Pet Insurance

I don't know if you have a Petco somewhere around there, but I think Petco sells pet insurance.

I looked at your profile but it does not state where you live.  If you are in Canada I would look at [linkhttp://www.vetinsurance.com]www.vetinsurance.com[/link] - it covers up to $15,000 lifetime per covered pet - and currently covers Dacshund disc disease.  The company is trying to expand into the US - and from the website it appears it appears the company does offer coverage in some states.  There is no limit per condition - either lifetime (such as kids' braces) or on annual basis.  If you are in Canada cost for a one year old dog would be about $35 a month.  This plan does not cover hip dysplasia - which worries me, because I now have an American Eskimo - BUT I used to have mini Dachshunds and my two special angels had worse case neck/disc disease.  There are many options available for pet insurance these days.  When we adopted our first Dachshund competition did not exist - so basically $80 a month - so doing the math say for 6 years and then surgery costs $6,000 and after regular, special, breed deductibles, you get $1,200 back - a bank account was a better option.  Our last little guy had the surgery in 2003 and died 10 months later at age 7 - couldn't handle a second surgery - again cost was $6,000.  We had a special bank account for our second wonder.  Our other Dachshunds did not suffer from the disease - or sometimes you get "lucky" and only one or two discs are affected - not every disc in neck and back.  We also had insurance on a Shepherd/Cross - same scenario - paid the premiums for 5 years and she had $2,000 "female" surgery - received $400 back.  When we adopted our Eskimo our vet told us about VetInsurance - she took it out for exactly same reasons we experienced.  When I spoke with the company I told them I was surprised that Dachshund disc disease was covered and the rep told me that before she joined the company she had no idea incidence of this disease was so high - so that is why I said at the moment disc disease is covered.  My Eskimo is a small standard so vet is hopeful he won't get Dyplasia - but I seem to have bad luck in this regard.  I initially did not take out the insurance because of the dyplasia exclusion, but after reading about Luxating Patella, Cruciate Ligament etc. - and watching those long legs race about - it would cost about $2,500 to fix a broken leg - and that would be for cast #1 - Eskies are chewers - and in Canada many vets now charge an average daily hospitalization rate of $135 to $175 that covers boarding plus nursing care, rather than the previous procedure of a basic hospitalization fee of say $40 plus cost of medical services as needed.  VetInsurance requires owner to pay first $25 of each day of hospitalization - this surprised me at first until I found out about new flat rates.  I know that PetInsurance - and a few other plans offer different coverages at different rates - it is just a matter of hedging your bets.  I know that if I had adopted another Dachshund, I would have signed up on the spot with our plan.  Other plans, most likely not.  Many people use VetInsurance for specific illnesses - say your dog has Cushings or something that will result in vet bills totalling $15,000 over dog's lifetime.  Stats are only one in 50,000 patients reach the limit - well in our case it would have been 2 times.  For the $35 a month we have some comfort particularly as our guy has not suffered from Patella or Cruciate as yet - and if you get it in one leg, the other is sure to follow, so he would be covered.  And he is a Hoover - and surgery for an obstruction is very expensive.  A couple of the other plans pay $1,000 per year for obstruction surgery - cost could be closer to $3,000.  So again, you have to hedge your bets.  Best of luck and I really hope your pup does not suffer from the darned Dachshund back.  Love the little big guys.