Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Mold-sniffing dogs

I couldn't believe it when I heard about mold-sniffing dogs but there are such animals and they are highly accurate at sniffing out mold in our homes. In a recent article in the Conneticut Post:

"Because of a dog's excellent sense of smell, they can pinpoint where mold is located in a building," said Carl Massicott, the co-owner of Advanced Mold Detection on Mark Street. "A trained mold professional is usually about 35 percent accurate, while a dog is more than 97 percent accurate."

It takes over 1,000 of training to be certified as a mold-detecting dog but given the amount success rate the dogs have compared to human inspectors, it's well worth it.

Check out the mold dog website to learn more, including Top 7 Reasons to Use a Mold Dog.

want to work at a dog-friendly company

Ever wondered what it would be like to take your dog to work or at least work for a company that loves your dog half as much as you do?

Well, here is a search engine that looks for dog-friendly job postings around the US. Cool!

Hat tip to Doug Mazanec, the Infoman, who has been sending me so much good stuff, it's not surprising he does this for a living. Thanks Doug!

Mary Schmidt - Business Developer & Marketing Troubleshooter

I love discovering new blogs that are worth reading (not so many of them out there I find) but Mary emailed me about her blog, giving me a very big smile for the day.

I'm owned by a couple of cats and am a complete marshmallow for animals (At one time I had five - and I was still working in high-pressure, high-profile Corporate America.  But, nuthin' keeps ya humble like scoopin' poop while wearing your power suit!)

Anyway, I blog and here's an entry I recently wrote in which I refer to Teddy the Wonder Cat - He's actually CEO of "Belly Up Management" a wholly owned subsidiary of my consultancy. ;-)

http://blog.maryschmidt.com/2006/01/13/its-martini-time/

Best wishes (and congrats on the new family addition)

Mary Schmidt - Business Developer & Marketing Troubleshooter www.maryschmidt.com

Don't you just love the name of that company Belly Up Management - what a visual name for a cat lover!!!   

Cool pet parent gear

I don't normally go in for pet-themed clothing (I hardly wear anything with someone else's logo, unless it's a band I like) but I couldn't help but be impressed by the interesting selection of cool pet clothing for pet parents at the Dog Hause.

A particularly clever one is "cat is the new dog" but there are many others there. I think for Embrace, we could use this one as our company motto "I'll get there."

Hat tip: What the Pets!?

Big vet bills and no pet insurance?

I get asked this a lot. Unfortunately, many pet parentse don't have pet insurance in the US (where less than 0.5% of pet owners have pet insurance.)

What can you do if you are in the predicament of having big vet bills and no coverage?

Here is what I suggest:

