My house is so empty now

zaksmum

So sorry for your loss dollardog...I didn't even know your boy was ill but doesn't it feel like your heart has been ripped out?

Can I ask why you have to pay a vet bill if your boy was insured?

You have more than enough to deal with at this time without financial worries too.

Sending you hugs. You are always there for others on here who are suffering or struggling so I hope you will allow us to be here for you too.

Dollardog

zaksmum wrote: »

So sorry for your loss dollardog...I didn't even know your boy was ill but doesn't it feel like your heart has been ripped out?

Can I ask why you have to pay a vet bill if your boy was insured?

You have more than enough to deal with at this time without financial worries too.

Sending you hugs. You are always there for others on here who are suffering or struggling so I hope you will allow us to be here for you too.

Thanks zaksmum I haven't been able to face coming on here to tell you all although I have emailled a few to tell them. Yes, I do feel my heart has been ripped out, there is a big hole that will take an awful lot of filling. He was such a good dog, never any trouble, always so easy going, He will be such a hard act to follow.
When I renewed his insurance last October I was told that the excess of £125 per condition only had to be paid on new conditions. I specifically asked if it would have to be paid on his existing ones and was told no, only new ones. He had a heart murmer ans was on Vetmedin and also when we were trying to find the cause of his drinking so mch, we found he had an underactive thyroid, so he was on Soloxin for that, neither of those tableys are that expensive if I had bought them on the Internet with a prescription from the vet, but as he was insured, I claimed. I had a shock when the insurance went up from £65 to £130 when it was renewed last October but paid it because of the conditions being excluded of I had gone elsewhere.
Now I have found that I have got to pay the excesses again, contrary to what I was told. If I had known that, I wouldn't have renewed, because I got a quote from Petplan which was over £900 a year cheaper but obviously excluding the existing conditions. I would have gone with that and paid for his tablets myself if I had known about having to pay the excesses again. Its not made clear on the policy document. I have written to complain about it and about being told the wrong information.
Anyway, I know I have to pay over £40 for his treatment for the infection, as that was less than the excess, I also have to pay to have him PTS as that isn't covered as he was 10. Now if I also have to pay the £250 for the two excesses as well, it leaves me paying most of the £400+ vets bill myself.
Which is an insult as I have paid nearly £400 in insurance premiums since October which I'm not going to get anything back on. Considering the years I was paying the insurance for him and my previous dog and not having any claims, it is really annoying. They have already had much more out of me than I have ever claimed for.
Other people have had much older dogs with much bigger claims and their insurance has only been around the £600 a year mark. How they can justify charging me over £1550 a year then make me pay the £250 as well I don't know.
You love your animals though and just pay it don't you. I really struggled to find the £130 a month but he was my family, I would have gone without anything for him. I loved him to bits. It just adds insult to injury to have a big bill like that when I thought it was taken care of. I mistakenly thought that was what you had insurance for.
As you say, its distressing enough losing him anyway without having to worry about paying the bill. It also means I can't even consider getting a dog even from rescue until I have settled that.
A crossbreed would probably be a lot less to insure.

Katiehound

Sorry to hear your news. If you want to sob down the phone don't forget there is the Blue Cross pet bereavement service.
http://www.bluecross.org.uk/2083/pet-bereavement-support-service.html

I know that does not solve the problem but it may help a little.

I wonder if you are in a position to foster?
To help look after a dog for The Cinnamon Trust?
http://www.cinnamon.org.uk/volunteers/

Sorry too to hear about the insurance problem (me, I steer clear of it.) I would send them a very strongly worded letter pointing out exactly what you were told about the policy. I assume they have a complaints proceedure and you could take it further? I know you won't be feeling like fighting this on top of the loss of your companion ....but don't let them get away with it.

Take care

Dollardog

Katiehound wrote: »

Sorry to hear your news. If you want to sob down the phone don't forget there is the Blue Cross pet bereavement service.
http://www.bluecross.org.uk/2083/pet-bereavement-support-service.html

I know that does not solve the problem but it may help a little.

I wonder if you are in a position to foster?
To help look after a dog for The Cinnamon Trust?
http://www.cinnamon.org.uk/volunteers/

Sorry too to hear about the insurance problem (me, I steer clear of it.) I would send them a very strongly worded letter pointing out exactly what you were told about the policy. I assume they have a complaints proceedure and you could take it further? I know you won't be feeling like fighting this on top of the loss of your companion ....but don't let them get away with it.

Take care

Hi Katiehound, tried the bereavement line, didn't really help at all.

