I was curious about how the pet health insurance industry is doing so I did a Google search (have yet to get used to Bing, but I hear it's a good engine, also)...and anyway, I ended up on the About.com: Veterinary Medicine site which has loads of information on this topic.
Just for fun, I took Dr. Janet Tobiassen Crosby, DVM's poll, which asks: Do you have insurance for your pets? My answer had to be "no, but maybe someday" as I will have it when we get a new dog, but I don't have it now. (btw, David Goodnight, President and Chief Operating Officer for PurinaCare® Pet Health Insurance has an interview on Dr. Tobiassen Crosby's site).
Once you take the poll, you're offered the results and I was a bit surprised by the results.
Here are the possible answers: (1) Yes, for all my pets, (2) Yes, for some of my pets, (3) No, but maybe someday, (4) No, it is a waste of money, (5) Trying to find a plan that fits and frustrated!
Interestingly, the biggest response was for #5. The second biggest response was my answer, and the number three response was, "Yes, for all of my pets."
This highlightsa lot of what we talk about on this blog. We talk about how to choose a good pet health insurance plan and we discuss what comes with your PurinaCare policy, depending on what policy you choose. Dr. Larry and Dr. Bill have given us ample stories in a number of podcasts about pets that were able to be properly treated for disease, accidents, or emergencies, because their owners invested in pet health insurance with PurinaCare.
The fact that folks are still looking for good pet health insurance but they are frustrated, tells me we are on the right track in describing the pet health plans offered by PurinaCare and how they work. And, it also tells me that we need to get the word out better, to help people understand what their insurance policy actually covers.
Interestingly, the "no, it's a waste of money" answer was the second least clicked. And, "yes, for some of my pets" was the second least clicked reponse, which could mean folks insure their cats and dogs but not their birds. I do not know if there is bird pet health insurance. I know that PurinaCare is for cats and dogs.
While there are not a lot of answers to this poll (only 22), the answers I saw gave me a strong feeling of encouragement. The pet community is definitely tuned in to the benefits of pet health insurance. Now, we just need to let them know we offer simple, easy-to-understand explanations of pet health insurance right here, on the PurinaCare blog.
Purina sponsors the National Dog Show every year on Thanksgiving Day (I watchted last year and will watch again this year) and it's better than...almost anything. It certainly beats reality shows with "humans". Ok, there are humans in the National Dog Show, but they are eclipsed by the dogs.
David Frei, who returns as one of the show commentators (along with John O'Hurley - former actor who portrayed J. Peterman on Seinfeld), says, "If you have a dog, it's the alma mater factor; you compare your own dog lying on the sofa next to you with the Champion Retriever or Brittany you see on TV."
I'm not sure I agree completey with that. First of all, my dogs are not allowed on the sofa (sorry, my house, my rules and yes, I love my dog just as much as you love yours), and second of all -
I'm a mixed breed gal. Champions are beautiful and wonderful and just as lovable, but my dogs are shelter dogs and they are most often mixed breed. (that could change - with some people reluctantly surrending their precious ones to shelters today, we may be able to rescue a Greyhound or terrier or other full-bred dog in CO)
The best part of this story, besides the great TV viewing, is that David Frei is now talking about how and why he certified his own dogs as therapy dogs, a topic we've discussed before, on this blog and the Scratchings and Sniffings blog. "The non-profit program," writes Steve Dale of the St. Louis Today website, "began as a charitable activity of the Westminster Kennel Club, but today supports therapy dog activities at 11 sites, including Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in New York City; Ronald McDonald Houses in New York City and Milwaukee, WI; St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN..." among others.
Says Frei, "I can't even count the number of times a little child in the hospital has smiled or laughed because a dog is there."
Truer words were never spoken - kids, adults, seniors - we all smile when a dog "is there." Because dogs bring love into our lives.
The program is Angel on a Leash and Rufus, the Colored Bull Terrier who won the 2005 dog show, and went on to be awarded Best in Show the following February, at Westminster, is now a certified therapy dog who works mostly with children.
During this year's National Dog Show Frei will talk about "his" therapy dogs and why therapy dogs are so valuable.
Maybe he'll even mention that many recent Westminster winners have become therapy dogs. Why? Let's let him tell us.
See you on Thanksgiving day, in front of the TV: NBC, 11 a.m. Central Time.
For lots of baseball fans the words "wait til next year" bespeak the eternal optimism of the fan. We may have lost out this year but we'll get em next year for sure. Readers that live in Chicago and follow the Cubs learn this phrase shortly after they mutter "mama and dada."
Other fans, myself included, that lose out in the playoffs, prefer something like, "We was robbed!" to convey our sense of loss. For us, "We was robbed," is invariably followed by, "Just wait til next year."
We have a lot of dogs and cats in our immediate neighborhood. When Tom and I are out walking, we're very often greeted by barks from little dogs and big dogs, stuck behind chain-linked fences. All of them are pretty loud in their early morning hellos, and when they tire of barking at us, they run around their yards barking at each other.
Just the other day I came across this article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel about another neighborhood full of pets. Dan Harper, the writer, says, "If you want to love your neighbors, you'd better love their pets." And he then goes on to describe his neighborhood as a pet circus. One he and his wife, apparently, enjoy watching but not actually participating in. They do not own any pets.
Harper's article is both funny and informative. The reality of how we pet people like to treat our dogs and cats like royalty, sometimes, isn't new, but can be interesting. As Harper says, "I suspect the legions of dogs and cats that walk, bark, and purr among us think we're better people than we are." And isn't that the point? Our pets love us no matter what!
I especially like the article here at Pet Well Being that talks about how pets teach us things like: (1) loyalty, and (2) being together is better than not being together, and (3) how to forgive, among many other things.
All of this is relevant because we're smack in the middle of National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, sponsored by the Humane Society of the U.S. "In the spirit of celebrating animal shelters for the tireless work they do throughout the year, November 1-11th seems fair. Please take the time over the next several days to show your appreciation to a local animal shelter."
Me, I'm going to visit and support PINC, pets in need clinic, by a local veterinarian who cares for pets in families that have lost jobs or are so badly affected by this recession, they can't afford vaccinations for their pets. She invites them to stop by her veterinary offices and she gives free exams and vaccinations. (after they fill out a few forms - to keep things honest and open, of course)
What will you do to help out during National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week?
Petopiatv.com has a video of our own Dr. Bill Craig discussing the issue of separation anxiety with a pet owner whose dog just does not like it when she leaves the room. I suspect many of us know this feeling... and have struggled to deal with a pet that doesn't want us to go anywhere without her (or him).
Luckily, we had a houseful of people when Carmie was growing up, and then, when the kids went to college and I had to go to work, she seemed to adjust rather well. Our cat, Wabby, is happy as long as someone is around to feed her on time!
But, my daughter does have issues with her Greyhound, Twiggy. So, I'll be sending her the link to this video so she can partake of Dr. Bill's advice.
