Jan. 14, 2025
From the Vault: Save on Vet Bills! Expert Advice with Jonathan Wainberg
Bonus Episode From the Vault: The #3 Most Downloaded Episode of 2024!
While we’re on a break until Feb 4, we’re bringing back one of your all-time favorite episodes of 2024 from the vault!
This episode dives into the financial options available for pet healthcare, providing actionable insights to help pet parents prepare for unexpected expenses. Join Amy and Jonathan Wainberg, Senior VP of Synchrony Financial Service’s Pet Business, as they discuss strategies like budgeting, CareCredit, and pet insurance, while emphasizing the importance of open communication with veterinarians.
Key Topics Covered:
- Examining the rising costs of pet ownership
- Exploring financing options for pet healthcare
- The role of CareCredit in managing expenses
- Budgeting strategies for unexpected healthcare costs
- The importance of pet insurance as a financial tool
- Communicating financial capabilities with veterinarians
- Resources and assistance available for pet parents in need
- Educational tools to help pet owners prepare for healthcare expenses
Discover how to plan for pet healthcare expenses and ensure your pets get the care they need.
Relevant Links:
- Learn more about Synchrony's Pet Lifetime of Care study: Read the Study Here
- Explore the benefits of CareCredit for pet healthcare: Visit CareCredit
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Thanks for listening to Muddy Paws and Hairballs, your go-to resource for all things pet care. From dog training, behavior, and socialization to cat enrichment, pet adoption, and tackling behavior problems, we provide expert advice and real talk to help you create a happy, healthy life with your pets. Whether you're dealing with dog anxiety, looking for puppy training tips, or exploring enrichment ideas for your cat, we've got you covered. Be sure to check out all our episodes!
Chapters
00:10 - Navigating Pet Healthcare Costs and Options
09:22 - Financial Planning for Pet Healthcare
20:21 - Understanding Pet Ownership Financial Responsibility
26:31 - Exploring Options for Pet Healthcare
Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:10.987 --> 00:00:28.138
If you've listened to the show in the past couple of weeks, you know we're taking a very short break here before the new season of Muddy Paws and Hairballs kicks off is very close to my heart Paying for Pet Healthcare where we had Jonathan Weinberg, senior Vice President and General Manager for Pet Co brand at Synchrony Financial.
00:00:28.138 --> 00:00:35.292
Come on the show and talk about the various options that pet parents have to pay for their pet's healthcare.
00:00:35.292 --> 00:00:38.442
If you've ever had to make a tough financial decision for your pet's health, you know how stressful it can be.
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I've been there myself and I'm glad to know that those of you out there that are listening to this episode have better options available to you than I thought I had at the time.
00:00:46.914 --> 00:00:57.896
So in this episode, jonathan and I discuss how to manage unexpected health care costs for your pet and how CareCredit and other options can offer a helping hand when you need it the most.
00:00:57.896 --> 00:01:03.972
If you're a pet parent and you're worried about how to afford the very best care for your pet, you're not going to want to miss this episode.
00:01:03.972 --> 00:01:05.013
Stay tuned.
00:01:16.521 --> 00:01:22.283
Today I'm welcoming Jonathan Weinberg, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Synchronize Pet Business.
00:01:22.283 --> 00:01:33.388
Jonathan oversees Synchronize Care Credit, health and Wellness credit card program, which is a flexible payment solution for pet parents that is accepted by more than 25,000 veterinary practices in the US.
00:01:33.388 --> 00:01:47.054
Jonathan's also a board member at Independent Pet Holdings, where he's part of a team that oversees strategic direction of multiple pet insurance brands, including Pets Best, aspca, pet Health Insurance and Spot.
00:01:47.054 --> 00:02:05.153
But, most importantly, jonathan is a proud dad and husband and a pet parent to a mini poodle named Maddie, and he joins us today to talk about helping pet parents navigate the rising cost of pet care and understand their financial options when it comes to getting their pets the very best care possible.
00:02:05.153 --> 00:02:07.688
So, jonathan, thank you so much for being here today.
00:02:08.251 --> 00:02:11.241
Thank you for having me, amy, and full transparency.
00:02:11.241 --> 00:02:14.348
I do have to introduce someone else in the room over here, so hold on.
