animal Living pawsitive!
â„¢
wellness For a long, healthy life!
The "BENJI"
PHENOMENON: A canine celebrity helps rescue other shelter animals
TOP 10 Getaway Ideas 7 ways to save on vet bills
How to control GARDEN PESTS
Check out our
Amazing Animals PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS!
naturally
AUG./SEPT. 2005
$4.95 USA/$5.95 Canada
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 4
animal wellness www.AnimalWellnessMagazine.com
contents 28
86
features 18 Seven ways to save
money on vet bills How to keep costs low – without sacrificing quality care
28 Benji and Joe Camp
Photo: Cindy Pauliuk
take their show on the road to help shelters This beloved canine celebrity has won the hearts of millions
animal wellness
33
33 Pack your bags!
46 Vaccination: Part III
43 Traveling with your
59 Natural pest control
Animal Wellness presents our Top Ten Getaway Ideas
animal? Don't forget his first aid kit
Which ones do they really need and how often?
keeps your garden healthy and animal-friendly Safe ways to battle those pesky bugs
ONTARIO REGIONAL SECTION
Photo: Debra Casey
96
65 Selenium – good for
you...good for your companion! A close-up look at a powerful antidioxidant
66
Our Amazing Animals Photo Contest Winners Find out who won!
72 Go gently into that
96 How to introduce a new
good night Hospice care for animals
81 Flower essences 101 How they help heal our animals
86 On the right foot
Yin & Yang of 99 The puppy love
Taking care of your horse's hoofs
CALIFORNIA REGIONAL SECTION
cat to the "clutter" Bringing home another feline friend? Here's how to ensure a smooth transition
Try this simple acupressure exercise with your best friend
ATLANTA
REGIONAL SECTION
animal wellness
even ways to
save money
on vet bills
by Shawn Messonnier, DVM
Susie adopted her Shih-Tzu Neddy when he was just a year old and suffering from a stubborn digestive complaint. “I took him to the vet and was amazed by how streamlined everything was,” says Susie. “It’s been a number of years since I last had an animal, and I didn’t realize how much the veterinary field had expanded and grown, and how many great procedures are now available for pets.” As Susie discovered, many vets now offer almost the same quality of treatment for pets as doctors do for people. Blood profiles, complicated surgeries, hospitalization with round-the-clock monitoring and care, and even specialized diagnostic tests such as CT scans, MRI scans, ultrasound examinations, and endoscopic biopsies are the norm at many contemporary clinics. Yet all this care comes at a price, and vet bills can consequently run into the hundreds and thousands of dollars. The good news is that there are several ways you can decrease these costs without sacrificing the quality of health care your animal needs.
18
animal wellness
1. Practice preventive care It usually costs more to fix something than to prevent the problem in the first place. Your car mechanic will tell you that spending just a little each year on tune-ups and oil changes will help avoid expensive repairs down the road. Your pet isn’t a car, but the same philosophy applies. Here are a few ways to prevent problems that might entail more costly procedures later. • Annual lab tests. Diagnosing problems such as diabetes and thyroid disease with a simple, inexpensive yearly blood test only adds about $50 to $60 to your bill, which translates to about 15 cents per day! It’s not much when you consider that to treat diabetes, it can cost hundreds of dollars just for the hospitalization to run glucose tests to regulate insulin levels during the first week of treatment! Lab tests should be done annually on younger pets, and at least twice yearly on pets seven years and older. • Nutritional supplementation. Healthy foods and quality supplements minimize oxidation and inflammation (two major causes of all chronic degenerative diseases) and boost the immune system. Quality supplements and food cost more than low-cost “generics,” but are healthier and more effective. Spending a little extra on better nutrition is less expensive than paying for procedures when your pet becomes ill. • Surgical sterilization. Spayed and neutered dogs and cats have a greatly reduced risk of developing breast cancer, and no chance at all of developing cancer of the testicles or uterus.
2. Buy health insurance for your animal Insurance companies that pay for the medical care of dogs and cats include Veterinary Pet Insurance, PetCare Pet Insurance, and Petshealth Insurance. Premiums range in price depending on the age of the pet and any pre-existing conditions. Many clients find that carrying insurance allows them to go ahead with procedures that might otherwise have been cost prohibitive.
3. Open a pet savings account An alternative to insurance is to open a savings account for your pet. By simply saving one dollar a day, beginning when your animal is young, you can accumulate several thousand dollars to help pay for any diseases that show up later in life. While this won’t actually save you money on vet bills, it does enable you to offer quality care for your pet when needed, rather than being forced to opt for euthanasia.
4. Avoid low-cost veterinary care It may seem odd that I recommend avoiding what is less expensive to begin with. However, I have seen too many problems arise when corners are cut just to save a few dollars. As an example, I once saw a cocker spaniel whose owner wanted a second opinion for a chronic skin disease. A low-cost doctor had diagnosed allergies six months earlier and treated the dog with repeated steroid injections, although no diagnostic testing had been done (no surprise since diagnostic testing costs money). A simple skin scraping showed the cocker had demodectic mange that was actually made much worse by the steroids.
Deny me? It’s not an option.
We carefully select and bake with the finest ingredients, including organically grown fruit , vegetables and meat. Our GRAIN FREE treats are part of our commitment to a healthy diet, for our dogs and cats — and yours. Look for us at a quality health or pet food store near you.
Wholesale orders only:
1-888-276-PAWS (7297) I think you get the picture. A little extra money well spent is a smart investment and
Enquiries: 604-276-9799 Web: www.gidbc.ca
animal wellness
19