I have some advice to give......I learned the hard way.....

[Libra926]

Get pet insurance. Do it! Get it now before your baby gets any older. We weren't informed about pet insurance with Vegas and now with his epilepsy, they denied him any coverage. His medical bills have exceeded 6,000.00 and he's not even 3.
We got it for Orion. It's already paid off. Wish we had it for Vegas.
We use VPI. What about you?

 

[emangan]

Hi, my old boss had a dog not bully that had epilepsy as well denied ins to. He found a pet pharmacy that saved him sooooo much money to get all her meds at much cheaper than getting from vet the vet would gove him script though. Also some regular drug store sell vet meds as well. Sorry to hear about illness soo glad with loving parents.

 

[Libra926]

Hi, my old boss had a dog not bully that had epilepsy as well denied ins to. He found a pet pharmacy that saved him sooooo much money to get all her meds at much cheaper than getting from vet the vet would gove him script though. Also some regular drug store sell vet meds as well. Sorry to hear about illness soo glad with loving parents.

I actually work for Costco and I get 6 months of his phenobarbital for under 8 dollars. His potassium bromide is a compound and only a handful of pharmacies do it. They put a special "beef" flavoring in it to make it pallatable (sp?) for dogs. That costs about 50.00 a month. His diazepam I also get at work for cheap. What isn't cheap is the 200.00 full blood tests that are done once yearly and the "mini" blood draws that are done twice yearly. Vegas ended up aspirating during a seizure and getting pnuemonia.......(1000.00). He also had his tail amputated due to a tail pocket that kept getting infected, plus he's been diagnosed with Megaesophagus, tested for Myasthnia Gravis...............and now we have been told that he has a torn ACL. We are pending a second opinion.

 

[Bulldogg]

Wow that is a lot of vet bills. Vegas is so lucky to have you!

 

[Zenscarboncopy]

Zen and Carbon both have pet insurance. We use PetPlan and they are excellent. They cover hereditary issues and all common, yet expensive, bulldog issues. Carbon had to have surgery on his nasal passage and throat, he had stenotic nares, elongated palate and nodules in his throat, and they covered every cent 1 month after getting them covered. With Zen being so active, skateboard, catch, etc..., they will cover acl tears, hip dysplasia, everything you can think of.

 

[TessaAndSamson]

I have VPI. I did tons of research on Sam before I got him and I knew I needed to be prepared. It's been great for me, I've used it alot! One thing I can say is I have the worst luck though. Signed up when he was 5 months. After you sign up with VPI you have to wait 14 days until it becomes effective. WELL 7 days after I signed up Samson broke his leg, in the joint, which meant he needed orthopedic surgery. YUP! A $2,000 surgery that wasn't covered!

 

[Libra926]

Zen and Carbon both have pet insurance. We use PetPlan and they are excellent. They cover hereditary issues and all common, yet expensive, bulldog issues. Carbon had to have surgery on his nasal passage and throat, he had stenotic nares, elongated palate and nodules in his throat, and they covered every cent 1 month after getting them covered. With Zen being so active, skateboard, catch, etc..., they will cover acl tears, hip dysplasia, everything you can think of.

Do they cover pre-existing conditions? VPI denied Vegas, so I might try another plan to see if he might be accepted.

 

[Libra926]

[MENTION=994]melanie[/MENTION]

Thanks! I'm glad you bumped this post. It's important to get insurance for our babies!

 

[Gertie's Mom]

I will absolutely look into this for Gertie and Ida! I actually picked up a little info. card the other day for a place called Petfirst Healthcare. They say they'll save up to 90% on vet bills. Anyone familiar with them? Is there one that's better than the rest? Or are they all good?

 

[bullmama]

Wow!! I am so appreciative of this site, Thank you so much!! I was told Lilly needed surgery on her eyes for entrobin, that's where her skin folds rub the eyes, I was told by the vet
anyway I'm going to check on PetPlan today!!! I have never heard of it.... Thanks again!! and Vegas has an AWESOME family!!!!!

Melanie, before you go to the extremes to get surgery for entropion, I think you should be looking at allergies as the source of the problem. From what you posted HERE:

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/showthread.php?1837-I-need-some-advice-PLEASE!!!!

If you bully is having allergies, she could be rubbing her eyes or the allergies could be causing swelling, which could be CAUSING entropion. If you correct her allergy problems, her entropion could go away. I know this from experience. Also, make sure you are seeing a vet with bulldog experience, and if you can ask your vet for a referrel to an actual Optimologist. I would never take advice from a vet on the eyes if they were not experienced in Optomology.

Diet is extremely important, and not just the dog food itself, but also the treats you are giving as well.

 

[Bella'sMom]

All the pet insurance I looked into did not include Congenital issues, which was Bella's main problem. I had looked into it when Bella had yet to be diagnosed and the whole congenital thing did it for me. We didn't know what was wrong but my vet assured me it was congenital. The main amount of expense was the diagnosis, EKG's (400ea) Blood Tests, heart meds etc...That all added up to $3000. Now Bella is just on her enzymes and thanks to Epi4dogs.com, I have a contact to get them very inexpensive. Occasionally I have to put her on Metro, that treats her SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) that is what happens if she eats anything w/o enzymes!!! But we can get those at Target!