Too often I see friends who had an emergency fund or thought they were otherwise set to take care of unexpected vet bills to watch it blown away in a matter of weeks.
I was there, done that. We set up a savings account for Jasmine’s medical emergencies too. I talked to her vet, we discussed the costs of potential emergency procedures or surgeries. We had five thousand dollars.
I quickly found out that the amount was grossly underestimated. The money was gone in a blink of an eye. Then all the money available in credit were gone. Jasmine’s veterinary costs added up to $75,000 in five years. That’s counting only since she reached the age of five.
How long does an emergency fund last?
We thought we didn’t need insurance.
We thought that if we put the money we’d pay for the premium into a savings account that we’d be set. But we weren’t. Just one true emergency came to $12,000. Some emergencies can be even more expensive than that.
Take a look at an example list of treatment costs covered by Trupanion.
Example claims and veterinary costs
| Patellar luxation | $ 4,012 |
| Glaucoma | $ 5,805 |
| Hip dysplasia | $ 7,815 |
| Diabetes | $ 10,496 |
| GI foreign body | $ 2,964 |
| Gastric dilation volvulus (GDV) | $ 3,525 |
| Parvovirus | $ 5,084 |
| CCL tear | $ 5,439 |
| Cancer/chemotherapy | $ 5,351 |
| Acute liver failure | $ 5,543 |
Source: Trupanion
Insuring JD
Watching the bills mount we quickly got medical insurance for JD while he was still healthy.
He has been quite healthy but even his medical costs added up, last with his mast cell tumor. We could have probably have taken care of it for less but we are only comfortable with going all out in order to do what is best for the dog.
Related articles:
Getting On The Pet Health Insurance Wagon: Does Being Insured Equal Being Covered?
Insuring Cookie
We insured Cookie right after we adopted her.
If you’re going to get insurance, you best get it before your dog collects any preexisting conditions. Lucky too, because Cookie has presented with quite a few challenges over time. The latest one, iliopsoas injury, combined with issues in sacroiliac and lumbosacral joints, as well as partially tearing her cruciate ligament at some point, has been a long journey of diagnostics and treatments.
Having the insurance, we can take care of her with whatever we believe is best.
Yes, having full coverage with no limits does come with relatively stiff premiums. But that’s a cost which is distributed evenly over time. What we get for that is the peace of mind that we can face whatever fate might throw her way head-on.
Related articles:
Cookie Too Is Insured With Trupanion
Consider it carefully
I’m presently helping a friend raise funds for treatment of her dog.
I know the desperate feeling too well. Funds are gone and a dog needs continuing care. If the dog is to live and have any chance for a decent quality of life, the expense is going to be substantial.
What do you do?
You do whatever you can. And if you’re really lucky you get to do what it takes.
I think having an emergency fund or savings account is a nice idea. But from where I stand it’s never going to be enough if things really go wrong.
Can you afford to have an uninsured dog?
Related articles:
Getting On The Pet Health Insurance Wagon: Does Being Insured Equal Being Covered?
Further reading:
Do You Need a Pet Emergency Fund?