I have faced putting many pets down and also watched horses I have worked with being shot It is sad but you deal with it , maybe I just don't get attached like some
Exactly what I always said until faced with loosing my 10 year old best mate Rottweiler who had been with me through thick and thin since being 8 weeks old. He was diagnosed with terminal bladder cancer by my local vet. A friend of the family checked him over and offered an operation at the Liverpool veterinary university as she felt they could save him. We were due to go there on the Monday, he died Sunday morning with his head in my lap. I lost a big piece of myself that day.[/QUOTE] It's odd isn't it, and with what Char says, some really enjoy there pets company and others it becomes something else entirely. My sister had a Spaniel for 12 years, he was the most lovely character but her husband used to travel a lot (3-6 months were the longest) and the dog became her world, we were all heartbroken when we lost him, something about him was like loosing a best friend. I have always believed that the brave thing to do is to let the animal go if it's in pain or it's quality of life is ruined, to keep it is doing it for yourself and not the happiness of the pet. But I have also had my puppy 1 week now and he is like a best friend already, I just think that I am going to have some great times with him. But on topic, the pet insurance for me has to be cheap enough to afford but just solid enough that if something completely curable comes up but it's a massive operation the sting is taken out of our wallets. if it was terminal cancers etc then I would put him down, I can't see them loose there dignity (as much as something that licks his own willy in public can have!).
With insurance - cat or dog is treated............without insurance - cat or dog usually put down. That aside: We have had five cats.... Cat No.1 No Insurance - knocked over - Dead Cat No.2 No Insurance - knocked over - badly broken leg - very expensive operation and pins / recovered well. Cat No.2 No Insurance - knocked over again - Dead Cat No.3 Insured with MoreThan - had repeated cancerous growth issues; one or two removed; more major one found, partly removed - lived on well for another 5 years - All paid for part from excess. No arguments, but some items queried. Cat No.4 Insured with More Than - Two minor issues (dehydrates in hot weather and requires vet treatment) - All paid for. No arguments, but some items queried. Cat No.5 Insured with PetPlan - Chipped pelvis: Vet treatment / hospitalisation and specialist consultation / - caged for 6 weeks - End result absolutely fine - All paid for no questions. Cat No 5 Insured with PetPlan - Knocked over - Cracked pelvis; broken jaw; broken tooth: Emergency Vet treatment / Emergency Specialist Treatment / Hospitalisation / Caged four weeks - Absolutely fine now, but arthritic tablets required - All paid for, no questions - Annual limit with Pet Plan - This bill was about £4000.
If your vet ramps up the price when it's being paid by the insurance then change your vet ! It's unethical at the very least, and fraud at worst. Pet Plan are pretty good. As for whether to have insurance at all - consider this : most decent insurers will cover things like you getting sued if your pet causes an accident, having to cancel your holiday if your pet is seriously ill, helping pay for the return of your poet if it gets lost and a whole load of other things as well as vets' bills. It would take a long time before the "bung £20 a month in the building society instead" idea could afford to pay for any of that...
Insurance companies are like casino owners, the odds are fixed in their favour. Yes there are winners but most people lose.
My 91 year old nan has just paid out £600 on a bowel and bladder hernia op on her little fox terrier Never had insurance and luckily she could afford to pay it He is her life companion but get her to pay insurance :-/ no way
Our Cats have been generally uninsured. The bastards have cost me a fortune over the years. I dont begrudge the little tykes though. I love cats. (i love dogs too but we are both at work all day, cats sort themselves out)
