Pet Insurance? Multiple Dog Discounts?

[vjgrey]

So, my willpower is getting weak, and we're talking about thinking about chipping again (maybe). Before we do, though, we have to be completely sure of two things - 1) That the apartment complex where I stay for part of the week would allow a third dog. I'm pretty sure my lease says two, but I get the impression that may be flexible. Of COURSE I'd get that in writing before we adopted again. 2) That there's room in our budget for what's essentially (with our preadopted pup, Holly) a fourth hound. Everyday expenses - food, treats, toys - aren't a problem. I'm more concerned about the potential vet bills.

 

How do those of you with multiple hounds handle this? Would insurance help? Does your vet offer a multiple-pet discount for three or more dogs? Do you have other tips for minimizing vet expenses?

 

We give turkey necks 2-3 times a week, which has done a great job of keeping dental costs down. Diamond hasn't needed one at all, and Gabe's only dental was his first, right out of the kennel. They've both had some hugely expensive health issues (Gabe: stomach problems, a cancer scare, foot surgery and what our vet thinks - but has never confirmed - is a neurological disorder. eek!; Diamond - a reoccurring pulled neck muscle) but I have to think that's an exception, not the norm. We do have a "slush fund" in stocks that we could cash in, should we ever need to pay big bills, but I want to make sure we could cover the "normal" stuff.

 

How much, on average, can I expect a third hound to add to our vet expenses?

Edited August 6, 2008 by vjgrey

[pabozem]

Valerie, what kind of food do you feed your babies? There are about five of our group who order our food from Midwest Greyhound Supply in Abilene. If we have an order of 10 bags or more (and it doesn't have to be the same kind of food) they will deliver to Wichita. One of our group has the food delivered to her house and we go pick it up. There is a pretty good savings by ordering this way. Also, you can request a catalog from them (1-800-221-9552 or www.petandkennelsupply.com). They have heart worm and flea medication at a considerable savings too. My vet will price match things I find cheaper elsewhere, so you might check with your vet to see if that's something they want to do. My vets are in Derby, and I've never asked them about a group discount. Don't think they would do it though. If I ever get another hound, I'm definitely going to check out the pet insurance available.

[Guest zoolaine]

I enrolled my 4 dogs in July with Pet First Insurance http://www.petfirsthealthcare.com/

 

Their plan is designed for multi-dog households for example you can insure up to 3 dogs on the same plan and they share benefits. For the middle plan it cost $79 a month for 3 dogs with a $2500 per incident limit, $50 deductible, and 10% copay. The dogs share an annual limit of around $10,000. But the great thing is that each dog gets their own $220 yearly "routine" benefit. I have 4 dogs so I had to get 2 of the 2 dog plans. I figured out my last "yearly check-up, shots, bloodwork" visit will be reimbursed about $430 of a $470 vet bill. ANd after you take out the savings for the routine care it only costs about $13 a month for the accident and injury per dog. I think if you had a 3 dog plan it may work out to be even cheaper.

[vjgrey]

Valerie, what kind of food do you feed your babies? There are about five of our group who order our food from Midwest Greyhound Supply in Abilene. If we have an order of 10 bags or more (and it doesn't have to be the same kind of food) they will deliver to Wichita. One of our group has the food delivered to her house and we go pick it up. There is a pretty good savings by ordering this way. Also, you can request a catalog from them (1-800-221-9552 or www.petandkennelsupply.com). They have heart worm and flea medication at a considerable savings too. My vet will price match things I find cheaper elsewhere, so you might check with your vet to see if that's something they want to do. My vets are in Derby, and I've never asked them about a group discount. Don't think they would do it though. If I ever get another hound, I'm definitely going to check out the pet insurance available.

 

They're on Canidae Lamb and Rice for now, although they're not doing as well on the new formula. They have about half a bag left, so we'll see if they adjust.

 

Which foods are available from the supplier?