I've just got the paperwork for volunteering for the Cinnamon Trust, I couldn't foster for them though, they don't let anyone who works foster, I suppose they might do short term, but couldn't do that at the moment, still too raw to have another dog in the house and then have to send it back. I asked about having a long term foster, that means you have it for the rest of its life and because you are classed as a foster home and the dog/pet still always remains the property of the Cinnamon Trust, they pay all the vets bills, sounded ideal. They won't let them go though to people who work, I don't think it would work for me anyway because apparently its usually old pets often with health issues, which is why they pay the vet bills and if they have lived with housebound elderly, they won't be used to being left on their own.
I've said I could do some dog walking for them and transporting if necessary to vets etc.

I have already written a letter of complaint about the insurance, there were other things as well, and am sending it to the CEO.
What is frightening is, an old/housebound person could have faced the same thing as me, the insurance doubling and then having to find extra on top, and they could have been so worried about vet bills they might have been forced to rehome or have their pets put down. That would have been an awful choice to have to make.
I have threatened going to the Insurance Ombudsman, they shouldn't give out wrong information.

sazzybum

Remember you can email me anytime DD. Candle lit for Fred.

Thinking of you


Aileen xx

zaksmum

Dollardog wrote: »

Hi Katiehound, tried the bereavement line, didn't really help at all.

I've just got the paperwork for volunteering for the Cinnamon Trust, I couldn't foster for them though, they don't let anyone who works foster, I suppose they might do short term, but couldn't do that at the moment, still too raw to have another dog in the house and then have to send it back. I asked about having a long term foster, that means you have it for the rest of its life and because you are classed as a foster home and the dog/pet still always remains the property of the Cinnamon Trust, they pay all the vets bills, sounded ideal. They won't let them go though to people who work, I don't think it would work for me anyway because apparently its usually old pets often with health issues, which is why they pay the vet bills and if they have lived with housebound elderly, they won't be used to being left on their own.
I've said I could do some dog walking for them and transporting if necessary to vets etc.

I have already written a letter of complaint about the insurance, there were other things as well, and am sending it to the CEO.
What is frightening is, an old/housebound person could have faced the same thing as me, the insurance doubling and then having to find extra on top, and they could have been so worried about vet bills they might have been forced to rehome or have their pets put down. That would have been an awful choice to have to make.
I have threatened going to the Insurance Ombudsman, they shouldn't give out wrong information.

Definitely contact the insurance Ombudsman! How can they be allowed to get away with this? I don't suppose you have anything in writing about the exclusions?

elsien

Oh, I'm sorry Dollardog.
I do know how hard it is coming home to an empty house and thinking you can still hear them grumbling away in the background, so you have my sympathy.
I'm afraid the only thing that worked for me was time. I tried going out for walks, but found myself stalking other people's dogs in the hope that they'd say hello, which probably wasn't a good thing. Although having said that I do know other people who've lost dogs who've done the same, so maybe not as completely mad as it sounds.
I have mutt sitting in her little wooden box on the side so I could talk to her and cry at her whenever I wanted to. My family think I'm completely mad and it's a bit morbid, but the bottom line is whatever works for you...
Look after yourself and give yourself time to grieve.

I have volunteered for the cinammon trust before as a dog walker - I found they can be a little slow to get organised and get back to you, so you might need to chase them up if you don't hear for a while.

aliasojo

So sorry DD.

I wish you strength. x

Dollardog

sazzybum wrote: »

Remember you can email me anytime DD. Candle lit for Fred.

Thinking of you


Aileen xx

Yes, thanks Aileen, I saw the candle, thanks, he's still lighting his candles for Ruars.
At least I know what happened to him. I'm finding it very difficult to cope without him but I couldn't have coped with the torture you are going through not knowing where Ruars is.
Still hoping and praying with all my heart that Ruars turns up on your doorstep one day looking for his tea.

DD xx

Dollardog

zaksmum wrote: »

Definitely contact the insurance Ombudsman! How can they be allowed to get away with this? I don't suppose you have anything in writing about the exclusions?

No unfortunately I don't have it in writing, but I know the date of the phone call, which I have told them. They should be able to listen back to it, but I suspect they will probably 'lose' it.
When I was told I would have to pay it again, I looked at the policy document but it is not clear on there either that when you renew you have to pay again, it just says 'per condition' not 'per condition per year.' I just think they should make it clearer.

Pet Insurance seems to be a minefield. Something you are scared to be without if you know you couldn't afford a big bill but something that the companies have you over a barrel about if you have ever claimed or if there is anything on previous history which might get excluded. If you insure anything else, like house, car etc, you can just get another quote and go elsewhere but pet insurance is something else.
We all want the best for our animals and don't want to put our best friend's lives at risk because we can't afford a bill.
To be honest, if I ever get to the position of having another dog, I really don't know where I would go for the insurance. Probably Petplan but I am sure I read on here that there were also horror stories of premium hikes with them too for certain breeds.