Darby came down with parvo within days of coming home from the shelter. Once we got through that patch, it was time for him to be neutered. Naturally, he was cryptorchid, making a fairly routine surgery a more complicated (and expensive) one.
By this time, not unlike many other pet owners, we figured, "Why bother? What else can go wrong with the little dude?" Here's a free tip from me: Never actually say those words out loud. It's the universe's signal to show you the folly of your nonchalance.
Sure enough, last year he needed knee surgery to pin down a loose kneecap. (That small sound you heard at the end of that sentence was the deflation of our checking account. Knees aren't cheap.) Yep, I was ruing the day I put off getting a policy right about then, and I had no one but myself to blame. I know pet insurance is available, I know bad things sometimes happen to good pets and I know having insurance can mean there is less thing to worry about when they do.
Want to know if pet insurance can help you manage your pet's medical bills? VPI Pet Insurance has developed a pretty cool Cost of Care Planner for dog and cat owners. Just pop in your pet's info (basic stuff - name, age, breed and your zip code) and you'll get a list of some most common ailments veterinarians see for your breed and the approximate cost to treat them.
I plugged in Darby's info to see what would happen. Funny, one of the first items listed was the cost to treat an ear infection. D'oh! I forgot about that trip to the vet last year, the result of one too many headers into the pool. Sadly, the treatment cost listed is just about what I paid for it, too. I dug a little further to see about the monthly premium and, sure enough, even if I'd been paying since the day I got him it would have been less than the one surgery he's already had.
Do yourself a favor and check it out. The wallet you save may be your own.
