My house is so empty now

Dollardog

elsian - I have some short videos of him and for the first few nights kept playing them over and over again just so that I could hear the huffing and puffing and squeaking of his toys still in the house.
I don't think you are mad 'stalking' dogs in the hope they say Hello, although I haven't done that myself - yet!!

chatbug

So sorry for your sad loss. Sorry you are having trouble with the insurance you could do without that worry. We had our old boy insured never made a claim until he became ill at eleven and half years, insurance would not pay a penny, cost to us well over £1000. Sadly i had to have him pts at just before his 12Th birthday. I agree with zacksmum you must contact the insurance ombudsman to many are getting away with not paying up on the slightest of things. I never knew you could do this.
A year on and i still play the old videos of him, and go to his box and talk to him.

Dollardog

Chatbug, sorry to hear of your loss too. I'm still playing his videos, they are a comfort and I still talk to him although I decided not to have him cremated and have him back. He is here in spirit, the ashes are just the remains of the body. I know it can help having the ashes and I have the ashes of a previous dog, but decided to do something different this time.
I think its awful the way the insurance companies get out of paying for things. You think when you insure them that you are doing the right thing and protecting them from situations where you couldn't afford to pay.

zaksmum

Dollardog wrote: »

Chatbug, sorry to hear of your loss too. I'm still playing his videos, they are a comfort and I still talk to him although I decided not to have him cremated and have him back. He is here in spirit, the ashes are just the remains of the body. I know it can help having the ashes and I have the ashes of a previous dog, but decided to do something different this time.
I think its awful the way the insurance companies get out of paying for things. You think when you insure them that you are doing the right thing and protecting them from situations where you couldn't afford to pay.

I got my insurance company to put in writing what would be excluded. I switched insurers when my dog was 10 as the premiums were horrendous. He'd had a benign testicular tumour at 8 and been successfully treated for that so my query was whether the insurance would cover any future cancers he might get.

They were a bit evasive with the answer but did agree to provide cover for future cancers so I asked for that in writing which they provided.

My poor dog did get cancer of the spleen and other areas of his body and they paid out without fuss, which was just as well as I was practically non functional at the time.

They will do anything to wriggle out of paying and if I was getting a puppy today I'd just put the premium money in an account for vet bills.

hethmar

So sorry to hear about your boy - I know it tears the heart out of you when they go and you listen for the sound of them jumping off your bed or playing with a squeaky. Heartbreaking.

Could you tell us which insurer you had, so that we can all avoid them please?

I was wondering, as you cant foster yet, have you thought of contacting near by dogs homes to offer to help with walking the dogs at weekends or just cuddling and "socialising" them. In the little rescue I support, some poor dogs are overlooked for a year and have such little human contact that when prospective new parents come they dont give the best impression. Anyway, may be something you could think about.

Bless you for doing your best for your boy - thats all any of us can do. xxx

Dollardog

hethmar wrote: »

So sorry to hear about your boy - I know it tears the heart out of you when they go and you listen for the sound of them jumping off your bed or playing with a squeaky. Heartbreaking.

Could you tell us which insurer you had, so that we can all avoid them please?

I was wondering, as you cant foster yet, have you thought of contacting near by dogs homes to offer to help with walking the dogs at weekends or just cuddling and "socialising" them. In the little rescue I support, some poor dogs are overlooked for a year and have such little human contact that when prospective new parents come they dont give the best impression. Anyway, may be something you could think about.

Bless you for doing your best for your boy - thats all any of us can do. xxx

It was Sainsbury's pet Insurance, I think I was originally lured in with the 12 months for the price of 9. I've had two dogs insured with them, the first I only claimed once when he had a tumour on his eye and had to have his eye removed, no problems, they paid quickly and they paid the vet direct. I didn't have to renew his premium though after he reached 9 years old as unfortunately he died before then - brain tumour exactly a year after having his eye removed.
I haven't had any problems claiming with my last boy either, just signed the form so they paid the vet direct. The problems started when I had to renew after I had made the claims for his on going things - heart and thyroid tablets and the fact that he was 9 at last renewal, that was when they doubled the premium and increased the excess. To go from £65.04 a month to £130.48 is a huge jump. It had been going up about £10 a month each year up until then.

Dollardog

zaksmum - The problem with self insuring like that is if they get something that could run into thousands and you hadn't got it. It would be awful to be in a situation where you had to have the pet PTS because you couldn't afford treatment, especially if it was something treatable such as broken bones or something. Treatment is so expensive these days.
When another of my previous dogs had what the vet thought was an under active thyroid, he just gave her the tablets to see if they worked. These days, they are not allowed to, they have to have blood tests and then keep having them until they have found out the correct dosage to stabilise them. I suppose its because of the risk of people suing if it turns out to not be that, they have to cover themselves but it all pushes the prices up.
My friend had her last dog self insured but she knew that once the dog's bank account was emptied, she probably wouldn't be able to afford treatment. Luckily, it never got to that stage. When that dog died and she got another she decided that she had better insure this one.

zaksmum

Dollardog wrote: »

zaksmum - The problem with self insuring like that is if they get something that could run into thousands and you hadn't got it. It would be awful to be in a situation where you had to have the pet PTS because you couldn't afford treatment, especially if it was something treatable such as broken bones or something. Treatment is so expensive these days.
When another of my previous dogs had what the vet thought was an under active thyroid, he just gave her the tablets to see if they worked. These days, they are not allowed to, they have to have blood tests and then keep having them until they have found out the correct dosage to stabilise them. I suppose its because of the risk of people suing if it turns out to not be that, they have to cover themselves but it all pushes the prices up.
My friend had her last dog self insured but she knew that once the dog's bank account was emptied, she probably wouldn't be able to afford treatment. Luckily, it never got to that stage. When that dog died and she got another she decided that she had better insure this one.

I know, you're right of course. It's just when you think of how much you must pay the insurance companies over the years...then there are the excesses...but I always have insured all my dogs and there probably won't be any more after the two I have now.:(

Dollardog

zaksmum wrote: »

I know, you're right of course. It's just when you think of how much you must pay the insurance companies over the years...then there are the excesses...but I always have insured all my dogs and there probably won't be any more after the two I have now.:(

Not wanting to wish your dogs away at all obviously but when your dogs do go, if you don't work, you could apply to the Cinnamon Trust to foster one of the ones that need a permanent home. They don't let you adopt but the long term fosters you get to keep, but they pay the vet bills for the rest of the animals life. They wouldn't let me have one because I work. Would be good to think that the vets bills would be covered though.

zaksmum

Dollardog wrote: »

Not wanting to wish your dogs away at all obviously but when your dogs do go, if you don't work, you could apply to the Cinnamon Trust to foster one of the ones that need a permanent home. They don't let you adopt but the long term fosters you get to keep, but they pay the vet bills for the rest of the animals life. They wouldn't let me have one because I work. Would be good to think that the vets bills would be covered though.

Thanks but that wouldn't work for me.

I have very limited mobility and although thankfully I can look after my dogs well now, the younger dog is only four and I wouldn't expect to be able to care for another dog when he goes.