There are times when adopting that shaggy non-descript mutt at the neighborhood shelter is an advantage over purchasing an expensive AKC model. The first advantage is the start up cost, AKC registered pups seldom start at less them three hundred dollars from there the prices can sore into the thousands. The adoption fee for your local pound puppy shouldn’t be more then two hundred bucks and a lot of times they are up to date on all their shots and are already neutered or spayed.

The second time you will notice an advantage to your pound puppy is when you purchase liability insurance. Liability insurance is an insurance policy that will pay out to the injured party if your dog suddenly bites somebody. Several breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club are on several liability insurance companies list of high risk dogs and cost the owner an extra high premium. Many dogs who were bred to be guard dogs are considered a high liability.

The third time you will see a distinct advantage to your pound puppy is if you choose to purchase pet health care insurance. Many pet health care insurance companies will not insure against potential genetic disorders that are common in a particular breed.

Owners of English Cocker Spaniels may experience a difficult time insuring the their puppies kidneys until the dog is past its second birthday. English Cocker Spaniels have been known to develop a genetic condition called Familial Nephropathy. A puppy with Familial Nephropathy kidneys will start shutting down between the ages of six months and two years old. This disease is normally fatal. Right now there is not a really good way of identifying what puppies might develop Familial Nephropathy.

Owners who purchase large dog breeds that have a history of hip dysplasia such as the American Staffordshire Terrier’s, Great Danes, German Shepards, Rottweilers, and Caucasian Mountain Dog’s. Hip dysplasia is a hereditary disease that affects the hip joints of the dog. Dogs that have hip dysplasia walk with a loose wobbly gait; they usually have a hard time bringing their hind legs up and underneath themselves. Most pet health insurance companies will probably not be able to insure there new puppies hips until a test has been run and the puppy is declared sound and dysplasia clear.

Bulldogs have a history of breathing problems because of their flat face and smashed breathing passages; they are prone to heat stroke, sleep apnea, birthing problems, cherry eye, allergies, hip problems, and cataracts. Great Danes have a genetic history of slow metabolism, bloat, twisted gut, hip dysplasia, congenital heart problems yeast infections, and staph infections. If you buy a Great Dane that is mostly white in color it will probably be deaf and possibly blind. Some pet health insurance companies won’t insure the eyes of certain dogs unless the puppy was bred by a breeder certified by the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF). Breeders that hold a certification from this foundation have been acknowledged as breeding puppies with no known eye health problems.

When pet owners purchase a pet they shop around at the various pet shops, breeders, pet rescues, and animal shelters until they find the dog, cat, or exotic pet that suits them, what very few pet owners do is consider the cost of veterinarian cost for their new pet. The oversight can prove financially devastating and emotionally heartbreaking.

The cost of veterinary cost is on the rise. Technology, liability insurance, medications, and medical research have forced veterinary clinics to raise their cost. Veterinary clinics in rural areas of the country (especially ones that combine their small animal practice with a large animal practice) find it difficult to attract young vets who are graduating from vet school to their clinics; they are forced to offer higher salaries in order to compete with clinics located closer to major cities. The increase in the payroll is then transferred to pet owners.

It was recently estimated that the average dog owner will spend about two hundred dollars a year at the vet’s office. Cats were a little cheaper; their owners only spent about a hundred and sixty dollars in veterinary bills. When you consider what the average life expectancy is for a pet, especially on kept inside, that’s a lot of money. And what if the pet isn’t your run of the mill dog or cat? What if the pet is something more exotic like a pot bellied pig, a ferret, a rabbit, a snake, or even a skunk? The more exotic the pet the more the pet owner is likely to spend on the veterinarian bills, especially if they have a pet such as a skunk which will probably require a vet with special skills. What happens to the pet if it suddenly gets sick or is injured in a freak accident? How much will it set the pet owner back if they have to take their family pet to a university’s veterinary school, will they be able to afford it or will they be forced to euthanize their pet for economic reasons?

