Dog Articles

There’s no question you are a responsible pet owner. You’ve taken all the steps to create a safe environment and are vigilant about keeping your pet healthy. However, no matter how much you prepare, there is always the possibility that your pet will develop an unexpected illness or become accidentally injured, prompting an unplanned trip to the vet. And it’s important to have a financial plan in place if this happens.

Many pet owners still don’t understand how expensive it can be to treat an unexpected illness or injury. Here below are some actual pet emergencies and the costs associated with their treatment. After the actual costs of some of these cases I've put the typical range of costs for the conditions, as there can be a lot of variability based on how severely affected a particular pet is, your geographic location, the type of practice/hospital treatment is obtained at, and a wide host of other factors.

• Cat bite abscess (cat): $1,250  [common range: ~$300-2,000]
• Hit-by-car (dog): $5,600  [common range: ~$750-10,000+]
• Urethral obstruction (cat): $2,700  [common range: ~$500-3,500]
• Toxin ingestion (ate mushrooms, dog): $6,500  [common range: ~$2,500-10,000+]
• Heatstroke (dog): $4,200  [common range: ~$2,000-8,000]
• Gastrointestinal foreign body surgery (ate a diaper, dog): $3,275  [common range: ~$1,000-5,000]
• Vomiting and diarrhea (pancreatitis, dog): $3,000  [common range: ~$300-6,000+]
• Diabetic Ketoacidosis (cat): $4,600  [common range: ~$3,000-6,000]
• Back surgery for ruptured disc (dog): $5,600  [common range: ~$3,500-7,000]

The most common question pet owners ask about pet insurance is: "Is pet insurance worth it?" It’s a valid question and one worth exploring.

I think that people often have the wrong attitude about pet insurance. For example, it's not uncommon for someone to say they would rather just open up a savings account to pay their veterinary expenses rather than "waste" money on pet insurance premiums. This person doesn't understand the purpose of pet insurance.