Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Senior Pet Health Month Wrap Up

As October approaches, I thought it would be fun to share some of the great articles that have been written on senior pets this month. Here are some of my finds:

Over at the Daley's Dog Years blog (tips, tales and tools for senior dog life), here's a senior dog book review “Good Old Dog” Guide Focuses On Your Senior Dog’s Health And Happiness.

There are a number of articles over at the Senior Dog Books website. Here's one on how laser treatment can be used to treat pain in senior dogs: Cold Laser Therapy for Dogs- Dr. Brian Pryor

Edie at Will My Dog Hate Me?, wrote a great post about adopting an older dog Needing to Be Needed: How A Less Adoptable Dog Changed My Life 

My friend Roxanne writes about life with her fearful dog Lilly. Lilly has been going through some recent health issues with a lump - read the ups and downs (and ups) as they happen at Champion of My Heart

Christine from the Raising Ruby blog writes a very touching story about her soulmate Kiva and the introduction of a younger dog training to be a service dog into their household Old Dog

I know I have missed some other great posts and I'm sure there are some great books on senior dogs and cats - feel free to share in the comments. Can't have too many.

Related Posts:
September is Senior Pet Month at Embrace Pet Insurance
Guest Post: Top 5 good things about old dogs
Guest Post: Senior Pet Health Tips
Claim Example: hyperadrenocorticism or Cushings Disease in 9 year old dog
Guest Post: Letting Her Lead by Christine Gillow
Senior Pet Health Month Wrap Up

Guest Post: Letting Her Lead by Christine Gillow

We're big fans of Christine Gillow over at her blog Raising Ruby. She wrote a lovely post about her older dog Kiva interacting with her service puppy trainee, which I loved, so she kindly agreed to write a shorter companion piece to share with the Embrace readers. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I first read it.

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The other day, my friend Tamara tweeted a touching little story that I was lucky enough to catch:

"Saw something special on my way to work this am—an elderly golden retriever walking with her mom. Mom was very patient with her slow walk. I thought, now that is a lovely relationship."

The vignette made me smile. My friend's words immediately brought to mind the relationship I have with my old dog, Kiva, and how willingly she adjusts her stride to mine.

Kiva was 11 years old when I made the decision to raise a service puppy. I chose an organization that partners service dogs with mobility-related disabled individuals, and the puppy raising commitment is significant: a bouncy, two-month-old retriever mix is placed in your arms and burrows her way into your home, life, and heart until she’s 18 months old and leaves for advanced training. During that first year and a half, the main goal in raising a service puppy is socialization, so the puppy accompanies her raiser literally everywhere—restaurants, shopping malls, supermarkets, sporting events, the car wash, the dry cleaners—whenever you look down, an inquisitive little black jellybean nose is pointed back up at you. At least you hope it’s pointed back up at you. Sometimes you find it buried in the lingerie rack at Macy’s.

I had debated for months about bringing a service puppy into my one-senior-dog household. Kiva is tolerant, very well socialized, and she's met hundreds of other dogs in her lifetime without issue, but she had never shared her home with one. I wanted very much to be a service puppy raiser, but I worried if my aging dog could accept a willful toddler taking over her space. If they did bond, would Kiva have trouble with the loss when it was time for the puppy to move on? Would she feel threatened or jealous of all the attention I'd need to devote to raising and training a service puppy? Was I asking too much of my precious old girl?

I worried constantly in the weeks leading up to the puppy’s arrival. I should have known that I didn’t have to. As soon as our service puppy, Ruby, arrived, Kiva accepted the puppy without reservation, scattering my shadowy doubts to the breeze like dandelions. She always turns my worries into wishes and makes them all come true.

I happily took Ruby with me to the all the shops, I taught her to sit, stand, and to come when I called. But Kiva nurtured Ruby in her own way, guiding with her gentle nature and the experience of age. She imparted a calmness into the puppy that only a dog can convey to another. Kiva’s invaluable lessons will serve Ruby well as she becomes a service dog whose actions are careful and deliberate.

Throughout that year and a half, Kiva gave me as many gifts as she gave Ruby. She accepted Ruby with a level of patience I can only ever try to live up to. She let me delight in the whole experience, enjoying it with me. And the morning after Ruby left us to move on to advanced training, Kiva glanced around the bedroom for a moment or two...then flipped a toy in the air and never questioned me.

These days, at 13 years old, Kiva needs me to walk a little more slowly with her, too. But no matter how long it takes her to get me there, she still always leads me where I need to go.
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Christine Gillow lives in Colorado with her husband Jeff, and Kiva, a former NY ASPCA puppy who is as happy on a mountain trail as she is on the couch. Enjoy more of their service puppy adventures at servicepuppyruby.blogspot.com.

