Pet Insurance

I have had an amazing school holiday! I had the most amazing time doing work experience, I met loads of new people and gained valuable experience.  I worked with horses, at a kennels and at a small animal vets.  One thing that struck me at the vets was the distress when people find the massive bill waiting for them at the end and not being insured.  

From what I have seen I would never not have an animal insured.  I have seen bills stack up to thousands of pounds worth of treatment (luckily those owners were insured!) But many are not and especially with bigger animals, the cost of general anaesthetic for a bigger animal costs hundreds in itself! 

You may be sat thinking 'but why would my perfectly healthy animal ever need general anesthetic' but going back to the post I made earlier after a talk on gum disease, I was watching operations and consultations for a week at a local practice and almost every day there was a dental in and almost every single animal that came in that week over the age of 10 had gum disease. Then the cost starts stacking up because to put an older animal under GA (general anaesthetic) is a risk so most practices would recommend taking blood samples to check organ function and the level of red and white blood cells so reduce the risk (but they cost around £70) and then on top of that is the cost for the procedure and a simple tooth extraction due to gum disease can cost a substantial amount!  Leaving the tooth in would not be an option if it was grade IV gingivitis as although they seem fine, some will refuse food which causes severe weight loss and it will be causing them pain but they just cannot say like we can.  

That is just the common problems that stack up to substantial amounts, if anything unexpectedly happens to your pet emergency vet treatment can leave a huge hole in your pocket and I find that it is better to be safe than sorry.  

Of course each pet is different so depending on which insurance you use prices will vary so you need to find the cover best suited for your needs and cheaper cover doesn't cover as much but the more expensive may be ridiculous etc. My dog is covered at around £10 a month which is reasonable and better than getting the huge bill if anything does happen.  But I would from personal experience check out pet insurance if you are not already insured.*

*I am not saying you MUST as some people may not find pet insurance a financially viable route as the cost of treatment may be cheaper than the insurance itself but I do recommend you look into it.