PET INSURANCE CAN BE SIMPLE! AND SAVE LIVES!
PET INSURANCE CAN BE SIMPLE! AND SAVE LIVES!
WHY AM I WRITING ABOUT PET INSURANCE?
Because we love our little muses! It’s clear to see that creative people love animals. We draw them, paint them, dress up as them, write songs about them and photograph them constantly. I can’t think of any creative folks by name that don’t have beloved pets. They inspire us, bring us joy and keep us company while we create. Pet insurance might not be the most artistic or creative thing to talk about but it has been incredibly important for Hannah and myself.
ADOPTING MY BANANA
When I adopted Hannah in October 2020, I knew that she had special needs. She had lost a leg and her blindness poses some challenges but despite that I fell in love with her and devoted myself to giving her a chance at a good life. If you had asked her last night (if she could talk, that is) while she was rolling around in fresh goose poop if she has a good life, I feel like she’d say yes, enthusiastically. If you had asked her half an hour later while I was scrubbing said goose poop out of her fur in the bath, she might have said otherwise, but I am doing my very best.
Part of doing my best is making sure I plan ahead and budget for her care and any unexpected expenses that come our way. And there have been plenty of unexpected expenses!
VALLEY FEVER, AN EXPENSIVE DIAGNOSIS
In January of 2021, after many vet visits that left us with more questions than answers, Hannah was diagnosed with Valley Fever. Valley Fever (or coccidioidomycosis) is a chronic fungal infection that requires anti-fungal medicine and causes a whole host of issues. It can show up as a cough with fever, tiredness and chest pain, but if left untreated it can cause other issues and is then called Disseminated Valley Fever. That’s what Hannah has.
Disseminated Valley Fever can cause infections in the skin, bones, joints and even the brain. Hannah has it in her bones and also gets skin lesions on occasion. She has flair ups that come and go but she’s doing a lot better these days.
HANNAH'S VALLEY FEVER JOURNEY
As any pet owner knows, pets need time to adjust to their new home. Hannah also needed some time to adjust to her new job as a professional office dog but it became clear that there was something else going on with her and I was determined to figure out what it was. She was lethargic, skipped a lot of her meals and panted heavily making it clear she was in a lot of pain.
It took several vet visits over the next few months to figure out what was wrong with her but thanks to the professional curiosity, compassion and empathy of Dr. Kenichiro Yoshida and his colleagues, we found the likely culprit. She was tested for a variety of fungal infections in late January, diagnosed with Valley Fever and started her medication in February.
Within weeks of starting on Itraconazole she was acting like an entirely different dog; playing, running, chewing on toys and wrestling with other dogs. It was a huge relief to have an answer to what was going on with her and a treatment plan that is working.
HEALTHY PAWS PET INSURANCE
Pet insurance has been absolutely essential for us. The testing, the specialists, the frequent vet visits to try to explain the bizarre symptoms, the chest x-rays, it all adds up and having pet insurance has made it so much more manageable. Hannah will most likely be on medication for the rest of her life and the cost of that adds up!
I signed up for pet insurance shortly after adopting Hannah and after doing some online research, I went with Healthy Paws. Signing her up was simple and I found the website easy to navigate and uploading the medical records was a breeze. When it came time to do the testing required to narrow down which fungus Hannah was infected with it was quite expensive but I was able to make a claim on Hannah’s insurance policy and was reimbursed for 80% of the cost! It was a massive relief! We had a diagnosis, she was super responsive to the medication and we even had money left in the budget to buy her a stuffed Lambchop toy for being so brave.
HEALTHY PET & A HEALTHY BUDGET? YES, PLEASE!
With Healthy Paws, you can save up to 90% on your pet’s vet bills and if you use this link to apply, Healthy Paws Foundation will donate $25 to help homeless pets! So, you can protect your pet (and your budget!) and help a homeless pet too. Their goal is to donate $443,000 to animals in need. To help make that happen, sign up here. Check it out – you can get a free quote in seconds with the Every Quote Gives Hope program, plus there’s no obligation to purchase a policy once you receive your quote.
Do your budget, your fur baby and some homeless pets a huge favor and get your free quote today! And for the record, I don’t get any discounts, kickbacks or credit of any kind for sharing this. This insurance has been enormously helpful to us and I’d like to help Healthy Paws reach their fundraising goal for the shelter pets that have yet to find their forever homes. I do however get a free month of YNAB if you click the budget link and sign up after your 34 day trial, so if You Need A Budget, check them out.
Don’t need pet insurance but still want to help save some pets? You can nominate your favorite non-profit organization to be part of their Rescue Race here!
-S.
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