Related Posts:
September is Senior Pet Month at Embrace Pet Insurance
Guest Post: Top 5 good things about old dogs
Guest Post: Senior Pet Health Tips
Claim Example: hyperadrenocorticism or Cushings Disease in 9 year old dog
Guest Post: Letting Her Lead by Christine Gillow

Embrace wins NorthCoast99 Award second year in a row

The reason why we get such great customer reviews is because of our Embracers.

Yes, we have a great product. Yes, we have a great website. Yes, we are open and honest. But really, the Embrace Experience is not just a concept, it's the people that make all of that happen.

The way you are treated when you call in. The way we admit to mistakes and how we fix them. The way we love your pets too. All of which come from the Embrace Core Values and the Embracers that live them.

Which is why we work hard to hire great people with inquisitive and sharp minds to be Embracers. We can't do it any other way.

So, when someone else, not our mothers, says we have a great place to work, we love the recognition that others get what we are doing too. Yay!

Just in case you aren't from around here, a NorthCoast 99 Award recognizes the ability to maintain great workplaces that support the attraction, retention, and motivation of Top Performers. We won for the second year in a row and don't plan to stop winning any time soon.

Some interesting facts about the 99 companies that won a NorthCoast 99 award this year.

• 65% have onsite fitness classes, activities or programs (we have yoga on Mondays)
• 91% provide new hires with a welcome lunch (each new hire has lunch with their assigned Embrace buddy)
• 14,599 new employees hired in 2010 (wow, we did a rather modest part of that)
• 53% of non-management top performers participated in the creation or implementation of a new workplace policy, program or product/service in 2010 (everyone gets to chip in at Embrace)

Claim Example: hyperadrenocorticism or Cushings Disease in 9 year old dog

I was doing a quick survey of costly conditions in older dogs (older cat conditions coming soon) and Peggy, a 9 year old mixed breed dog living in Portland, OR, caught my eye.

Peggy has hyperadrenocorticism, also known as Cushings Disease, which is more common in middle-aged and senior dogs. Cushings is a disease where the adrenal gland produces too much cortisol, most often caused by a tumor in the pituitary or adrenal glands. It is suspected to be somewhat genetic as certain breeds such as Miniature Poodles, Dachshunds, Boxers, Boston Terriers, and Beagles are more susceptible to the condition.

The most common clinical signs for Cushings are polydipsia (PD increased thirst), polyuria (PU increased urination), polyphagia (eating too much), heat intolerance, lethargy, potbelly, panting, obesity, muscle weakness, and recurrent urinary tract infections. Have you seen your dog suffering from one of those symptoms?

Peggy has “pituitary dependent” hyperadrenocorticism, and so she is being treated by medication. Her claims since she has started her treatment are as follows:

Vet Visit	Diagnosis	Claim Amount	Covered Amount	Paid Amount
2/12/2011	Hyperadrenocorticism, PU/PD	$1,246.47	$1,246.47	$597.18
3/25/2011	Hyperadrenocorticism	$396.00	$396.00	$316.80
3/15/2011	Ultrasound Abdomen	$305.00	$305.00	$244.00
3/28/2011	Drug: Prednisone & Vetoryl	$76.20	$76.20	$60.96
4/20/2011	Hyperadrenocorticism	$296.00	$296.00	$236.80
4/27/2011	Drug: Vetoryl	$72.85	$72.85	$58.28
5/13/2011	Hyperadrenocorticism	$407.48	$378.50	$302.80
7/16/2011	Drug: Vetoryl	$88.49	$70.50	$56.40
7/29/2011	Hyperadrenocorticism	$363.00	$363.00	$290.40
	Total	$3,251.49	$3,204.52	$2,163.62

Peggy's policy has a $500 annual deductible, an 80% reimbursement rate, a $10,000 annual maximum and includes the prescription drug coverage. Her policy costs $28.73 a month.

For more details, check out our detail on hyperadrenocorticism (Cushings Disease) in the Embrace Pet Health Center.

Are you coping with a Cushing's dog?

Related Posts:
September is Senior Pet Month at Embrace Pet Insurance
Guest Post: Top 5 good things about old dogs
Guest Post: Senior Pet Health Tips
Claim Example: hyperadrenocorticism or Cushings Disease in 9 year old dog
Guest Post: Letting Her Lead by Christine Gillow

(picture is of another Embraced dog, Lexington - what a cutie!) 

