May 19, 2010
By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Choosing a pet insurance company.

Picking a pet insurance company for your pet’s health isn’t what it used to be. Many companies in the past, and some current companies, put a lot of limitations on what pet owners could use the insurance for. In other words, if you had a dog that needed to go to the vet twice in one year for the same problem, your insurance company most likely would only cover one of those visits.

One company offering much better services and that has been introduced to the United States for the past two years, is Trupanion. A company that started in Canada 12 years ago, offers much more coverage, has a higher payout, faster approval and payment, does not have penalties for filing claims and has very fair premiums. Premiums in which you can decide what you want to pay monthly and choose a deductible that fits your budget.

Trupanion’s goal is to provide a product that is beneficial for both pet owners and veterinarians. In speaking with the Long Island company representative, Thomas Russo, he said, “It is important for us to be transparent in our coverage and practices, thereby giving us the ability to meet and exceed the expectations of our clients. One of the most important strategies to achieve this goal is to eliminate the possibility of pre-existing conditions by enrolling puppies and kittens for lifetime coverage. Simply put, this translates into more paid claims for our pet owners.”

Pet owners that are interested in Trupanion should know that they would have one simple plan with 90% coverage, and has no limits, caps or hidden penalties. No limits means, no limits per year, per claim, per incident, for the lifetime of your pet, and the policy actually includes hereditary conditions.

One of Trupanion’s core values is that they never penalize a pet owner of an unlucky pet. They will never raise rates, limit coverage or cancel a policy for an unlucky pet with multiple claims. Like with most pet insurance companies there are waiting periods of 30-days for illness and 5-days for injuries for new enrollments, this is to prevent insurance fraud.

As with all insurance, pre-existing conditions are not covered. A pre-existing condition would be something that is noted in the pets’ previous vet’s medical records, any new illness or injury after enrollment would be covered. So if your pet, let’s say had a small bump, but it was not noted in vet’s records, and now the bump needs to be addressed, it would be covered.

For owners that want to try the pet insurance but aren’t ready for a commitment, Trupanion offers a 30-day free certificate, but it is only available at participating veterinarian offices. This complimentary no obligation certificate is issued by your vet after an exam for your puppy or kitten which is less than one year of age. The pet owner must activate the certificate by midnight of the day following the exam. Trupanion waives the 30-day/5-day waiting periods for the trial offer, so owners would get immediate coverage for the 30-days following activation. Also note that veterinarians receive no financial or other incentive for presenting pet owners with this certificate. Veterinarians also really like Trupanion because the company does not question their medical treatment or decisions.

Pet owners can do their research at Trupanion’s website. Simply go to www.trupanion.com and generate your customized quote.

Trupanion even lets you customize your policy by letting you: compare cat and dog insurance companies; get detailed policy information; choose a custom deductible; add more pets; find a premium that fits your budget; and enroll your pet.

In this day and age of some outrageously high veterinary costs, pet health insurance may be the solution owners are looking for.

May 17, 2010
By Michel Selmer, DVM of www.AdvancedCareForPets.com

Homeopathic Alternative to Vaccines

The purpose of vaccination is to protect your pet from potentially fatal infections by pathogenic (disease-causing) viruses such as distemper, rabies,and others. The way this is done is to inject either a killed or a “modified” (non-pathogenic) live virus, which sensitizes the immune system to that particular virus. Thereafter, if your dog or cat is exposed to, let’s say, parvo virus, s/he will be able to respond quickly and vigorously, producing antibodies to overcome the infection. This sounds like a pretty good plan, on the surface. However, as with any medical procedure, we must ask the simple and direct questions, “Is it safe? Is it effective? Do the benefits outweigh the risks?”

The Problems with Routine Vaccinations

Not surprisingly, most of the problems involve the immune system. After all, the immune system is what vaccines are designed to stimulate. But they do so in a very unnatural way that can overwhelm and confuse the immune system. The body may overreact to normally harmless substances (allergies, especially flea allergies and other skin problems), or even produce antibodies to itself (autoimmune disease). At the same time, the body may be sluggish in responding to those things that it should reject, such as common viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. This can result in increased susceptibility to acute infections (such as ear infections in dogs, bladder infections in cats), chronic tapeworm problems, or in more degenerative cases, cancer.

What alternative is there?

The big question has always been: What alternative is there? Despite these potential problems, vaccination must surely be preferable to losing puppies and kittens to distemper, parvo, and other fatal diseases! Until recently, there have been no practical alternatives, so the short term benefits of vaccination have seemed to outweigh the long term risks. Now, however, there is a safe and effective alternative to vaccination: homeopathic nosodes. Like vaccines, nosodes sensitize the body to a particular virus, so the immune system can react quickly and effectively to natural exposure. Nosodes are at least as effective as vaccines, and in some cases have been shown to be significantly more effective than vaccines in preventing infection. The biggest advantage of nosodes over vaccines is the fact that they are completely safe. There are no risks or side-effects whatever. And they can be safely given to puppies and kittens much earlier than vaccines can. In fact, the mother can be treated before she gives birth, giving the puppies or kittens protection from the moment they are born. Nosodes, like all homeopathic remedies, are very easy to administer: they are given by mouth, and don’t even need to be swallowed. They are also very economical – far less expensive, in fact, than vaccination.

