Resources and Pets
10/19/05

Health care for your four legged family members is getting expensive. This fact is driven by numerous factors including the rising cost of individual services but also the increased level of care available for pets. I encourage all potential pet owners to give this some thought before you give in to the kids and get them each a puppy and a kitten.

How many resources are you willing and able to devote to your pets. Many of us become extremely attached to our pets to the point of dependence. Our mental and even physical health is positively affected by our relationships with our pets. In the extremely fortunate circumstance that our pet avoids major injury or illness during his or her youth and adulthood, father time will always exact his toll. It is during our pets twilight years that their health care costs typically peak.

Is it worth $25, $50 or $75 per month to you and your family to provide pain relief for old Fido when he lives in constant arthritic pain without it? Is your family willing to devote the time and resources for annual dental care for Poopsie if it means she will live an average of two years longer? How much are you able and willing to pay to get regular laboratory workups for your pets so that your veterinarian is able to diagnose and treat disease in the early stages when it’s most treatable?

These are difficult questions that ideally are first considered when you’re picking which is the cutest puppy in the litter, not when your beloved family pet is laying on the exam table with a big tumor on his or her spleen. Talk to your local veterinarian about the costs of health care; find out what pet health insurance costs and what it covers; be prepared to make those tough decisions that inevitably will arise when your pets need you the most.