Guest Post: Senior Pet Health Tips

I'm delighted to introduce you to Dr. Patrick Mahaney, a veterinarian and certified veterinary acupuncturist who focuses on integrative veterinary medicine. We recently met at Blogpaws and I loved his fresh approach to veterinary medicine.

Since our theme this month is senior pets, Dr. Mahaney's first guest post discusses his top senior pet health tips, all of which I wholeheartedly agree with, having cared for a senior cat with health issues in recent years. Over to Dr. Mahaney...

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When is your pet considered a senior? No simple answer applies to every cat, dog, or other companion animal, yet I consider pets having achieved seven to nine years of age to have entered the realm of senior living. If you follow the conventional consideration that one pet year equals seven human years, a seven to nine year old pet falls between the ages of 49 to 63.

Some pets show physical signs of aging faster than others due to poor genetics, sub-optimal nutrition, harsh environment, or disease. Other pets gracefully sail from adulthood into the golden years with little obvious decline in youthful vigor as a result of the combination of good genes, healthful diet, temperate environment, and minimal episodes of illness. Inherently, the body’s ability to recover from illness, heal injuries, and fight infectious organisms wanes with time.

What is the secret of keeping your senior pet healthy? Maintenance and promotion of optimal health is multi-factorial and relies on the combination of efforts from the pet guardian (you) and veterinary medical care providers.

As your pet’s health advocate it is vitally important to take an educated and proactive stance in promoting your pet’s optimal vitality regardless of life stage.

Here are my top senior pet health tips.

Schedule Regular Veterinary Physical Examinations

Senior pets are more prone to periodontal disease, arthritis, cancer and other potentially life threatening ailments affecting the kidneys, liver, and endocrine system (adrenal, thyroid, and other gland). Manifestations of these diseases can be subtle or arise when significant damage has already occurred.

In attempting to prevent the development or worsening of such conditions, it is vital that your senior pet has a physical exam performed by a veterinarian at least every 12 months. Senior pets afflicted by disease should be examined more frequently, such as every 3-6 months. Your veterinarian's physical exam may pick up on findings that otherwise would have gone unnoticed to the untrained eye or hand.

Be prepared to provide your veterinarian with day to day observations of your pet’s food and water consumption, bowel movement and urinary habits, vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, sneezing, and sleep and energetic patterns. Additionally, keep a concise record of any supplements, medications, Chinese herbs, or other products regularly used.

Immediately Address Health Concerns

When an issue regarding your pet’s health occurs or your veterinarian discovers a abnormality, efficiently and safely resolve the issue.

One of the most common diseases I see in clinical practice is periodontal disease (unhealthy teeth, gums, and supporting structures). I am continually dumfounded by pet owners electing to address periodontal disease only when it progresses to the point of oral malodor, lethargy, inappetence, tooth abscesses, or internal organ (heart, lung, kidney, liver, other) damage.

Pet owners should take steps to prevent periodontal disease from occurring by brushing teeth on a daily basis and providing appropriate objects on which a pet can chew to reduce plaque and tartar accumulation.

In cases where preventative measures cannot are insufficient, resolving periodontal disease with an anesthetized dental is the ideal choice. Although non-anesthetic dental cleaning does some good in removing visible accumulation, it does not permit subgingival (under the gumline) scaling, tooth extraction, or evaluation via radiography (xrays), and leaves the airway (trachea) susceptible to bacteria aerosolized during the scaling process.

A pet is never too old to undergo anesthesia, yet they can be too unhealthy. In order to prepare a pet for anesthesia and as part of a routine senior wellness protocol, diagnostic testing should be routinely performed.

Perform Routine Diagnostic Testing

Although a veterinarian can garner much information from a pet’s history and physical exam, diagnostic testing yields a more accurate representation of overall health. Blood, urine, and fecal testing, radiographs (xrays), ultrasound, and other means may be needed to establish a definitive diagnosis.

I recommend senior pets have baseline blood, urine, and fecal testing at least every 12 months. A minimum database of blood testing and ECG (electrocardiogram), and other case dependent diagnostics should be performed within 24 hours of a planned anesthetic procedure.

The true value of diagnostics lie in early detection of disease processes so that appropriate treatment can occur before progression occurs.

Provide a Whole Food Diet

I have seen the unfortunate trend of sick or geriatric pets being put on a whole food diet only when a serious diagnosis has been established or when prehension of a commercially available dry food no longer occurs.