• Non-insurance options:
  • Pet Assure can help reduce any future vet bills. You pay an upfront fee of $99 per year and get a 25% discount for all vet services. The only catch is that you have to go to a vet in their network so you’d need to check whether your vet is in the system or there is one you would go to. Questions to ask before signing up - do they include procedures done by another facility that your vet recommended you to do who aren't in their system? What about drug costs - are they included?
  • In Memory of Magic helps people who are unable to afford the veterinary care for emergency or life threatening conditions.
• Online Vet Pharmacies:
  If your main costs are going to come from future drug expenses (for example, long-term epilepsy medicine or insulin shots), you may be better off using an online pharmacy for ongoing prescriptions, such as 1800PetMeds and National Pet Pharmacy (but there are over 20 links on the left hand side of this blog). They are often 25-40% less expensive than what you would be charged at the vet's.
     To make the most of this option, ask for 2 prescriptions – the first for a couple of week's worth of medicine and the other for the remaining time. Fill the short-term script with the vet so you can start the prescription right away and fill the longer term one online to minimize your costs. Your vet might not like it but you are the one paying the costs.
• Negotiate with Your Vet:
  Most vets are sympathetic to financial concerns and often may reduce the costs a little and also allow you to pay the bill over time. Ask them what they can do for you, you might be surprised at their response.
• Get a second opinion:
  For larger bills, shop around your area and get some other quotes where the vet may be more flexible with his or her payment schedule.
• Credit arrangements:
  If your vet will do it directly, ask for a payment plan. Another option is Care Credit, a loan facility that helps vets finance payment plans; however, your vet has to sign up with the company to offer their payment plans.
• Shelter Rescue Organizations:
  • Many shelters offer some form of reduced price spay and neuter surgeries performed by fully qualified local vets. Spaying in particular is a major surgery and you can save a lot of money this way. Check with your local shelters to see if they offer such a program. You generally don't have to have rescued an animal from the shelter to benefit from this.
  • Many shelters may also be able to help you with assistance or discounted surgery
• Breed-Specific Organizations:
  If you have a breed with a common genetic condition you are trying to treat, such as a Golden Retriever with hip dysplasia, you can also try your local breed-specific rescue organization for any help or suggestions they might have.   
• Your Breeder:
  If you have a purebred pet with a genetic condition, certainly go back to your breeder to let him/her know about your pets issue. They may be able to help you but at least, they'll know the condition is in their blood line and hopefully adjust their breeding practises accordingly.
• Other Surgical Options:
  I mentioned in a previous post about SEVS, the Society of Endovascular Veterinary Surgery, that is pioneering non-invasive surgery options for veterinary health problems such as liver shunts, collapsing tracheas, and uncontrollable nosebleeds. One benefit of this surgery is that it is less expensive (less rehab required, less recovery time, etc.) so you might be able to find someone in your area who has been trained to perform this surgery - contact SEVS to find out who.
• Local vet schools:
  If you have a local vet school near you, they might perform the procedure for much less than you would have to pay otherwise and with very high quality. For a full list, check out the AAVMC vet school list
• Other options:
  You can try your local schools, boy scouts or girl scouts. They may be willing to hold a fundraiser to help cover some of the expense. Perhaps you could even hold your own fundraiser, starting with your own friends and family.

I'm sure there are other ways to reduce your costs - what have you discovered? Let's grow this list so that pet lovers can continue to help their pets without breaking the bank. I'd rather people had pet insurance but the reality is that many do not and get surprised by unexpected vet bills without coverage.

Example of the services a pet hotel offers

Check out the Royal Pet Hotel, in Shanty Bay in Ontario, Canada. My mom and dad are driving down to visit us the end of this week to see their newest grand-daughter so they are going to be putting Scarlet and Rosie, their two Jack Russells, up in this hotel for the length of their visit with us.

Note the attention to detail in the website - pictures of rooms with happy animals esconsed within, assurances of comfort and security, and everything looks spotlessly clean. I'm sure if we could do a scratch and sniff on the site, it would come up smelling like roses (plus there's 24 hour music - wonder what they play?!).

If I was recommending some changes to the site, these would but it:

• The site has a guest book on the home page but it seems to be just pictures, no links to client owner testimonials or other info.
• The site mentions that the hotel offers 8 different kinds of food for each of the dogs and cats but they don't list them. As a pet owner, I'd like to see what they had on offer before I phone to ask.
• There's no "about us" page. I'd like to know more personal information about the owners and staff of the hotel, including pictures - what motivated them to create this lovely pet environment and why do the staff work there.
• There's no email address to contact them. I often like to email questions about the services offered just to get to know them before calling when I need to board an animal. Even if it's a web form for questions, that would do, as long as someone actually answered them in a timely manner (within a business day works for me).

They don't offer webcams yet to see the pumpkins having a lovely time while their pet lovers are away. I'm sure this would be a welcome addition for tech savvy pet parents (and more and more pet lovers are very tech savvy). I'm sure my mom and dad would be checking on the pups many times every day while they are away just to make sure they are enjoying themselves.

Overall, I think they do a reasonable job pursuading me to board my animals there.

