect I'll get some boos from everyone, but there are times when I feel guilty at how much I spend on vet bills. I live in a part of the country where probably 60% of children do not have access to medical care. My cats are fed healthier food than these kids are. So, assuming I am not alone in having these occasional twinges, I can see why some owners might not buy insurance. After all, planning ahead means that you have to wrestle with some unpleasant issues.

Not the least of which is money, btw. I would have to use a credit card for really big bills, or set up a payment plan. Moody's last three weeks, for example, cost over $1000, which was a big deal for my family. I can't imagine what I would have done if his FIP had really been a tumour, something the vet. neurologist initially thought. That would have been expensive to treat.

And, you said:

"All of it requires that your family truly care for you..."


Um. This is where I get really uncomfortable. Because a person doesn't have the dollars to pay for extraoridnary care (which wouldn't have been available 15 years ago) doesn't mean they don't care for their animals. An aquaintence at the dog park put her boxer down because she couldn't afford the hip surgery. The other owners were really harsh to her after- but is it only a sign of a lack of caring if someone can't pay for ops like this one? Should poor people not own pets- is it irresponsible to keep an animal if you can only afford high-end care?

I don't know the answer to that last one, but I am curious as to what you think, Dr. K.

I think the thing with CareCredit, at least from the consumer perspective, is that once the interest free period is over, the interest rate is astronomical. It's a great service, but you have to be careful to read all the fine print.

The owner of our practice and the office manager seem to like CareCredit, but you're right about being able to qualify for credit cards in the first place. I think some people like to keep all of their vet bills on one card...probably a personality type thing. It can be useful in some instances where the clients current card is maxed out. We had a graduate student whose dog was in very rapid renal failure. Needless to say, his cards were already maxed, but his credit was good. In this case, the CareCredit was very useful, but had he not had good credit to begin with, not so much.

Oops...I see I forgot to mention CareCredit. Maybe that's because it's a credit card. If you can't afford to put in on a credit card, you probably won't qualify for CareCredit. Having said that, I know lots of dentists who love the product--but very few vets. I've been meaning to look into this issue some more--there's got to be a reason, right?

Even though the Care Credit brochures are on display next to all of the pamphlets with information on the joys of rabies, lepto, ticks, and heartworm in our greeting area(that's waiting room for those of you who don't believe in pain meds.lol) most of our Care Credit applications get sent in with tear stains on them. People, myself included, don't tend to think about these things until the dreaded hit by car or the ill fated meeting of Princess the Yorkie with the neighbors GSD, Sarge.

Maybe we should be stressing to clients the fact that unexpected events, both in the life of the animal and the owner, make planning for the future as important as an annual check-up or dental cleaning. It wouldn't have to be much..just include a brochure or two with meds and discharge instructions or upon payment for routine visits when the client is clear headed and can let the information sink in.