Many pet owners try to keep the unexpected veterinary bills at bay by providing excellent care for their pets. They make sure that the pet is kept well groomed to prevent insects and skin disorders. They only feed their pets foods that are very carefully balanced with a proper blend of nutrients. They make sure the pet maintains a healthy weight, not to thin and not to fat. Some pet owners won’t let their pets out of the house, fearing a freak accident. While pet owners should take the best possible care of their pets and do everything in their power to keep their family pet safe, even the most careful, health conscious pet owner can not prevent everything.

Pet health insurance is one way to prevent veterinarian bills from becoming overwhelming. Pet health insurance is insurance pet owners purchase to help cover veterinarian bills similar to human medical insurance. The chances of a pet owner being able to purchase a pet health care at the same health insurance company where they purchase their human health insurance is slim. Most pet owners will find that they have to go to a separate insurance company that specializes in pet health insurance.

Before you purchase a pet health care insurance plan for your pet, check the list of the companies approved veterinarians to see if your veterinarian will accept the companies check.
Ask your local veterinarian what type of pet health care insurance plan would best suit your family pet. Ask your local veterinarian to read over the plan and listen to their advice. Talking to your local veterinarian will also help you establish if the insurance company you are considering purchasing your pet health care insurance plan from is reputable.

If you have purchased a pet that is as of yet unaltered you’ll want to look for a pet health care plan that includes neutering and spaying.

Before you pay for a pet health care insurance plan you need to carefully read how the policy handles prescription coverage. Most companies that sell pet health care insurance do not include prescription coverage in their basic medical health care insurance plan. If you are concerned about the cost of any prescription your pet might need during the course of its life you should probably consider buying a prescription coverage rider to complement your pet health care insurance. Although this rider may appear expensive and unnecessary you’ll probably wish you had purchased it if your pet is ever given a prescription for anything. Just like the human counterparts prescriptions are very expensive.

One of things you need to take into consideration when purchasing a pet health care insurance plan is the deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you pay out-of-pocket for veterinarian services rendered that your pet health care insurance plan does not cover. Different pet health care plans require different deductibles. The higher a the deductible you choose the lower your monthly payments to the insurance company but the higher deductible the more out-of-pocket extension had each time you visit the veterinarian’s office/clinic.

Most pet insurance companies have “cap” or limit placed on each pet health care insurance plan. This cap varies from one procedure to the next a broken leg will probably have a different cap then cancer treatments will for your pet. Before you purchase your pet health care insurance plan talk to the company representative about waiting periods. Find out exactly how long it’ll take over the policy to be effective and how long the general wait for claims to be reimbursed is. Most companies have a ten day period between the time they receive the vet bill and when the check gets placed in the mail. Also find out how the refund is processed. Does the pet health care insurance company pay the veterinarian directly or do you have to pay the vet and the company mails the check to you when they receive the bill.

Why you have the company representative on the phone task about any and all exclusions that might be included with your pet health care insurance plan. Specifically ask about any and all pre-existing conditions and hereditary defects that might come up later in your pet’s life. Many pet owners especially, those that have dogs, discover that hereditary defects come into their particular dogs are not covered by their pet health care insurance plan. Some companies will allow you to cover these potential problems with an additional rider. In some cases your local veterinarian will be able to warn you about any exclusions.

If you are considering a comprehensive health care insurance plan ask if the plan covers teen veterinarian visits such as; dental care, immunizations, and heartworm testing. Also ask if the pet health care insurance plan also covers the office call.

You love your pets. They are the first things you see when you wake up in the morning. They lay at your feet while your eating breakfast, they run with you as you get your early morning exercise, they look heart broken when you leave them behind, when you get home from a long day at work they are so happy to see you that they can hardly contain their joy, they listen attentively as you rant and rave about the trails and tribulations of your day, at night they crawl into bed with you and keep the nightmares at bay while you sleep. What they don’t do is criticize you, judge you, or abandon you.