00:02:15.231 --> 00:02:19.352
For those who are on video, watching us on YouTube yes, oh my goodness.
00:02:19.734 --> 00:02:21.580
This is the beautiful Maddie Weinberg.
00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:24.727
She is a 14-year-old miniature poodle.
00:02:24.727 --> 00:02:35.481
She is our first child and, most days, our favorite child, and she's lived in four different countries with us and has been to 13 countries.
00:02:35.481 --> 00:02:41.283
So she's a real part of the family and we kind of joke that she's the chief pet officer of Synchrony.
00:02:41.283 --> 00:02:45.841
I work for her and she works for me, but I kind of feel like I work for her most of the time.
00:02:46.443 --> 00:02:46.924
There you go.
00:02:46.924 --> 00:02:48.769
Yeah, the pet's always at the top of the food chain.
00:02:48.769 --> 00:02:55.051
Absolutely, she's wise, she's been around the world, she's been around the block and so you know.
00:02:55.051 --> 00:02:55.520
It's interesting.
00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:06.614
You say you've had her for 14 years and she is your first child, and my guess would be that back then the options for paying for pet care were not anywhere what they are today.
00:03:06.614 --> 00:03:29.712
As somebody who is the president of an animal rescue, the ability to pay for the care for that pet is a huge responsibility that hangs over my head every time I face an adoption situation, especially when you've got somebody that comes into the situation who is already concerned about how they're going to pay their adoption fee, let alone the long-term lifetime care costs for that pet.
00:03:29.712 --> 00:03:34.900
So can you just kind of give us an idea of, like what are some of the options that are available?
00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:44.432
We did an entire episode on pet insurance and definitely I'm a proponent of at least investigating those options to see what might fit for you.
00:03:44.432 --> 00:03:47.304
But what other things are available to people?
00:03:47.945 --> 00:03:57.576
Yeah, and you know, I think, amy, it would make sense for us to start just to share some overall, you know, industry and macro trends to kind of level set.
00:03:57.576 --> 00:03:59.401
Pet ownership is at an all-time high.
00:03:59.401 --> 00:04:05.265
In the US, right, about two-thirds of households enjoy the benefits of sharing their life with a pet.
00:04:05.265 --> 00:04:29.187
There's a disproportionate amount of first time pet owners in the market due to, you know, general macro trends that have been happening, but also because of the boom that happened with the pandemic and people benefiting and seeing all the better outcomes of when people were locked down, having the ability to share their life and not be alone, and also some of the physical benefits that people saw.
00:04:29.187 --> 00:04:37.125
And then the third thing I just kind of point out is there's been great advances in medical care, right for pets over the past decades and that's accelerating.
00:04:37.125 --> 00:04:38.187
We continue to see that.
00:04:38.187 --> 00:04:42.165
So while costs are increasing, so too are our positive outcomes, right.
00:04:42.165 --> 00:04:43.949
But with that comes some challenges.
00:04:44.550 --> 00:04:48.427
More than half of pet parents underestimate the cost of caring for their pets.
00:04:48.427 --> 00:04:50.952
Many pet parents, especially first timers.
00:04:50.952 --> 00:04:53.165
They don't know the life cycle of a pet.
00:04:53.165 --> 00:04:55.701
They don't know the cost and responsibilities that come with that.
00:04:55.701 --> 00:05:14.791
You kind of learn that over the course of maybe the first pet you have and living through that life cycle, right, and you know an unexpected expense of you know you were talking about the $50 adoption fee, but one of the studies that we did said unexpected expenses as little as $250 is enough to trigger anxiety in that pet parent.
00:05:14.791 --> 00:05:37.041
So you know, here's what we also know Pet parents should never have to choose between cost and the care for their pets, and having a variety of financial options, which is what we're going to talk about today, is important, and expecting what I like to say expecting what should not be unexpected, right, because you know something is going to happen and that's critical.
00:05:37.423 --> 00:05:40.771
And that's where care credit and flexible payment options come in.
00:05:40.771 --> 00:05:43.127
Care credit is a flexible and convenient payment option.
00:05:43.127 --> 00:05:47.848
It's available for pet parents and it covers just about everything you could do in a vet clinic.
