VoI 11, Issue 4	Save a Life, Adopt a Greyhound!			August 2006
PET INSURANCE REVISITED By Michelle Doehr Note from Editor: Following are excerpts from Michelle’s wonderful article in “GREYT TALES”, The Spring 2006 Greyhound Connection Newsletter. Unfortunately we don’t have room to reprint it all. Please visit greyhoundconnection.org to view the entire article. As a pet owner, you need to know about pet insurance, for your greyhound and for your other pets. …You’ll want to have a list of questions ready before you call for a quote. The answers that you get will help you to pick the best policy for both your pets and your budget.... …All insurance policies…increase in cost as the coverage increases. A sad but true fact: the better the coverage you want, the more you will pay. …All of these companies offer great “middle of the road” plans that cover most pet health situations. Ask the insurance representative what is their most popular plan, then move up or down to find the coverage that gives you the peace of mind you want at an affordable price. Picture a spreadsheet: along the top row will be the names of the three pet insurance companies, Petshealth, VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance), and Petcare/Sheltercare. In the left hand column will be the row of questions you need answered: annual and per incident coverage limits, deductibles, routine checkups & vaccination coverage, prescription drugs and diets, accident coverage, pre-existing condition limitations, dental cleaning and surgery, reimbursement procedures, how premiums and coverage change when your pet is a senior, what age is considered senior, and the policy’s annual cost. All three of these companies offer from four to six indemnity plans. An indemnity plan means that you may choose any veterinarian, and that you yourself pay the vet for the entire bill on the date of service. Then your vet fills out a claim form that you sign and mail in, and the insurance company mails a reimbursement check to you within 2 to 3 weeks. All of the plans charge more for “specialty” pet breeds, and unfortunately, greyhounds are in this category. All companies change their coverage for “senior pets”, at 6 years for specialty breeds, 8 years for other dogs, and up to 12 years for cats. Some raise the monthly premium for senior pets, while others increase the deductibles and/or lower the coverage percentages. All offer a standard discount of 5 to 10% for additional pets, and charge a fee if you pay premiums monthly instead of annually. …Be sure to double-check the “pre-existing condition” limits, they vary from one company to another, so ask about them! If your pet has been treated for a disease or injury within a certain amount of time before the start of your policy, the coverage could be decreased or even declined until you have held that policy for a minimum amount of time… …Another issue to ask about is dental cleaning coverage. This is a concern for many greyhound owners, so it could be an important factor when you choose a policy. Find out if dental cleanings are covered, and if so, how often. More importantly, what is the maximum dental cleaning charge that they will reimburse, and what is the deductible. For example, when pricing a teeth cleaning with anesthesia, 100% of $130 is not as good as a reimbursement level as 80% of $320. Find out if dental extractions and surgery, along with the anesthesia, are covered for tooth decay and accidents. Don’t forget about prescription medication coverage also! Something else you should be concerned about, because your vet sure will be, is the “coverage chart.” …If the allowable coverage limits are low, you will be reimbursed for a smaller percentage of the vet’s actual charges than if the coverage limits are higher. …The pet insurance companies should make their complete coverage chart available to you, and not act as though it is a big secret. If you already have a vet that you like,…call the vet and ask if they know which company pays the best reimbursements to its customers. …Plan coverage levels are quoted in three categories: routine, illness, and accident. Routine is simply annual checkups and vaccinations. Illness coverage is for the diagnostics, lab tests and surgery necessary to treat an illness (remember to check if the policy has cancer coverage). … Accident coverage… also includes treatment and surgery for the silly things dogs do, like eating inedible things, fights and frolics, and crashing into sliding doors. …All of the pet insurance companies have websites… First, review their websites to bring yourself up to speed on the different plans. Then call them for more details using the list of questions on your spreadsheet. This telephone call will also give you some clues as to how you will be treated when it comes time to file a claim. Are their representatives patient and pleasant, or are they just trying to make a quick sale? …The bottom line when it comes to pet insurance, as with so many other things in life, is that you have to decide how much money you want to spend every month for what amount of coverage? …Just an hour or two of your time – plus those monthly premiums – could be all it takes to have a pet insurance policy that protests you from catastrophic veterinary bills. Petshealth Care Plan