There is very little you wouldn’t do for your pets. That’s what you think almost everyday of the year but on the days you have to take them to the vet and pay the obligatory bill you have to wonder. All your cat had done was a treatment for a mild case of ear mites. And your dog had been a yearly rabies vaccination. The whole processes for both pets took less then fifteen minutes. How could it possible cost so much?

You might be able to see the benefits of pet health insurance. You might salivate at the idea of not dealing with the ginourmous vet bills you get every six months ago. You might even daydream about the day you don’t dread the financial repercussions of taking your dog or cat the vet. But right now you simply don’t think you can afford to monthly bill a pet health insurance bill would put on your budget, after all its not like having pet health insurance would make the vet bills completely disappear, more then likely you would still have to pay the office visit.

You might not think you can afford pet health insurance at the moment but don’t walk away from an offer, not yet. Looking at a policy does not mean that you have to walk away from it. If you are a clever bargain shopper there are ways to find pet health insurance at a low cost.

If you have more then one pet you probably automatically qualify for a lower premium. Lots of pet health insurance companies offer multiple pet discounts. There is one little catch, a lot of the companies only offer multiple pet discounts if the pets are the same species. In other words if you have two cats that you insure you will pay a lower premium but if you have a cat and a dog lots of pet health insurance companies will consider it two completely different accounts.

Are you starting to despair? Don’t worry two much, while many companies don’t consider pets of separate species ground for a multiple pet discount a lot of those same companies have a policy that offers discounts to customers who carry more then policy with the company. The multiple policy discount usually takes about ten percent off the total bill but a good bargains shopper can find companies that offer higher discounts all they have to do is be willing to spend the time to shoe around.

The general population thinks of cowboys, Quarter Horses, rattlesnakes, Brahma bulls, and Longhorn steers when they think about the livestock and pets typically found in the Lone Star State. When they think of pets they probably think of Australian Heelers, Heinz fifty-seven mixes, barn cats, and other ranch related working animals. What you probably don’t think of is English Cocker Spaniels. You should. Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine just announced that they have a new genetic test for Familial Nephropathy in English Cocker Spaniels.

Familial Nephropathy is an inherited renal disease that is recessive. Breeders of English Cocker Spaniels have been aware of Familial Nephropathy for more them fifty years. Typical symptoms of Familial Nephropathy are excessive drinking, excessive urination, the dog is suddenly loosing weight because they don’t have much of an appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. Most signs of Familial Nephropathy start to show up when the dog is somewhere between six and twenty-four months old.

Dogs that are going to develop Familial Nephropathy are difficult to predict because they are born with two completely normal kidneys. As the dog grows and develops the kidneys start to deteriorate from the lack of a certain type of collagen.

Familial Nephropathy is normally fatal. Because it is a genetic disorder most pet health insurance plans will not cover the cost of any treatments the dog owners wish to pursue. In addition to researching Familial Nephropathy Texas A&M University sees over 11,500 small animals a year. That is 11,500 pet owners that could have saved money by purchasing a pet health care policy for their family pet.

Some pet owners in the state of Texas like snakes, the more exotic the snake is the happier the pet owner. Like with all pets there are certain health care needs that snakes have that other pets do not. Typical snake health care issues can be respiratory infections, eye infections, mite infestation, metabolic bone disease, abscesses, belly burns, and parasites. The problem with pet snakes and other pet reptiles is that signs of health care issues are not as easy to identify as with their mammal counterparts.

A big part of maintaining the health and well being of your pet snake is finding a veterinarian. One of the first things you need to do when selecting a veterinarian for your snake is making sure they are comfortable around snakes. The reality of the world is that everybody has phobia and lots of people are phobic about snakes. If your veterinarian is uncomfortable handling your treasured snake they will not be able to accurately diagnosis any health problems it might be having.
In addition to the typical dogs, cats and horses, many Texans also have exotic pets such as ferrets, wallabies, glider squirrels, and Coatimundi’s. People who purchase exotic pets should realize that the more exotic the pet the harder it is going to be to find the proper veterinary care and the more the veterinary care is going to cost. Before you purchase an exotic pet you might want to research how much you could potentially spend on veterinary care during the pets life time and find out if it is possible to purchase a pet health insurance plan.