00:05:47.848 --> 00:05:58.791
It also covers in certain boarding and pet hotels and some grooming locations as well, but the majority of what we do is with regards to the healthcare.
00:05:58.791 --> 00:05:59.553
Use of the card.
00:05:59.553 --> 00:06:10.870
It's accepted in approximately 85% of vets in the United States and it offers flexible financing options, both short and long term, and it's a real-time application and approval.
00:06:10.870 --> 00:06:21.345
It should take you no more than 30 seconds to know if you pre-qualify without hitting your credit rating, and you could do it either at home, proactively, or you could do it at the vet office if something unexpected pops up.
00:06:22.048 --> 00:06:28.223
Right, especially in, like I said in my experience in rescue.
00:06:28.223 --> 00:06:38.850
We do not just rescue but we do a lot of outreach in the community and we get calls all the time from veterinarians who are like, hey, we've got a dog with a foreign body and the owner can't afford what we project the costs are going to be.
00:06:38.850 --> 00:06:40.958
Is that something that you can help with?
00:06:40.958 --> 00:06:44.728
And obviously we work with people on that, but time is definitely of the essence.
00:06:44.728 --> 00:06:55.242
But surprisingly, we actually had a recent case where, you know, because that person was able to get care credit, I actually had to call the vet after the fact and say so what do we owe you?
00:06:55.242 --> 00:06:55.865
Like, what was?
00:06:55.865 --> 00:06:57.533
What was the final outcome?
00:06:57.533 --> 00:07:05.973
And as it turned out, you know, they were covered and they didn't need to have the money that we had set aside for that, which is great, because now I can use that for the next animal that may not be as lucky.
00:07:05.973 --> 00:07:10.589
So it was super quick and a great option for that family.
00:07:11.651 --> 00:07:21.326
That's absolutely right and it's great about having various nets to catch where certain situations happen, making sure that people don't fall through the cracks.
00:07:21.326 --> 00:07:27.562
It's amazing that we have people like you that have dedicated and have those emergency funds, but ideally people can plan ahead.
00:07:27.562 --> 00:07:34.343
So, similar to you you talked about, you're a big proponent of pet insurance, or at least examining pet insurance.
00:07:34.343 --> 00:07:38.425
And pet insurance is great in certain situations and in other situations it doesn't work.
00:07:38.425 --> 00:07:41.826
Maddie, for instance she's 14 years old.
00:07:41.826 --> 00:07:52.870
She had pet insurance but then we lived abroad and that insurance didn't transfer with her to where she was and when she came back she had just an incredible amount of pre-existing conditions that didn't make sense for her to be insured anymore.
00:07:52.870 --> 00:08:01.093
She does have an accident only policy which covers things like if she were, to God forbid, get hit by a car or hurt her leg or eat something.
00:08:01.093 --> 00:08:04.435
You know that she wasn't supposed to, but it doesn't make sense from a general means.
00:08:04.435 --> 00:08:06.555
But generally I'm a big proponent.
00:08:06.576 --> 00:08:09.877
As you said, we used to have PetsFest used to roll up into me.
00:08:09.877 --> 00:08:15.158
It was the third largest pet insurer in the US and credit and insurance work great together.
00:08:15.158 --> 00:08:31.403
Also right, because some of the friction in the insurance thing is waiting for the reimbursement right, you're putting in that claim, but you also have to have the money available to pay the vet at the time of treatment, and so care credit can help you as you wait for that reimbursement to come back.
00:08:31.403 --> 00:08:49.171
So those are important things and these things work very well together, and a lot of the studies we found is that people that have both care credit and insurance tend to be some of your most highly engaged pet parents and are looking for the most optimal care for that pet, and optimal doesn't have to mean the most expensive.
00:08:50.160 --> 00:08:55.244
Right, yeah, it's covering the bases and it seems like those are kind of two of the maybe three bases.
00:08:55.244 --> 00:08:58.038
Maybe there's more bases, you'll have to let me know, but you know.
00:08:58.038 --> 00:09:02.605
So you've got the possibility of insurance that may cover certain things and may not cover other things.
00:09:02.605 --> 00:09:06.030
You've got the care credit to make sure that the veterinarian gets paid.
00:09:06.030 --> 00:09:08.914
What about just the idea of budgeting?