Teca Tu - a pawsworthy emporium

OK, I'll admit it - I'm biased. Teca Tu was born from the creativity of my husband's aunt, Diane, when she rescued a dog she named Teca Tu from a highway in West Texas. To keep Teca Tu warm during the snowy winters in Santa Fe, she made a doggy coat for him and thus was born the 'Doggie Vestido' and her new career as an entrepreneur and pet accessory designer.

Check out the selection of goods such as apparel, neckware, dining accessories, and comfy beds, among other things. I couldn't help but notice this chair in the comfy bed section - it just suits the bulldog sitting in it.

Teca Tu is under new ownership now that Diane has retired, but the store still have the same locally-made coats and accessories, which will be the envy of all your doggy or kitty friends.

Teca Tu
A Paws-Worthy Emporium
500 Montezuma Ave.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Email: info@TecaTu.com Phone: 505-982-9374
Fax: 505-982-9374
Toll Free: 1-888-TECA TU2

We are doggedly pursuing our goal

Ha ha - I like this one a lot as it often pops into the Embrace vernacular since we are so dogged about getting Embrace set up.

Who would have thought that three years after graduating from Wharton, we would only just be selling policies? I'm not sure what I would have though it I had known that from that start. Sometimes, it's just best not to know, isn't it?!!!

Ode to a Cat

A friend of mine wrote this very touching ode to her cat, Clay, when he died in 2004 and I just came across it again. I thought you might appreciate it, being fellow furry friend lovers.

"CLAY" (aka “CLAYBIE” aka “CLAYBIE-HEAD”)

Shown above in several poses, including one with his original partner-in-crime Ozzie, Clay (named for the famous Cleveland Browns player Clay Matthews) was one of the sweetest, most affectionate cats ever to grace the planet.  Upon reaching 16 years of age this past December, he was finally old enough to get his driver’s license, thus joining “Toonces” as one of the few “cats who can drive a car.”  Other notable life milestones included leaving his birthplace in the Big Apple for the kinder, gentler mid-west,  the arrival of Max – the big stupid dog (“yawn…”), the 6 hour car ride and week long vacation in Chicago IL, the arrival of Jacob and Annie Gries (“who, although it took many years of practice, eventually learned the correct way to hold me…”), the passing of Ozzie in 2000, the arrival of feline #3 Butch and, most recently the arrival of feline #4 Chester.  Like most cats, Clay’s number one concern was being fed – early and often – and finding that “just right” patch of sunlight in which to curl up for a snooze.   A true master in the art of the nap, he is gone but certainly not forgotten.  “He was a heck of a cat.”

Pet Ecology Scooplite review

I promised I'd let you know how my experience with the Scooplite kitty litter went since I bought it back in April. Well, I have to admit, I bought it once and not again.

This kitty litter shows when your cat has a kidney problem, the kitty litter changes color based on the acidity/alkalinity of a cat's urine. Not only that, but it keeps the pee smell down, clumps, and is biodegradable so I thought it would be a great idea for Barnes who does have a kidney issue I have to keep an eye on.

Unfortunately for Scooplite, there were two things about the litter that didn't work very well for us. First, the box has two packages of kitty litter in it and it wasn't very clear to me if I was supposed to mix them together or use one at a time. I believe the litter with the urine indicator was separate from the regular litter but I wasn't sure why that was and how I was supposed to use them. I don't have time to read many instructions if it's not staring me in the face and there wasn't anything on the box so strike one against the litter.

The second and biggest problem for my cat was that it is too light in weight, which is great for shipping, but not for cats with long fur. Poor Barnes would emerge from his litter box with a coating of litter pieces on his back leggings and trail them around the house. It's not that they were wet or anything, it's just they clung to his long fur and he would try to lick it off, which wasn't very pleasant for him.

Now that I am looking online for Scooplite, I see that it's not available online any more and is being reformulated, which is great news. The new product is at http://www.scientificcatlitter.com/consumer.html. It's still ultra-lightweight, which won't help Barnes. Wonder if they've pre-mixed it?