Limitations of Nosodes

There are some limitations to the use of nosodes. Rabies vaccination for dogs is required by law in most counties, and the rabies nosode, called Lyssin, will not satisfy that requirement. You should know, however, for the health of your animal, that all vaccines, including rabies are legally and medically approved for use in healthy animals only! So if your dog is showing any signs of acute or chronic disease, s/he is exempt from that requirement and should not be vaccinated. Despite the obvious advantages of nosodes, most boarding kennels and veterinary hospitals will not accept them in lieu of vaccination. If you need to board your dog or cat in a boarding kennel or veterinary hospital, you may be forced to have him/her vaccinated. This is a problem that will hopefully improve with time as more kennel owners and veterinarians become familiar with nosodes.

If You Decide to Vaccinate

As a veterinary homeopath, I do not recommend routine vaccination for dogs or cats, except for rabies, (which is requied by New York State Law), in health dogs. If, for whatever reason, you decide that you must vaccinate your pet, I would make the following recommendations:

1. Never vaccinate an animal with symptoms of acute or chronic health problems, or at the time of surgery or any other physical or emotional stress.
2. For adult dogs and cats, vaccinate every 2-3 years, instead of yearly.

May 17, 2010

By Nancy Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

The 2nd Annual Canines for a Cure, held on Sunday May 16th, was a wonderful success. Over 200 owners and their dogs were in attendance, and many of the pups dressed up for the “best dressed” dog contest. The walk raised awareness and funds for the Long Island Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society who hosted the event. The day started out with a very curious goose greeting the vendors setting up and went to each table to check out what was going on. It was joked that the goose needed a bandana for the walk.

As you can imagine the goose took off when many of the dogs started to show up. Smart bird!

At 10:15am everyone got ready for the kick-off and drum roll for the walk around beautiful Belmont Lake State Park. The crowd started with cheers, and a couple of ‘woofs’ and off they went. The entire day was filled with great music from the band, Checkered Past, who rocked out and there was even some dancing going on! The event was a special day for many people and teams of walkers who were there with survivors of this disease or in remembrance of a loved one lost. A meaningful and fun way to show their commitment to show support of anyone afflicted.

All the dogs were having a great time, were incredibly well behaved and loved the attention they were getting.

Vendors from across LI were offering some outstanding raffle prizes and giveaways for the attendees. Walk participant Cathy Speranza and her two daughters were lucky enough to win a dog bed filled with all sorts of treats for her bulldog. This free raffle prize was generously donated by Cozy Pet of North Babylon, (www.cozypettlc.com), a member of Long Island Pet Professionals.

Elena Huber, the Coordinator of the Long Island Chapter said, “We are so happy with the turnout today, it’s even bigger than last year, and everyone had a really great time. We are looking forward to next year!”

If you couldn’t make this pawsome event or would like help, donations can still be made to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, for more information on how to do so go to: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp?item_id=551081.

Or Contact Elena Huber by email Elena.Huber@lls.org or call 631.752.8500 x13.

May 15, 2010
By Nancy E. Hassel of LIPetPlace

Did you know that today, Satuday May 15th, you can go to a beautiful winery on the North Fork and enter your mutt into the 3rd Annual Cutchogue Canine Classic? Held at Castello Di Borghese Vineyard and Winery, 17150 County Road 48/North Road in Cutchogue. Anyone can enter their dog in a variety of unique & silly competitions, including: ‘Best Mutt,’ ‘Best Purebred,’ ‘Best Rescue,’ Best Kisser,’ ‘Best Lap Dog over 60 lbs,’ Best Pet & People Look-alike,’ and a lot more categories! Of course prizes will be awarded!

The event is a fund raiser for local shelters and the Guide Dog Foundation. There are also doggie demonstrations, education, food, raffles, and craft vendors, and of course delicious wine inside the winery.

This event is a lot of fun, and a great way to get out with your dog and enjoy the beauty of the North Fork. For more information you can go to the official website: www.cutchoguecanineclassic.com.

The event is all day from 10am – 5pm and it is $10 to enter your dog! General Admission: Adults $5 Children $3. No admission to visit craft vendor booths. Woof!

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Baby it’s HOT in here!

Summertime, summertime, sum-sum-summertime! Summertiiimmmme! Okay so it may not quite be summer yet, but on beautiful warm spring days that hint that summer is coming, our minds turn to the beach, boating, bbq’s and more. One thing many people tend to forget or not even think of is pet safety and heat. It’s seems like common sense to many responsible pet owners, but there are often people who for some reason disregard pet safety in the heat of the summer or maybe they are new pet owners and just don’t know better.

One major concern is pets left in cars. It amazes me year after year, that I still see people on a warm day leaving the windows open a crack and leaving their very furry dogs in the car – while they go into a store. According to a study done by San Francisco University, and another study listed on www.MyDogIsCool.com shows how quickly temps rise during a heat wave. (One of the thermometers used in a study was an actual oven thermometer – that should tell you something). Not to mention if it is humid outside, it doesn’t help matters.

Why not try it yourself, without the dog or any pet for that matter of course. Next time it is a beautiful 75 -80 degrees, go sit in your parked car crack the windows a bit and sit in there for 10 -15 minutes. Don’t cheat and drink water or put the AC on. Now imagine yourself in a fur coat without the ability to sweat. Are you hot yet?

Pet owners should also know if you are caught doing this or someone reports your car with a pet in it to the police, the police have the right to break into to your car with whatever means necessary, call animal control and have your pet seized. You may be issued a summons, arrested for animal cruelty, or more. So the next time you are running up to the supermarket on a hot day, please, please, please leave your pets at home in the AC!

See our next article in a series on other safety issues and tips to keep your pet safe, healthy and happy during the summer months.