I strongly feel that pets should be fed less processed sources of nutrients instead of by-product and contaminant laden, heavily denatured dry and canned foods. In feeding appropriate quantities of whole food sources during the juvenile life stage, many preventable diseases, such obesity, arthritis, and diabetes are less likely to occur during adult and senior years.

Tailor Your Pet’s Environment and Lifestyle to Suit Geriatric Needs

No longer is your senior pet the nubile puppy or kitten of yesteryear, therefore their ability to navigate the environment through which they once gracefully strode is also compromised. Slippery floors, steep stairs, lofty sleeping quarters, and extremes of heat, cold, dryness, and humidity are a hazardous to an elderly pet.

Enhance your home and yard environment to appropriately suit your senior pet and reduce the likelihood that preventable injury of illness will occur.

Related Posts:
September is Senior Pet Month at Embrace Pet Insurance
Guest Post: Top 5 good things about old dogs
Guest Post: Senior Pet Health Tips
Other posts by Dr. Mahaney
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Dr. Mahaney is a veterinarian from the University of Pennsylvania and a Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, having been inspired by his own chronic pain from Intervertebral Disc Disease to provide accupuncture to his veterinary clients. In addition to Dr Mahaney's house call integrative veterinary medicine business, California Pet Acupuncture and Wellness, he sees patients on an in-clinic basis at Veterinary Cancer Group in Culver City, CA.

Dr Mahaney writes a veterinary column (Patrick's Blog) for www.PatrickMahaney.com and contributes to a variety of media, including Perez Hilton's TeddyHilton.com, Fido Friendly, Veterinary Practice News, Healthy Pets and People with Dr Patrick on OutImpactRadio.com, and MSNBC Sunday with Alex Witt and Career Day. His first book, The Uncomfortable Vet, will be available in 2012 through Havenhurst Books.

(photos courtesy of Dr Patrick Mahaney)

Pet Insurance and Divorce

At Embrace Pet Insurance, a number of divorce or separation situations have come up and the following scenarios and solutions untangle the complexity so you can get what you need for you and your pets with minimal anxiety.

Scenario 1: you have sole custody of the pets and you have always owned the pet insurance policy yourself

Call into the pet insurance company to check your policy details for the following:

• Who is listed as the insureds on the policy? You can have two or more insureds on a pet insurance policy, all of whom can all make decisions about the policy, including cancellation and billing decisions. Make sure your policy is limited to the people you want to be making those changes.
• How is the policy paid for and by whom? Make sure you confirm the billing is your own credit card or bank account as soon as possible. You don’t want your ex cancelling the premium payments and lapsing the coverage. Make sure that if the payments come out of a bank account, the account is going to remain active going forward.
• Which addresses are listed on the policy? Several considerations here:
  • Your premium may change upon a change of address - not much you can do about this but don’t be surprised by an unexpected change when your next premium is billed
  • You don’t want your claim check going to your ex so confirm they are all going to your current location. Even better, have the claim reimbursement deposited into your own bank account so there’s no way for the money to go elsewhere by mistake
  • Make sure the email address on record is your current one. You don’t your email going to a defunct address or worse, your ex’s

Scenario 2: you have sole custody of the pets but your spouse owned the pet insurance policy before your split

If you are taking over the policy from your spouse, you’ll have to transfer it into your name as soon as possible. Call the pet insurance company to find out their procedure for transferring the policy as most will allow you to do it. You do not want to have to restart the policy as this might trigger new pre-existing conditions, which you do not want to happen. If you do not know which insurance company the policy is with, there's a handy list over at www.petinsurancereview.com (for the US and Canada). Call them all, starting with VPI (it's the largest at the moment) until you find the right one.

If the policy has lapsed because of non-payment, ask the pet insurer if the policy can be reinstated without restarting the policy. If it is just a week or so from lapsing, it’s a good bet they’ll reinstate your policy as long as you pay the unpaid premium. If it’s longer than that and the company says no, plead your case to the underwriter who issued the policy for some leniency (often different from the company you deal with on a day to day basis_. You will still have to pay unpaid premiums if the insurer agrees.

Once you have control of the policy, check the policy details in scenario 1.

Scenario 3: you are sharing custody and the finances of the pets

If you are sharing custody of the pets on the policy and want to share the cost of the policy and have the reimbursements go to the appropriate person, this gets tricky. Most pet insurance companies cannot handle multiple bank accounts or addresses for premium payments and claims reimbursement depending on who paid for the vet bill so you will need to coordinate the financials with your ex. You should include how you are going to handle this in your divorce settlement.

Note that if you just want to pay for your own policy to cover any vet bills you might have when you have the pets, your spouse does not need to get involved in your policy. It’s totally up to you.

