Shelburne, Vermont - May 31, 2011
Keeping your pet healthy isn't cheap, especially if they get hurt or fall ill, but you don't have to carry all the costs by yourself. Rachel Feldman spoke with Dr. Liam Bisson at the Shelburne Veterinary Hospital to learn more about pet health insurance.
Rachel Feldman: "Today we're just here for a basic exam, but I've been thinking health insurance for Oliver. Now he's only five months old so I'm not sure if that's a good idea."
Dr. Liam Bisson: "It's a great idea...because it helps to take some of the sting out of catastrophic injuries, things like that. If an animal gets hit by a car, breaks a limb."
"One of the things that would be terrible, that I run into sometimes with owners and their pets is it comes down to a financial decision as to whether or not they're able to treat a certain problem or condition in their pet."
Rachel Feldman: "I've been doing some research on the Internet and I noticed that monthly costs can range anywhere from five dollars to seventy-five dollars."
Dr. Liam Bisson: "It's a lot like human medicine, human insurance in the sense that the more you pay the more coverage you're going to get."
"These young guys, some of the higher levels, they will often cover things like spaying and neutering and some of their puppy vaccines, things like that as well...Some of them cover annual visits as well."
Rachel Feldman: "What is the cost of the annual exam?"
Dr. Liam Bisson: "The whole package probably runs $300 to $350, somewhere in that range."
Rachel Feldman: "There are some that don't cover genetic conditions. He's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and I know that they're predisposed to having some heart problems. Is that what that's referring to?"
Dr. Liam Bisson: "Yeah, we know through experience and research that a lot of these conditions in some of these purebred animals are genetic....Labs, retrievers, shepherds -- they can have hip issues, orthopedic issues and they may not be covered by some of those programs."
Rachel Feldman: "Well, thank you Dr. Bisson."
Rachel Feldman - WCAX News
