I was thinking about getting pet insurance for my 3yr old chihuahua. I was looking at the VPI pet insurance through my company for about twenty dollars a month. I know it sounds crazy but my dog recently jumped off the couch funny and started limping. I thought it was a sprain but I am thinking it might be a torn ACL now. Insurance makes you open a policy out for twelve months min before an ACL tear claim can be filled, in the event he actually has that. Does anybody have any experience with pet insurance?

 

Sorry I can't help, but bump to help fix your dog.

 

Thanks bro..

afternoon bump for el chihuahua. No dog owners in here?

 

getting pet insurance at this point, specifically for the bad leg, does you no good unless you are going to wait twelve months to take the dog to the vet.

 

I say its well worth it. Im looking into getting insurance on my 3 month old toy poodle. This breed tends to have problems and right now its suffering from an ear infection and it also has an allergic reaction to flea bites. $20 a month is nothing compared to what you may have to pay for later on down the road. I have heard off ppl paying thousands for operations, and if they had insurance they would have only payed a few hundred. Its definately something you should get if you plan on keeping your dog for a long time.

 

I guess it's worth it, I have never had it on any of my animals. If they were injured and it was real bad then we put them to sleep.

 

It would have been a total waste on my last dog even with my spending $1000 on her in her last month of life to try and figure out why she was so sick. She lived almost 11 years so with a premium of $20 a month, which I am sure would go up during those 11 years, that's over $2600 in premiums and I doubt I spent much more than $1500 on her vet bills ($1000 of that in the last month). I get her shots for cheap at a local clinic and I probably took her in to the vet less than five times for illnesses or injuries. She had a slipped disk twice that steroids and rest took care of and had a skin problem that I took her in a few times for.

The point of insurance is to make money so they will on average pay out less than what they bring in. The question is whether you want to take the risk that you will be one of the few that collects more than you pay in or let them take that risk. This is really true of any insurance that you're not required to get.

 

Good point. I will need to get an x-ray and see what exactly is up with my dog's leg.

 

We spend about $175-$200 a year on vet bills for STARR! our 90# White German Shepherd. This is mostly for her heartworm ($5 per pill/monthly) and flea meds ($12 per treatment ~1.5 to 2 months) and a yearly checkup.

 

Pet insurance is like all other insurances. You only need it when you need it. I use Paetsmarts on our two dogs and cats. They keep you up to date on your shots and get your animal checked out regularly. I like it. But again, it is more peice of mind and the hope that you dont need to use it.

I had a white boxer onece that was given to me. It had heartworm, hookworm and roundworm. Cost me $600+ to get him back to health.