 

 

I enrolled my 4 dogs in July with Pet First Insurance http://www.petfirsthealthcare.com/

 

Their plan is designed for multi-dog households for example you can insure up to 3 dogs on the same plan and they share benefits. For the middle plan it cost $79 a month for 3 dogs with a $2500 per incident limit, $50 deductible, and 10% copay. The dogs share an annual limit of around $10,000. But the great thing is that each dog gets their own $220 yearly "routine" benefit. I have 4 dogs so I had to get 2 of the 2 dog plans. I figured out my last "yearly check-up, shots, bloodwork" visit will be reimbursed about $430 of a $470 vet bill. ANd after you take out the savings for the routine care it only costs about $13 a month for the accident and injury per dog. I think if you had a 3 dog plan it may work out to be even cheaper.

 

Thanks for the information - I'll definitely look into it. $79 a month doesn't sound bad, especially if the routine stuff is included.

 

[Guest greygirl25]

We're a big multiple hound family and this year we have been slaughtered by vet expenses, all from freaky things.

 

As of last Saturday (8/2/08) our vet expenses since January 1 have totaled $10, 808. It has wiped out our savings.

 

Two boys were neutered. In late March, Cleo went off of her feed on a Thursday. I didn't think much of it because we had a bit of a kennel sickness. Took her in Saturday, nothing really obvious. Took her back Monday for blood work, again, nothing obvious. Back Tuesday for x-rays, didn't see much, but a different vet saw her and was a little more curious. Ultrasound on Wednesday with biopsy. She had lymphoma in her liver, spleen and they suspect pancreas. We had no indication she was sick. We put her to sleep the next day.

 

Fast forward nine days. Adam quit barking at me for his dinner. I'm paranoid and back to the vet. Bloodwork almost normal. X-rays show nothing. On Wednesday, his rbc count took a nose dive to 14 (normal in the mid-fifties) Ultrasound showed nothing, diagnosis Autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Never saw it coming. He started to go into multi-system failure. More ultrasounds and an echo cardiagram. We thougth we were going to lose him, that was four months ago and today he is doing great. But, we have blood tests every other week.

 

Two weeks ago 14.5 year old Oneco quit eating. Blood tests fine, x-rays not good. Without a biopsy, we couldn't be sure what we were dealing with, but at her age, I ddn't want to put her through it. We tried lasix just in case it was congestive heart failure, she didn't respond and then we tried IV antibiotics just in case it was pneumonia. Again, she didn't respond. Last Thursday, she started coughing up blood. Vet was right, probably some lung cancer. We put her to sleep last Thursday.

 

Two nights earlier we discovered a lump just above Clancy's elbow. Wednesday I dropped Oneco off for her IV's and went home for Clancy. They did a needle aspirate on Clancy and it came back a sarcoma. So, he was scheduled for surgery last Friday. We're still waiting for the pathology report to see what happens next.

 

Thursday night, after we got done taking care of things for Oneco, we came home and let Blender out to run. We have an acre and like she does every night she ran for the back fence, only this time she came back on three legs bleeding like crazy. A quick look showed that she had almost ripped off her toenail to the first joint and the bone was exposed. Back in the car and to the vets, she was also scheduled for surgery on Friday to have the toe amputated.

 

Our vet discounts everything they can for us. They are probably one of the best clinics in town and by far the least expensive.

 

All of the events are totally unrelated and completely out of our control. We've cleaned out our savings and almost live in a state of paranoia about what is going to happen next.

 

Bottom line, I'd have every one of our greyhounds over and over again. The joy they bring us far outweighs the heartbreak and expense we have endured. I guess you just have to be prepared for what might happen.

[Guest Kitty_cat]

I guess the unplanned vet trips are out of your control, maybe make sure they wear muzzles when outside to avoid needing stitches? Some things to consider:

Are you getting the lowest prices for heartworm/flea/intestinal worm medications? I get mine from an Australian website: save lots of $$.

How often are you vaccinating? (ie: every 3 years vs yearly) and are you vaccinating for possibly unnecessary things?

Good luck!