Scenario 4: the pets on the policy go to different homes

Some insurers have multiple pets on a policy so it becomes complicated when some of the pets stay on the old policy and some go to a new home. The pets that are going to a new home will be split off from the old policy onto a new one, possibly trigger new pre-existing conditions for those pets. Ask the pet insurer if a special dispensation could be made so that the new policy does not trigger new pre-existing conditions. Most pet insurers will have no difficulty accommodating this request.

Finally...

Under all these scenarios, if something goes wrong with the policy and you do not get the solution you are looking for from your pet insurer, be sure to write to the insurance company that issued your pet insurance policy for a compassionate review. You can often get a positive response if you go right to the source.

Are you going through a divorce right now and are having to handle this situation? Let us know in the comments and I might be able to help.

Guest Post: Top 5 good things about old dogs

I always love it when Dr Riggs' writes about senior dogs and today is no exception. Even veterinarians are allowed to have a soft spot for the companions in their lives. Dr. Rex Riggs is the owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is a veterinarian, and an Advisory Board member of Embrace Pet Insurance.
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1. The Grey face

There is something about grey faces. I just love them. When many of my patients get on in years, their muzzles and faces start to sprout white and grey hairs. Not unlike me. Their expressions soften. They look wiser, and gentler. It just makes me smile.

2. Hearing loss

Now you normally would not think the loss of hearing as a good thing. It is all in how you look at it. Most dogs start to lose some hearing at 8 years and normally by 12 or 13 years, the world becomes silent for them. Don’t despair, they compensate very well, thank you. Dogs don’t have the psychological side of not hearing. They take it in stride. Their smelling becomes keener and they rely more on feeling vibrations. The best thing is the thunderstorms that often frightened them in younger years, are no longer a threat, and they sleep peacefully through the night, even when we don’t.

3. Quiet times reading the Sunday paper

We and our dogs start to mellow a bit as we age. The things that we thought so important in our youth, we now realize how trivial they really were. That squirrel that tormented our dogs into that futile, never ending chase can run and climb the tree by itself as your dog intently watches, but takes in the sights by your side on the deck. Those bunnies that sit still as statues until the chase starts are just nice to watch now. There are too many to chase anyway. Now my dog is intent on sitting on my deck while I read the paper and drink my coffee. We sit and ponder the bond that has developed between us over the years.

4. A gentler walk

The walks are now civilized. No longer are they the tug of wars of the puppy era. Slower, but just as enjoyable, strolls replace the frantic “runs” of youth. More squirrels and rabbits to observe and not chase. Time to contemplate life.

5. Sharing a lifetime of memories

The best thing about an older dog is the history that you share. Dogs have always been a part of my life and I tend to separate the stages of my life with the dogs I had at the time. I have been blessed with wonderful canine friends. They have all been my best friends. Ryan, Stuy, Boo Boo, Maggie, my 15 year old wonder dog and Ossa, my 2 year old Golden. They have all added so much joy to my life.

Related Posts:
September is Senior Pet Month at Embrace Pet Insurance
Guest Post: Top 5 good things about old dogs
Other posts by Dr Riggs

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Dr. Rex Riggs grew up in Wadsworth, Ohio, near Akron. Dr Riggs is co-owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is also on the board of the North Central Region of Canine Companions of Independence, a board member of The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Society and Small Animal Practitioner Advancement Board at The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Riggs lives in Lewis Center, OH with his wife Nancy, their dogs Maggie, and two cats Franklin and Speeder. Outside of work, Dr. Riggs is an avid golfer and enjoys travel and photography.

September is Senior Pet Month at Embrace Pet Insurance

Wouldn't you agree that you are only as old as you feel? I certainly do, and I'm working on getting back to my twenties, thank you very much!

This month, we're celebrating older cats and dogs. Those pets who have a comfortable place in our hearts and lives, who know by just one look our mood and act accordingly, and those who don't count twilight as the end of the day but the start of the evening. Or bedtime. Whichever.

There's so much to celebrate about our senior pets - don't you think?

As well as some great guest posts (got at least one new blogger lined up this month) and some interesting claims stories, I'm hoping to turn this month into a collage of your stories about your older pets to share with others. Would you like to share something with everyone - we'd love to hear it.

By the way, that picture is of Tahlula, a 9 year old Rottweiler that one of our very first Embracers rescued this day five years ago. You can read Tahlula's story on the Embrace Pet Community blog in Lea's article "Did you adopt an undesirable?" You'll be glad you did.