00:09:11.379 --> 00:09:12.744
Listen, everyone has to do what's right for them.
00:09:12.744 --> 00:09:19.570
What I'd say is we know through our study Pet Lifetime of Care that four to five pet owners are going to have an emergency at some point.
00:09:19.570 --> 00:09:26.364
Right, and so putting yourself in the position to anticipate that you're going to have an emergency is step one.
00:09:26.364 --> 00:09:28.807
Right, budgeting is great, but not everyone is great at it.
00:09:28.807 --> 00:09:32.149
Right, budgeting is a great tool, but not everyone is great at it.
00:09:32.149 --> 00:09:41.052
You know, I think, a couple of things education, right, know your breed, dog or cat, or where you live and what the general costs are going to be for certain things.
00:09:41.052 --> 00:09:42.385
That's very important.
00:09:42.385 --> 00:09:51.368
I think health savings, high yield savings accounts, health savings accounts are a great way to do it.
00:09:51.368 --> 00:09:53.294
I think now you know we hear a lot about interest rates are high and stuff like that.
00:09:53.294 --> 00:09:58.597
On a negative side, from you know, mortgage rates and people trying to borrow, but you know banks are vending money at a much higher rate.
00:09:58.597 --> 00:10:08.374
Synchrony is a bank and we have a high yield savings account and we're offering, I think, just under 5% and that's a great way to, you know, kind of put that money in.
00:10:08.374 --> 00:10:09.115
It's a great product.
00:10:09.115 --> 00:10:17.389
But having something like CareCredit before you know we tend to think about it as an emergency product.
00:10:17.389 --> 00:10:30.873
Preventative care and your routine appointments are running up to an amount where you could benefit from an interest-free promotion that we offer for our deferred financing options.
00:10:30.873 --> 00:10:33.907
That's something that people can always take advantage of.
00:10:33.907 --> 00:10:38.765
I also think talking to your vet really understanding some of those nuances.
00:10:38.787 --> 00:10:40.370
I'm going to give you an example with Maddie.
00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:46.143
She's lived a great life so far, but the longer you live, just like in humans, things pop up.
00:10:46.143 --> 00:11:01.412
Maddie, you know, about three years ago, was diagnosed with Cushing's and that requires not just medicine but also regulating her levels right For making sure her cortisol levels and the adrenal glands are operating at the optimal amount for her to live that healthy life.
00:11:01.412 --> 00:11:04.744
Well, that's one thing that you know I didn't really realize.
00:11:04.744 --> 00:11:17.703
Then, about nine months ago, she got diagnosed with a mitral valve deficiency which is, you know, a precursor to the potential of having congestive heart failure.
00:11:17.703 --> 00:11:23.927
With that she needs to go three times a year for an EKG and see, see as a doggy cardiologist right, which you know a lot of people didn't know existed until they go visit one.
00:11:23.927 --> 00:11:31.741
But she gets great care over there and they work with me to manage the best way to put together what is affordable.
00:11:31.741 --> 00:11:39.951
They accept care credit, which allows me to, you know, take those expenses and pay them over a much more orderly fashion, over six months a year or even longer.
00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:46.527
Yeah, and not put yourself in a financial bind by using a higher interest credit card Because, just like you said, interest rates are up.
00:11:46.527 --> 00:11:55.476
So if you're using a regular credit card and you're not paying that balance because that could put you in that situation, now you're paying a lot of interest that you didn't necessarily need to pay if you'd explored that other option.
00:11:55.956 --> 00:11:57.599
Absolutely Take advantage of.
00:11:57.599 --> 00:12:03.605
If someone's offering you six months or a year and you're paying it on the schedule, it's a no cost to the cardholder.
00:12:03.605 --> 00:12:06.788
It's just such a valuable product where things are on the market now.
00:12:07.269 --> 00:12:09.672
Yeah, and even if it's not a credit card situation.
00:12:09.672 --> 00:12:15.841
I don't know about younger people I'm old but a lot of people in my generation are very like don't use credit if you don't have to.
00:12:15.841 --> 00:12:17.423
You don't use credit if you don't have to.
00:12:17.423 --> 00:12:25.274
Well, if I'm getting zero interest credit and I'm getting 5% or 4.9% on my savings, why would I take money out of my savings?