Many pet owners enjoy the company and companionship of having a pet rabbit in the house. People are attracted to the idea of house rabbits because rabbits are not only playful and fun to watch they are also very social. Rabbits tend to appeal to people who like the size and feel of cats but are put off by the aloof manners cats sometimes display, most rabbits, if handled properly, are friendly all the time. Rabbit owners need to be aware that because rabbits are so social they need to spend allot of time each and every day playing with their pet rabbit. Rabbits that do not get enough attention can become depressed. Like cats pet rabbits are low maintenance and are easily litter box trained. Rabbits chew on everything, the best way to spare your furniture is to give your pet rabbit lots and lots of chewy toys. Rabbits and young children are not a very good combination, kid’s habit of grabbing and running around makes rabbits nervous and they can start biting, and rabbit bites hurt. If you decide to keep your pet rabbit in the house you need to be prepared to clean the litter box on a regular basis.

Rabbits need to be taken to the veterinarian on a regular schedule for routine vaccinations and check ups. Rabbit owners who keep their rabbits in the house recommend spaying and neutering your rabbit. Pet rabbits are not known for their willingness to take medications. If you have to give your pet rabbit liquid mediation you will need to use a syringe (just the syringe not the needle) or an eye dropper. I prefer syringes because it is easier to measure the proper dosage of medication. Holding the rabbits head and neck with one hand slide the syringe into the rabbit’s mouth behind the teeth, Check to make sure that the tip of the syringe isn’t stuck out the other side of the mouth, point the tip of the syringe towards the rabbit’s throat. Depress the syringes plunger.

If your vet prescribes a medication for your rabbit that is in a pill or tablet form you are going to have to crush up the pill. Once you have crushed the pill into a powder mix it with a little bit of flavored Sustacal or Ensure until you have a watery paste. Use a syringe to administer the paste like a liquid medication.

It only takes being bitten by one mosquito for a rabbit to become infected with a severe viral disease call Myxomatosis. Most rabbits die just a few short hours after contracting the disease. The only way to treat Myxomatosis is to vaccinate your pet rabbit before it ever comes into contact with Myxomatosis. Rabbits should be vaccinated when they are six weeks old. Do not give a pregnant rabbit the vaccination; wait until her babies are born. Rabbits are still at risk for Myxomatosis for fourteen days after being vaccinated. Your pet rabbit will need booster shots.

Health problems commonly associated with rabbits are uncontrolled bleeding when injured, blood in the urine, broken bones, breathing problems, falling body temperature, and severe diarrhea. If you would like to purchase an insurance plan to help cover the cost of veterinary expenses for your pet rabbit you will probably have to look for an exotic animal policy offer by a pet health insurance company.

Before cat owners purchase health insurance for their family cat there are a few questions they should ask themselves. Asking themselves these questions will give the cat owner a reasonable idea of what type of policy will best suit them.

The first thing they should consider is whether or not they would like a discount insurance plan or a comprehensive insurance plan. The next question cat owners need to ask themselves is how attached are they to their local veterinarian. Some veterinarians will not accept pet health insurance from various pet health insurance companies for a variety of reason. If the cat owner does not feel comfortable taking their family pet to a different veterinarian they should look for an insurance company their veterinary clinic accepts. Cat owners should also be aware that in certain instances the local veterinarian or animal hospital cannot help their pets and might refer them to the State University veterinary clinics. When purchasing a health-insurance plan for their owner should double check and make sure that any expenses charged to the university veterinary clinic will be covered by the insurance plan.

Before cat owners purchase a health-insurance plan for their family cat they should decide if they would like to neuter or spay their cat. Some pet insurance companies offer health insurance plans for pets that will cover the cost to neutering or spaying. If the policy you are thinking about purchasing does not include neutering or spaying you might want to purchase an additional rider to help with the expense. Remember that if you have adopted your cat from a local animal shelter you will be required to neuter or spay your cat if the shelter hasn’t already done that. This is also a good time to get the first round of your cat’s annual shots out of the way.

