Oscar the Cocker Spaniel
CREATISTA/shutterstock
The Patient: Oscar, an 11-year-old buff male Cocker Spaniel, arrived at our hospital at 8:45 on a Thursday night
after being transferred from his primary care veterinarian.
He was not eating, was vomiting and had had tarry stool
for a few days. Oscar had knee surgery about 14 months
before. He’d been arthritic and was given medications to
help ease his pain.
Initial Exam: Upon examination, Oscar was weak and
quiet with a tense belly. His blood work showed a marked
anemia (a low red blood cell count), dehydration and low
blood pressure. After starting treatment for shock with IV
fluids, an abdominal ultrasound by a board-certified radiologist showed that Oscar had a perforated loop of bowel,
probably caused by one of the medications he had been
on. Oscar would require emergency surgery from one of
our surgical specialists, but first, he had to be stabilized.
In addition to the IV fluids we had already started, Oscar
needed a blood transfusion.
Treatment: Oscar’s owners were given an estimate for
the approximate cost of his stay: $8,000 to $9,000, with
no guarantee he would make it through the ordeal. The
alternative was euthanasia because without surgery, Oscar
would die.
This was an excruciating decision for the young couple in their late 20s, who loved Oscar but who were not
wealthy people. Oscar was part of their family, but was
also not a young dog. After thinking about it for a couple
of hours and making several phone calls, they decided to
go through with the treatment. After a five-day hospital
stay and a couple of setbacks, Oscar slowly trotted out
of the hospital.
Diagnosis: Perforation of the small intestine. Surgical
removal of affected intestines.
Cost: $8,733
If you start
preparing how
you will pay for
emergency vet
care today, then
you can focus
more on your
sick dog when
the emergency
does happen,
rather than
worrying about
paying the bills.
As with human health care, the cost of the plan
usually increases with the age of the insured. But
otherwise, pet health insurance generally works differently than most human health insurance plans.
In almost all instances, the pet owner is required
to pay the bill first, then submit the information
to the insurance company for reimbursement. So,
there is still an immediate out-of-pocket cost when
an emergency or serious illness arises, but will be
reimbursed.
SAVINGS ACCOUNT. If you are not interested in
purchasing pet health insurance, you might consider
building your own health care fund for your dog. Each
year, put aside a set amount of money, say $500 or
so per dog, to be used for emergency care or serious
illness only. Allow the funds to accumulate so that by
the time the dog is 10 years old, for example, you will
have $5,000 in the fund.
Too often, when we think about the cost of owning a dog, we consider the cost of annual checkups,
grooming, boarding, food and toys. We don’t build in
the cost of emergencies or serious illness, and yet,
that is a real cost that most of us will encounter. Just
as the care available for our dogs has evolved, our
thinking and planning for that care needs to change.
Whether it’s through in surance or a special savings
account, it’s important we each have a plan. DIR
September 2016 Dogs In Review
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