00:12:25.274 --> 00:12:29.267
Take the money out of your savings as you're paying your care credit bill versus.
00:12:29.267 --> 00:12:30.971
I mean it just doesn't do the math.
00:12:30.971 --> 00:12:34.568
Do the math and figure out what is the best option for you in advance.
00:12:34.568 --> 00:12:35.912
That's important.
00:12:35.912 --> 00:12:38.812
I mean, that's part of being smart financially, for sure.
00:12:39.815 --> 00:12:50.625
Absolutely, that's my view also, and there are ways on the CareCredit website for you to set up for automatic payments so that you're hitting that minimum payment and not accruing interest after the promotional period.
00:12:50.625 --> 00:13:05.698
Right, we make that available, those tools, so that people get the most out of those promotional opportunities little planning for sure, but it's definitely doable.
00:13:05.719 --> 00:13:12.522
You had mentioned and it's interesting you mentioned because I did look through the lifetime of care document and you mentioned this idea of knowing the breed of your pet.
00:13:12.522 --> 00:13:17.485
I actually sent a text to my vet because she's also a client of mine in my consulting business.
00:13:17.485 --> 00:13:33.089
I was like, hey, have you thought about offering as part of your whether it's a wellness or new client, new puppy, whatever it is offering the genetic testing so that people know what are the potential issues for their pet?
00:13:33.089 --> 00:13:42.629
And then having a discussion with because I think the communication with the veterinarian is so important and being able to talk to a pet parent to say here are the long-term possible may not happen to your dog because it's this mix or that mix.
00:13:42.629 --> 00:13:46.860
Know, here are the long-term possible you know may not happen to your dog because it's this mix or that mix.
00:13:46.860 --> 00:13:52.803
But here are some things we might be facing in the future and here's how we can better prepare for those.
00:13:52.803 --> 00:13:57.865
Do you find that people are doing that more, that they're doing their homework a little bit on their pets?
00:13:58.927 --> 00:13:59.288
I think so.
00:13:59.288 --> 00:14:06.947
Listen, I think those DNA tests to learn more about the breeds are interesting, especially as you don't necessarily have all the history about them.
00:14:06.947 --> 00:14:07.988
So people are curious.
00:14:07.988 --> 00:14:12.221
Oh, I think it's a pit mix of this and that, and people want to know, which is great.
00:14:12.221 --> 00:14:17.602
It's taken it to that next level, just like I did an Ancestrycom test also.
00:14:17.602 --> 00:14:18.625
Yeah, okay, it was interesting.
00:14:18.625 --> 00:14:19.366
I kind of knew this.
00:14:19.366 --> 00:14:22.421
But what are you going to do with that information and how do you make that better?
00:14:22.421 --> 00:14:24.445
And I think you hit the nail on the head.
00:14:24.445 --> 00:14:25.647
It's really talking to the vet.
00:14:25.647 --> 00:14:27.236
Okay, so this is what I have.
00:14:27.236 --> 00:14:28.961
This is a miniature poodle.
00:14:29.302 --> 00:14:31.186
What can I expect over the course of the life?
00:14:31.186 --> 00:14:32.837
What do I need to watch out for?
00:14:32.837 --> 00:14:34.601
What do I need to budget for?
00:14:34.601 --> 00:14:35.224
Vets are.
00:14:35.224 --> 00:14:36.105
They're great, right?
00:14:36.105 --> 00:14:40.260
They're so dedicated to the welfare of our family members, right.
00:14:40.642 --> 00:14:53.418
And they bear the burden of a lot of those conversations where someone shows up and can't afford that vital care or the optimal care, and so they want to do as much as they can, but you're not put in that situation.
00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:56.816
That pet is not put in that situation and they're not put in that situation.
00:14:56.816 --> 00:15:00.163
So I would say, definitely, talk to them, use those resources.
00:15:00.163 --> 00:15:02.879
They will share with you a treatment plan.
00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:14.384
Whether you're paying in normal credit card, cash or with care credit, it's all about working out something that makes sense ultimately for the pet and something that you can afford over that lifetime.
00:15:14.384 --> 00:15:16.298
It's spectrum of care also right.
