Auntie Pam, I work for a specialty practice. All the doctors there are specialists in internal medicine, surgery, cancer treatments (radiation and chemotherapy), dermatology, critical care, things like that. We do total hip replacents, back surgery to help paralyzed animals, CT scans, you name it, we can do it. Almost anything that can be done in a human hospital can be done for a pet at my hospital. An average course of radiation for a pet with cancer can be five thousand dollars. Bone surgeries can be about 2,000 or more. High quality medicine such as this does not come cheap. Yet we are in no danger of going out of business. Even clients who chose more conservative methods of treatment can expect to pay out a lot of money, especially if a pet’s illness is not life threatening but still long and drawn out. Many pet owners may view this whole situation as crazy, and would just as soon put a sick animal down, but there are also many pet owners out there who greatly appreciate the fact that these services are available to them. For people who want to do everything they can for their pets, health insurance can be a wonderful thing.
You can buy health insurance for your pets here.
…to keep out other dogs. Grew up next to a German Shepherd who HATED to be alone. Dog used to scale 6 and 7 foot stockade fences when he decided he wanted to find a playmate (dog or human). Fortunately, he had a Lab type heart in a maneater body. Used to see him led back by neighborhood 5 year olds, hanging his head. He wasn’t vicious, just wild and a bit lonely.