Buddies pet insurance news team reports… a Yorkshire couple, who left their pet Border Collie unattended with an untreated ulcerated tumour while they went on holiday, have been found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering. The magistrates imposed a 12-month community order of 100 hours together with court costs of £300.
The couple had asked a 14-year-old boy to feed the bitch, but left no further instructions. Neighbours contacted the RSPCA when they became concerned. The pen which housed her was contaminated with faeces and the tumour on the leg was weeping. Fortunately, local vets were able to treat the ulcer and she has made a full recovery.
Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… A man shot dead his neighbours’ dog because he was irritated by its bark in the morning, a court has been told. Phil Bishop, a retired television executive, shot Foggy, a Bedlinton terrier, with an air rifle from the window of his study in Brinton, Norfolk . Owners Sue and Simon Currah let the dog into the garden shortly after 7am on August 1 as they got ready to take it for a walk. The animal was hit in the heart and died minutes later as the owners tried to rush it to a vet, King’s Lynn magistrates’ court was told. Mr Bishop claimed said he did not deliberately shoot the dog and insisted he was aiming for a metal bench in the garden next door in the hope of scaring the animal after it began barking. A gunsmith contradicted this story and Mr Bishop was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay his neighbours £1,750 after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to their dog.
Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… A trawler has dragged up a leg bone of a cat that was as big as a horse from the sea off the North Sea coast. The fossil is between one and two million years old and comes from the scimitar cat. It is the furthest north the species has been found. The area that is now the North Sea was once a dry steppe landscape, criss-crossed with rivers and animals such as the scimitar cat roamed there before it flooded at the end of the Ice Age. According to experts the bone came from a cat, probably a male, that weighed nearly 900 pounds or 400 kg. It probably lived in the forest that bordered the riverbanks. The remains of only one other sabre-toothed cat have been recovered from the North Sea.
Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team …A dog which fell down a 40ft crevice in the Rhymney Valley had to spend the night in the open until being rescued the following day. The springer spaniel called Lady had been with her owner in Pontiottyn when she fell at around 6pm. According to the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service Lady was rescued after noon the following day by firefighters using specialist equipment. The RSPCA and cave and mountain rescue teams had joined in the operation. Lady appeared unhurt despite her night out in the cold.
Pet insurance is designed to provide cover for unexpected visits to the vet caused by illness or accident. Owners can reduce the frequency of these nasty surprise trips by taking sensible precautions.
One of the most effective ways of preventing illness is to schedule regular health check ups. Most practices encourage these visits, they give the vet the opportunity to catch any potential problems early and administer preventative medicines such as worming and flea treatments.
A healthcare visit should include a physical exam and an opportunity for the practice to discuss with the owner issues around nutrition, exercise and behavioural training.
A recent survey by Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) which polled 4,000 customers in the US showed that 96 percent of respondents visited their vet for routine and preventative treatments once a year, with 43 percent choosing to make multiple visits. Veterinary Pet Insurance encourages this type of visit by offering a Pet WellCare Protections (SM) Plan which pays towards the cost. Some pet insurance companies in the UK have offered similar schemes in the past, but they have floundered due to a lack of interest from the pet owning public.
With no national scheme in place to support a health plan for preventative treatments, many vet practices now offer their own budgeting plans. Braid Vets in Edinburgh for example provides a health plan that includes: annual vaccinations, two vet examinations a year, together with flea and worming treatments. Customers signing up to the scheme have the benefit of having costs broken down into monthly direct debit payments, with extended payments for more expensive treatments and further discounts.
The continuing increase in vet bills is being driven in large part by the introduction of more complex and expensive procedures. Surgery costing between £3,000 and £10,000 is becoming relatively common, with pet insurance often picking up the bill.
The ability of vets to carry out procedures such as open heart surgery is dependent on the availability of large supplies of blood for transfusions. To meet the demand of owners willing to pay for this type of work, leading UK veterinary surgeons are calling for dog blood banks. Schemes such as Dog Blood Donors are already reporting some early success
A TV show aired on US channel CNBC claims that pet insurance is now the third most requested voluntary benefit after car and home insurance. In a country where 60% of homes have a pet, but only 2% insure them, this comes as a surprise. Perhaps with a national vet bill of around $18 billion*, US pet owners are finally coming round to the idea.
* Figures published by The American Veterinary Association
Pet insurance provided by reputable companies should cover pet owners for both accidents and illness. Many owners have visions of traumatic events resulting from dramatic situations. As pet insurance providers are only too well aware, the reality can be mundane and preventable.
Recent figures published by US pet insurance company VPI show common household objects can be hazardous to a curious pet. The report revealed the most frequently removed items under surgery were socks, underwear and tights.
Young dogs in particular are prone to chewing almost anything they can get their mouths around. Excessive chewing can also be the result of anxiety and stress caused by spending too much time alone. Owners should therefore try to ensure their pet has regular company and keep the floor area clear of likely targets – putting household cleaners and other dangerous material well out of reach.
Vomiting, dry heaving and coughing are symptoms of possible ingestion of unsuitable objects. At the first sign of any of any of these an examination by the vet is a sensible precaution.
Pet insurance is a simple way of budgeting for vet bills. With one in two insured dogs and cats needing veterinary treatment each year, a vet bill it is an inevitable fact of life for many owners.
Now research by Direct Line confirms what some have suspected – a sizeable number of owners struggle to pay their pet’s medical bills. According to the survey, 22 per cent of uninsured dog owners have problems meeting vet bills. While 18 per cent were forced to resort to personal savings, another eight per cent borrowed the money from friends and family. Nine per cent even postponed paying household bills.
However, the most distressing news from the survey was that 17 per cent of owners delayed treating their dog because they could not afford a visit to the vet.