How much can you actually afford to pay in addition to the monthly or yearly cost of your pets health-insurance plan? If you have to bring your cat to the veterinarian will you be able to pay a deductible? A deductible is the amount of money you have to pay the veterinarian out of your pocket each and every time you visit them. The higher the deductible you carry the lower your monthly premiums are on your pet’s health-insurance plan.

If your cat gets injured in a freak accident or suddenly becomes sick will you be able to pay for any medication that the veterinarian might prescribe. Prescription drugs are expensive whether they are for humans or for pets. If you are concerned about the potential cost of prescription drugs you may want to purchase a rider that will help cover the cost. Purchasing a co-pay option a prescription drugs get help lower your annual fee.

Before purchasing a health-care plan for your cat find out if the plan just coverers your cat’s immediate health care issues or if it will also cover the cost of the veterinarian’s office visit. Cat owner should remember that the time to research the various types of pet health-care insurance is normally before they purchase their pet. Most injuries and illnesses occur during the pets early years of life.

A recent survey estimated that the average dog owner will visit the vet two-three times a year and spend an average of two hundred dollars. Pet owners who have cats will spend a little bit less. That estimate is for the normal routine stuff like sterilization (spaying or neutering), vaccinations, worming, and a heartworm test; you’re normally in and out of the veterinarian’s office in approximately fifteen minutes. It’s hard to imagine what the trip to the veterinarian’s office would cost if your pet was suffering from a really serious medical problem such as benign tumors or a broken leg.

Approximately three percent of pet owners in the United States have decided that the best way to deal with financing their pets vet bill is to purchase pet health care insurance. Pet health care insurance is similar to human health care insurance. The pet owner pays a monthly premium and when the pet has to go to the veterinarian’s office the insurance company will pay a certain percentage of the bill minus the deductible.

Before a pet owner purchases a pet health care plan they need to get some estimates/quotes on various plans. Before the pet owner goes online to find a quote they need to grab a pad of paper and write down two things. The first thing they need is a wish list of the type of pet health insurance coverage you would like to get. This list can include things like prescription coverage, low deductibles, dental, annual checkups, spaying and nueturing, declawing and anything else you can think of. It is important to remember that you may not be able to find a pet health insurance plan that will have everything you want, circle the items that you simply can’t live without. The second thing you need to write down is what is the most you can spend each month on your pet’s health insurance plan. Keep this number close by so you don’t splurge on an insurance plan you won’t be able to afford.

Now do a couple internet searches to find all the names of pet health insurance companies. Go through the list and find all the companies that have health insurance plans that are compatible to your wish list and seem to be in your budget. Try to narrow the list down to the five most likely possibilities.

Now that you have five health insurance companies that seem like real possibilities go to their quote section on the webpage. Follow the instructions and enter all of your pet’s pertinent information.
If the quote is satisfactory its time to proceed to the next step. Call your pet’s veterinarian and ask the clinic will accepts this particular brand of insurance. If the vet clinic you use doesn’t accept insurance from that company move to your next possibility. You’ll probably have a harder time finding another good vet then another pet health insurance company. Now all you really have left to do is to talk to the pet insurance companies representative.

In 1849 hundreds of men made the grueling climb across the Rocky mountain range before stepping onto California’s soil. These men, who history remembers as forty-niners, came to California with dreams of striking a mother lode of gold and spending the rest of their days in the lap of luxury. Few of these forty-niners had possessions worth speaking of, just the tattered torn clothes they were wearing, a shovel, a pan specially designed to sift through river sediment, and an old mule to haul their find out of the mountains.

Over a hundred and fifty years have passed since the last forty-niner made their final trek across the Rockies with only his own voice and a cantankerous old mule named Worthless for company. In this new modern world a different type of person is journeying across the country seeking the answers to all their dreams and prayers in the warm California sunlight. Today its students, freshly armed with brand new high school diplomas and a tiny sub-compact car loaded down with expensive clothing and glamour shots, seeking not gold but rather fame under the bright lights of an acting studio. Like the fortey-niners, many of these future stars have only their CD collections and a family pet to keep them company on the long drive across the country.