00:15:16.298 --> 00:15:22.077
There's no exactly 100% right or wrong on what is right for that pet.
00:15:22.077 --> 00:15:33.381
So, talking about that with your vet and understanding the lifestyle that you live, the resources that you have, work together to figure out what makes most sense for that family member and how you go about it.
00:15:33.381 --> 00:15:46.546
I think that there's a lot of great tools out there and vets are so generous with their time because they care so much about those outcomes of animals, of our pet family members, that they're willing to invest in that and help you figure that out.
00:15:47.335 --> 00:16:03.784
Yeah, you have to open that door to communication in some instances, because what I have found not only working with vets working for vets in interviewing vets for this show is that the initial conversation is going to be, in most instances, the gold standard.
00:16:03.784 --> 00:16:20.945
Here is the gold standard of what we can do for your pet, and if you just nod and smile and say, okay, they're going to make the assumption that you have the finances, that you're not going to put yourself in the poorhouse, you're not going to be pulling from your kid's college fund or not being able to pay your rent.
00:16:20.945 --> 00:16:25.802
You have to open that door to communication to say are there alternatives?
00:16:25.802 --> 00:16:27.446
Can we do this in stages?
00:16:27.446 --> 00:16:29.690
And you know as, just as an example.
00:16:30.195 --> 00:16:45.769
So when my dog, Jack, who was a Doberman Pinscher, got a hemangioparasitoma, which is a very treatable type of cancer, but it was on his leg and you know the standard, it wasn't even necessarily the gold standard, but the standard was to amputate the leg.
00:16:45.769 --> 00:17:08.493
And this is where it's so important to really think about just what you said as far as your lifestyle, the pet itself and having that communication with your vet, is that, knowing that a Doberman Pinscher carries a huge percentage of its body weight on its front leg, knowing that I had hardwood floors and he already was having issues with slipping and sliding on the floors, it's like, yeah, no, is there any other option?
00:17:08.493 --> 00:17:19.017
And financially it was a reverse situation because I actually went ahead and did radiation therapy on it and I won't even throw the number out there because he's going to choke somebody and that was a long time ago too.
00:17:19.017 --> 00:17:28.505
But for that dog, that investment to do that treatment made a whole lot of sense based on all of the things considered.
00:17:28.505 --> 00:17:37.234
I think my vet thought I was nuts had it been a different pet and it has nothing to do with loving the pet, more or less like I had a dog named Coco who was a miniature pincher.
00:17:37.375 --> 00:17:47.382
If she had gotten the same thing, I probably wouldn't have pursued, for a lot of reasons, that type of treatment, because that dog, I mean she could have one leg and she would have gotten around just fine.
00:17:47.382 --> 00:17:51.823
I mean she was just like so much more agile, didn't have the problems that he had.
00:17:51.823 --> 00:18:03.787
So my point in sharing that is that it is so important to really think about the big picture, because whatever is presented to you, although it might be a good solution, or even the best solution.
00:18:03.787 --> 00:18:13.882
It may not be the right solution for you in your 360 degree situation and you have to communicate with your vet about that and be open and honest with them about it.
00:18:14.505 --> 00:18:14.967
Absolutely.
00:18:14.967 --> 00:18:15.769
You hit it square on.
00:18:15.769 --> 00:18:24.742
It is being realistic about what you can do, and that doesn't mean pet ownership isn't for you or that you can't provide a loving and caring home for that pet.
00:18:24.742 --> 00:18:42.307
It's just about you know what is that spectrum and what does it make sense in some cases, in some situations, right, and that's that's where education, knowledge and being realistic with your vet about, hey, here's, here's where I am, this is what I budget for and how do we go about doing that is paramount.
00:18:42.307 --> 00:18:43.818
You know, knowledge is power.
00:18:44.580 --> 00:18:58.403
Right, I know one of the complaints I see and it's, of course, it's always the angry customer where you see the post on social media where people are complaining about prices of things, and one in particular that jumps out to me was a social media post where somebody was blasted.
00:18:58.403 --> 00:19:00.162
You know, I need a new veterinarian.
00:19:00.162 --> 00:19:01.817
This veterinarian was ridiculous.