petshealthplan.com - 800-807-6724 VPI – Veterinary Pet Insurance petinsurance.com - 888-899-4VPI Petcare/Sheltercare petcareinsurance.com - 866-275-7387 OUR BOY, LEITER By Kim Brown In January, I wasn’t so thrilled with my husband, Chris, looking at the Hemopet Adoption site. It had nothing to do with having a dog but the emotional pain of giving up our two greyhounds when we were blessed with a second child. Having an older child with special needs, school, caring for our baby daughter, full time work, the stress of childcare and overall everyday life was not good for our greys, Zeret and Jazzy. They weren’t getting the attention they needed and it wasn’t fair to them. Within a week of our decision to give them a less stressful life, they were adopted and adjusted happily to their new home. We missed them terribly for over two years. Lei’s description caught Chris’s attention. Of course, the next thing I knew was the planned trip to Garden Grove. We arrived, feeling odd due to the experience with Zeret and Jazzy, not knowing if we might be looked upon as unacceptable “parents.” We were reassured, and were ushered into the meeting room. Lei came in to greet us. He climbed up on the couch and quickly proceeded to snuggle me. Well, it was all over at that point. We made an additional trip with our cat to ensure his safety. The cat quickly took control during the brief meet and greet, and Lei was ours. Lei, formerly Lei Day, and now Leiter (Later), was trying at first. Having come right from the kennel, he needed to be house trained. We had our fair share of accidents in the early weeks. Leiter hadn’t been introduced to stairs and was totally inept at negotiating them. He would use giant leaps with seven to eight at a time. We put a rug at the bottom for skid support to his landing zone. Well, he learned quickly, and became a beloved family member traveling with us everywhere. He needed his people and we found we needed him. In the early evening of May 15th, I was in the kitchen fixing dinner. I was smiling about the fact that I was home with family and all was well. Our ten year old son was playing in our backyard, and Leiter was trying to help me with the food. I wasn’t looking for his kind of “assistance” and quickly sent him out to play in the backyard too. We live in the Rancho Santa Margarita area, and have a slope with heavy vegetation that backs up to the yard surrounded by a 5-1/2’ wrought iron fence. At about 7:00pm we saw our son playing near his trampoline in the corner of the yard, and Leiter was running toward him. A split second later we heard him yelp loudly and continuously. I looked outside and saw a large ball of hunched and fluffy fur run past the back door. Our neighbor was standing in the family room and saw the “cat” jump the fence into the next yard. My husband ran to Leiter who was still crying and found his left side had a 15-inch laceration beginning just over the spine and arcing to the belly. He was in a great deal of pain. He had been skinned and I could see his chest wall. Upon my husband’s touch, he stopped crying but shook. We loaded him up and transported him to the Mission Viejo Emergency Vet located off Marguerite Pkwy. Under the exceptional care of Dr. Laura Daniels, Leiter was immediately attended to and the wound cleaned and closed. The next morning Leiter was stretchered to Antonio Animal Hospital for additional treatment. During the commotion of helping Leiter, we realized that the attacking animal was either a bobcat or mountain lion, and Leiter may have saved our son from serious injury or even worse. Our son never saw the cat in the backyard as he had his back turned. However, he was only ten to fifteen feet away. Examination of the injuries showed Leiter put up a good struggle. In addition to his side, he had nicks out of both front paws, a small injury on his head, and several on the exterior and interior of his back legs. After fifty staples to repair the wound, and a week of excellent care by Dr. Earl and staff at the Antonio Animal Hospital in Rancho Santa Margarita, our greatly loved greyhound came home. Dr. Earl’s expertise led him to believe the injury was caused by a bobcat. Coincidentally, just two weeks later and a mile up from us, his neighbor observed a bobcat jump a seven foot fence only to kill and leave with the family dog. It may be the same one who visited our yard. I can’t put into words the depth of gratitude I have for our boy Leiter. Of course, I’m thrilled my husband visited the Hemopet website. It’s really true… save a life, adopt a greyhound. Allon & Alice Greene for their loss of their special Hope Mike & Susan Jackson for their loss of 15 year old Sweetie Shannon & Linda Gaffney for their loss of Happy ♥ Juan Luna & Marina Castillo for their unfortunate early loss of Louie Simon & Roxanne Whitmey for the loss of 13 year old Indi Kevin & Debbie Yeckley for their loss of Angus Betty de la Rosa & Dwight Elliott for their loss of the marvelous Mr. Chip Larry & Linda Brown for their loss ofCowboy Shotty Jerry & Marlene Abraschinsky for the loss of their 17 year old Lucky Ray & Stacy Macaluso for their loss of the phenomenal Speedy II Pablo & Maria Sotoj for the early loss of Sidney Nancy Madigan for her loss of the stoic Whittier
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