Pet Insurance?

[swanny]

Anybody have and had to use it? How well does it work? Wondering if it might be worth starting after my lab was attacked by my brother in laws American Bull Dog over the weekend.

Originally we thought all was okay, but that isn't the case. The vet bills are going to be around 1k when all said and done, if not a little more. We thought she was doing alright, until I was petting her Saturday evening, about three hours later and noticed a gash about 1" long and 1/4" deep, plus several other small cuts. After getting stitches Saturday night everything seemed fine, she was just tired, but my wife is having to take her in this morning. She was shaking non-stop this morning, kind of a nervous type shake and just acting really strange, she couldn't get comfortable laying down at all this morning and had the saddest look on her face. Vet suggested bringing her in today, instead of our scheduled Thursday appointment to check her out.

Anyways, curious on thoughts about insurance for the future maybe.

[10Key]

Our pup made six trips to the vet in our first three months of owning him, some were freak accident trips, others were us being first-pup parents. Anyways, the bills were racking up and we shopped insurance. Most plans run between $25 and $50/month and require a deductible of varying amounts. The problem is, the deductible usually applies to EACH condition. So in our case, even if we had insurance for the six trips we made, insurance would not have kicked in because each visit was for a different condition.

We came to the consensus that most pet insurance is good for the big things, not so much for the little things. We have a plan that in about $30/month and we plan on keeping it as we are in the field a ton and you just never know when your pup is going to wrestle a barbed-wire fence or get attacked by a bulldog.

[swanny]

Hmm...for the cost of up to $50 a month, it seems a bit steep.

Luckily she hasn't ever been one to need the vet's office to often, this has just been one big hit and very quick so it got me thinking for the future.

Thanks for your input! 

[follow maggie]

I don't carry it.  It can be expensive and doesn't seem to cover much.  And my vet is priced pretty reasonably.