00:19:01.817 --> 00:19:06.987
I brought my two dogs in here and you know for well checks for this and that and came out and it was $700.
00:19:06.987 --> 00:19:14.017
And I think my first thought was honey, you got off cheap for that.
00:19:14.017 --> 00:19:17.304
But to me it shouldn't have been a shock to this person as to what the cost of care for their pet was going to be.
00:19:17.304 --> 00:19:25.696
What would you tell pet owners as far as doing a better job in communicating with their veterinarians about the cost of things before they're down the path?
00:19:26.499 --> 00:19:31.435
Yeah, listen, I think even before you bring that pet into your family, do the research.
00:19:31.435 --> 00:19:37.449
There's plenty of sites out there that have estimation of what procedures cost.
00:19:37.449 --> 00:19:42.948
If you go to our lifetime of care study, you'll be able to see what our survey has showed.
00:19:42.948 --> 00:19:50.810
Study, right, you'll be able to see what our survey has showed what a pet can cost, and you know, our study determined that it's about $20,000 to $55,000 for a lifetime of a dog.
00:19:50.810 --> 00:20:02.117
Now, that's not just vet bills, it's, you know, totality of everything, but you know that's it's a big range, which is fine, but it's those are not insignificant numbers.
00:20:02.117 --> 00:20:05.160
And for a cat, you know between 15 and 45,000.
00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:16.326
Right, and so I don't share these numbers to scare people away, because I think, ultimately, bringing a pet into your household and into your life has a lot of benefits, but it's also a covenant.
00:20:16.365 --> 00:20:37.989
You're bringing a living being into your household and you got to be able to provide for it, just like you provide for human household members, right, and so I would say that you should always have some sort of wherewithal of what you can budget for, and I would also say don't let an emergency come up on you to the extent you can't.
00:20:38.028 --> 00:20:41.123
Like, we said, we know that there's going to be surprises, but how do you prepare for that?
00:20:41.123 --> 00:21:05.759
So, whether it's having care credit before because you can take advantage of it for your routine care, or you're having, you know other people, whether it be your family, know that, hey, if something emergency comes up, I have the ability to you know, reach out to you for certain things, because the last thing you want to do is, when that pet is having an emergency, is to be thinking about how I'm going to pay for it as opposed to how your pet is doing.
00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:17.576
It's already too stressful an event for you to add that upper variable which is not going to allow you to think clearly and be there emotionally for your family and for that pet.
00:21:17.977 --> 00:21:21.527
Right, you make a good point about, you know, communicating with family and friends.
00:21:21.527 --> 00:21:27.448
It's like having those, just like I always encourage people to have a plan B for their pet, especially if they're.
00:21:27.448 --> 00:21:35.619
When we get younger people, college students, that want to adopt a pet, I'm always a little concerned because that's a very transitional time in your life.
00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:41.097
You're at school, then you might be living at home, then you might be getting an apartment, you might be living with somebody else.
00:21:41.097 --> 00:21:42.721
What is your plan B?
00:21:42.721 --> 00:21:43.602
Do you have one?
00:21:43.602 --> 00:21:58.086
And it's like, if I hear a good answer, it makes me feel a lot more comfortable about the fact that you've taken the time to think through what might potentially happen in your life and in your situation for that pet and that the pet has been considered in those factors.
00:21:58.086 --> 00:22:11.702
Because I think too many times I'm one that gets the calls every day I don't know 15 or 20 calls a day for people surrendering because I'm moving or I'm doing this or I'm doing that and it's like really, and oh, by the way, the animal has to be gone by Friday.
00:22:11.702 --> 00:22:12.702
That was the call I the right.
00:22:12.742 --> 00:22:14.904
Now French Bulldogs are super popular, you know.
00:22:14.904 --> 00:22:16.045
Obviously I think they're cute.
00:22:16.045 --> 00:22:17.165
I would never own one.
00:22:17.165 --> 00:22:39.905
I certainly wouldn't buy one for a lot of reasons, but I see a lot of people getting into situations where the hype of look how cute that is, I see it all over social media.
00:22:39.905 --> 00:22:44.641
Now I've got one and I had no idea it was going to have all these issues and all this cost.
00:22:44.641 --> 00:22:46.144
Do you see a lot of that?
