Once upon a time, as the story goes, I had a precious little redhead names Savannah. This perky Lhasa Apso was beautiful and sweet and absolutely had me wrapped around her little paw. Savannah, however, also had a ton of medical problems.
From the time she was about two years old, she suffered from extremely itchy skin, chronic skin infections and an ever-growing list of other issues. I decided to check into getting pet insurance, but (15 years ago) it just wasn't worth it. Way back then, pet insurance was extremely limited and cost a small fortune. I passed.
Fast forward to about six years ago when a rough and tumble ally cat named Chase entered my life. The complete opposite of my darling Savannah, Chase was a street-smart, all-boy cat that wasn't taking guff off of anybody. With a passion for mixing it up with whatever critter came into the yard, we quickly discovered that Chase was destined to be on a first-name basis with his vet.
In the back of my mind, I knew I should be checking into pet insurance for all my pets. I mean really... after all this time, surely coverage, policy terms and rates would have improved, right? But I kept putting it off.
There's No Going Back
Then it happened... out of the blue. Chase got a long-acting steroid shot because he'd been having repeat bladder infections. As soon as he'd come off antibiotics, the infection would come right back. Within a matter of days, he began losing weight. He was eating normally, but drinking a lot more than usual.
The diagnosis? Steroid-induced diabetes. I was in shock. Diabetes is expensive and lasts for life. There is no cure. You treat it daily with insulin injections. The cost? For insulin and supplies; about $45 per month... every month... forever. If Chase had been insured before the diagnosis, we would only have to pay about $12 per month. To date, we've spent around $2,700.
Easter Sunday Brings Disaster
Jump to Easter Sunday morning, 2007. As I'm heading out the door to warm up the car, Holly comes hobbling up the back steps with her left, front arm dangling. "This is not good," was my first thought.
A trip to the emergency room confirmed our fears: it was broken. Not only that, it was a twist break about one inch from her elbow joint. That type of complex break would require an orthopedic specialist to perform the surgery. Cha ching! By the time we got finished with everything involved with this incident it cost us over $3,500. If I would not have procrastinated on getting insurance, it would have been around $700.
A New Friend... New Medical Bills
During the summer of 2009, my husband began noticing a shy little "tuxedo" kitty hanging around in our yard. He seemed young, no older than one year we estimated. While Chase would run him off, the next day we'd see this beautiful boy creeping back into the yard. You see, he was in love with Holly!
One night we heard soft purring on our front porch. Holly, who was snoozing on the back of the couch behind my head, heard it too. She leaped off the sofa and trotting over to the front window. Hopping up onto a chair, she began to gaze out onto the porch without moving.
When my husband and I walked to the window to see what Holly was so intently staring at, we found our new friend on the other side of the glass. It was the cutest thing I'd seen in years!
This handsome fellow (who we named Henry) became part of our family a few months later. Not long after that, however, our new addition came limping up the hill. Another broken leg? No. This time we would face a dislocated hip.
Because the hip would not stay in place when relocated, Henry would require surgery to remove the ball of his hip and create a false joint that would allow him to walk normally again. Office visits, diagnosis, X-rays, surgery, hospitalization and more all came to over $500.
If Only...
Hindsight is 20/20, as the saying goes. If only I'd have checked into pet insurance sooner. If only I'd have enrolled my pets before these accidents and illnesses happened. In addition to the $6,700 from just these three cases, I would have also saved on annual exams, booster shots, flea medications, heartworm preventative and a lot more. And I would have been covered for any of life's other little surprises that pop up in the future.
