By Mike Roche
In the year In 2000, my first Frenchman, Brittany Lilly, broke her penis in a serious accident. It happened over the weekend, and we were sent to an emergency animal hospital in Springfield. Lily was a very good young bird dog at the time and no doubt this rescuer was willing to do whatever it took to care for her and get her back into action.
The drive to the hospital was very stressful, but the vet did a great job starting with the “bedside pose” with both the dog and her stressed out husband. The surgery, which involved inserting a stainless steel rod into the bone, was successful and the dog had external strength for months. When it was finally removed, she quickly recovered and pretended nothing had happened to her for the past seven years of her life. She is the standard by which the French Brits who have followed her (Dina, Lanny and now Tessie) will be judged. She was a brave dog!
The cost of the surgery put a strain on this school teacher’s budget. A few more part-time jobs and we were solvent. At the time, one of my side jobs was writing for a new internet magazine called “Outdoors Today”. My research on pet insurance resulted in a feature article and lots of information about pet insurance. The new and growing industry was just starting and there were a couple of pioneering companies. With all this research you’d think my dog would be covered. is not!
Lily had some minor cuts during her hunt, but nothing major. Dina, who came aboard when Lily was diagnosed with breast cancer, had a few setbacks. A serious leg cut requires a trip to the vet and a quick trip to the vet. Did she have pet insurance? No again. Then came Lani. She quickly revealed that she chewed things herself. She started by swallowing the whole 40 feet of parachute cord that was the lead. Fortunately, Pat Perry gave me some advice on using mineral oil and the rope was in the pen, neatly and bundled up in the morning, so no trip to the vet was necessary.
But for Lani, that was just the beginning. Anything carelessly left, such as socks and especially women’s underwear, was lost and often found on the lawn. Unfortunately, it wasn’t always like that. Twice the item did not come out and surgery was required. The money could have bought a couple of nice guns or a boat. Her brilliant husband still didn’t have insurance. With the arrival of Tessa, it’s time to look again at pet insurance.
In fact, he spent over a month looking into pet insurance. As everyone knows, the Internet has a lot of information on all topics, but systematic and sponsored reviews buy good reviews. Doing product comparisons was boring. Brands include Pumpkin, Figo, Lemon, Many Pets, SPOT, Wagmo, Healthpaws, Paws, ASPCA, Embrace, MetLife and Trupanion. They are all similar and each has its benefits, but it was confusing to say the least. Also confusing is the fact that there are insurance products that pay for medical procedures and treatments, as well as pet health care products that cover routine visits and care. After all was said and done, my goals were firstly to avoid a “big ticket” surgical event and secondly, to control my annual vet expenses. The dogs receive regular checkups and all available vaccinations and immunizations. Dogs should be protected against diseases such as rabies, Lyme disease and leptospirosis and flea and tick preventatives and parasites by pet owners.
In the end the choice was Trupanion. There were several factors that sold me. My ability to choose your level of care (and thus cost), automatic physician payment (and comprehensive coverage of vets nationwide), and a well-trained 24-hour staff to answer your calls. In my experience, pets are not a problem during regular business hours! In hindsight, I wish I had called Trupaion first. Susan McKendrick, who answered my calls, listened, understood the information I needed and answered my questions clearly. Hopefully, we’ll never need to use insurance, but at this point it’s a small price to pay for protection!
My second choice was to try to control my annual expenses for Tessie by using the Care Club program at Adams Animal Hospital. Basically, you pay up front for the most common vaccinations, tests and treatments. Included are two tests, Distemper, Bordetella, Rabies, Lyme Leptospirosis and flu shots, blood tests and urinalysis and microchip implantation. Tessie visited this week and it was nice to have her at no cost. Even better, you can pay for the plan every month with no interest! Maybe after all these years this writer has gotten smarter.
This Sunday, Orange County is holding its annual Kid’s Fishing Derby at Club Ponds on West River Street in Orange. Fishing for all ages will be from 9-11 and is free to all. With two ponds filled with hungry trout and all age groups fishing at the same time, every kid gets a prize and enjoys free hot dogs and soda. The club does a good job, and all the children enjoy the joy of fishing.
Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife all his life. Since 1984, he has written the Sportsman’s Corner and served as an advisor to the Maharfish N Game Club, a consultant and director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, a former representative of the Connecticut Valley District on the Massachusetts Board of Fisheries and Wildlife, and a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor. And is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at [email protected].