What many of these Hollywood hopefuls don’t realize is the animal health branch of the California Department of Food and Agriculture has rules and regulations for bringing pets into the state. Most of the rules will involve the young pet owner to take their pet to the veterinarian for a round of shots and an exam before leaving for the land of movie stars and millionaires. The purchase of pet health care coverage can sometimes let the youngsters get the routine vet work out of the way without forcing them to dip to heavily into their savings.

Domestic cats that are infected with a contagious disease are not allowed into California. Cats are not required to have a current rabies vaccination nor do they have to have a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection before they cross the state line into California. They must have a health certificate if they are coming from an area that was under rabies quarantine. If you are coming into the state of California via airplane check with the airline about what health requirements they enforce before allowing your cat to fly. Before you leave your home town for the California shore line, ask your veterinarian what can be done to make the trip as comfortable and safe for your cat.

Just like cats the California Department of Food and Agriculture will not allow dogs that are carrying an infectious disease to cross the state line into California. Any dog over four months of age is required to a certificate stating the date of its last rabies vaccination, the type of vaccination used, the manufacturer lot number of the rabies vaccine used, and the name of the vet who gave the injection. If you are traveling by plane ask the airline about any additional health requirements your dog must meet before it is allowed to fly. The sooner you contact your airline the better.

If you are bringing a more exotic type of pet, such as a potbellied pig, into the state of California you may be required to have an entry permit.

Pet health insurance companies are hoping that someday pet owners in the United States will catch up with European pet owners. A recent poll taken of American pet owners suggested that approximately three percent of American pet owners had purchased pet health insurance for their family pet. A veterinarian who was interviewed after the survey was stunned by the results. She felt that the survey was generous. She believes that less then one percent of her patients have any health care insurance.

In Europe approximately twenty-five percent of all pet owners have some sort of pet health insurance on their pets. The numbers are even higher in Sweden where approximately fifty percent of all pet owners rely on pet health insurance to help pay their pet’s medical expenses.

Some experts believe that the reason so many pet owners in the United Kingdom have pet health care insurance is because of an act passed in 1971. In the United Kingdom dog owners are liable for any accident that their pet is found responsible for. This means that if a dog darts out into traffic and causes a seven car pile up the dog’s owner is responsible for paying all the damages. Unwilling to dip into their own pickets to cover their pet’s misadventures pet owners in the United Kingdom purchase something called third party insurance. Third party insurance is a simply a liability insurance specifically geared to pet owners.

Many American pet owners don’t realize that there are similar pet liability insurance plans available in the United States. Pet owners who would like to purchase pet liability insurance to cover any damages their pets might be responsible rather should be aware that certain breeds of dogs are listed as high risk insurance cases and the owners will be required to pay extra high insurance policies.

It is unclear why more pet owners in the United States don’t purchase pet health insurance. One possibility is that pet owners simply don’t understand exactly how expensive pet health care is. Fifteen minutes spent in a veterinarian’s office can sometimes cost as much as a hundred dollars. When a pet owner finds themselves facing the cost of an emergency surgery or has to take their family pet to a university hospital to have an illness treated they quickly find themselves whishing they had something to help cover the enormous vet bill. All too often pet owners who find themselves in an emergency situation are forced to euthanize their beloved pet for economic reasons.

Pet owners who are city dwellers probably feel that they don’t need to worry about something like pet health insurance because they can’t possibly for see when they would need it. Their pets live inside, what could possibly happen to them. What these pet owners don’t realize is that illness can sometimes affect house pets the hardest because their immune systems haven’t had a chance to build up any resistance.

Farmers and ranchers have a very clear cut idea of how fast and accident and how expensive vet care is. Most of them would like to insure the health of their pets but there simply isn’t enough extra money to afford the monthly premiums. Ranchers and farmers also tend to have a working knowledge of illnesses and injuries that lets them treat their pets on their own.