00:22:46.144 --> 00:22:51.058
And what do we do to remedy that situation, other than tell people you know, hey, don't get that pet.
00:22:51.441 --> 00:22:57.766
Yeah, it's a tough one, right, Because you know people ultimately make the decisions that they decide make sense, right?
00:22:57.766 --> 00:23:19.259
You hate to see when, you know, the 101 Dalmatians movie comes out and suddenly everyone thinks it's cool to have a Dalmatian, but they don't realize that that Dalmatian has a unique lifestyle that not all homes are built for and are very active and need a lot of space and shouldn't be living in you know, probably an apartment in Manhattan.
00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:31.775
Right, it's hard, you know you believe in the choice that people should make, but I think that another part of it is family socialization, Right, what is the right pet for you to have in a family situation?
00:23:31.775 --> 00:23:36.047
There's pets that do much better with kids, and I think you probably see that a lot, Amy, as well.
00:23:36.075 --> 00:23:43.295
Oh, we thought this would be great for young children and it turns out, you know, no, it's not the right mix, Right?
00:23:43.295 --> 00:23:45.542
Or, oh, my child's allergic to pets.
00:23:45.542 --> 00:23:54.118
Well, you know, maybe you should have got your kid checked for the allergy of dog or cats before you brought a living being into your house, right?
00:23:54.118 --> 00:23:59.625
So it's really tough, but ultimately I don't see that situation going away and I think we're.
00:23:59.625 --> 00:24:19.990
You know we're very lucky to have people like you that dedicate their you know their lives or their personal times to finding places and matching people and all the humane societies out there and the shelters that are really doing this really hard work to hopefully find places for when those pets are just not in the right situation for them.
00:24:20.731 --> 00:24:20.932
Right.
00:24:21.255 --> 00:24:26.366
I think education and knowledge obviously is a key to all of that.
00:24:26.386 --> 00:24:39.325
I mean, that's one of the reasons that we're doing this podcast is like, if we can get the word out about all the aspects of life with pets the good, the bad and otherwise then people are at least armed with that knowledge and that information.
00:24:40.548 --> 00:24:57.982
One of the things that I'm finding veterinarians doing more and more is that they're not only giving that initial range you know, low end, it's going to be this, high end it's going to be that but basically you know doing a good job of keeping those lines of communication open with the owner as things start to creep from the low to the high.
00:24:57.982 --> 00:25:08.164
Because I think human nature is, if somebody says it could cost somewhere between $2 and $5, you're thinking two, because that's obviously what you're hoping for.
00:25:08.164 --> 00:25:14.123
And when they come back and say it's going to be five, it's like well, I thought you said two to five and it's like five is still five.
00:25:14.123 --> 00:25:24.387
Any thoughts on that as far as what you've heard or what you're seeing from the veterinary side of things and what vets are doing, so that there's not surprises when it comes to paying the bill?
00:25:25.234 --> 00:25:29.730
Yeah, listen, I think they're sharing treatment plans right.
00:25:29.730 --> 00:25:48.480
So it's showing a range, but it's also showing, as we discussed earlier, a spectrum of care, because there's certain things that, yes, ideally we all would have unlimited funds to spend on that gold level service that that pet wants and we all want to give that family member that care.
00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:54.703
But the truth is is that in some cases and only the vet knows best is when is that really needed?
00:25:54.703 --> 00:26:08.403
And so, understanding with them, hey, I'd love to be able to do all this, but is there something that's going to get me 75% of the way there, that is, 45% of the cost and the other treatments that you have?
00:26:08.403 --> 00:26:13.128
Maybe that's something that can follow in a year when I'm able to, you know, budget that out or afford it.
00:26:13.930 --> 00:26:15.471
Right, yeah, good point.
00:26:15.471 --> 00:26:22.657
I know that when I originally took my bulldog she was having a lot of problems and I could tell she had probably done something to her knee or ACL.
00:26:22.657 --> 00:26:30.925
You know, the initial treatment plan from one practice was to do a certain procedure that involved cutting bone and screws and things like that.
00:26:30.925 --> 00:26:40.241
It was very expensive, would have done it, except that a friend had mentioned, you know, oh, when we had the same issue with our dog, we had this other option.
00:26:40.241 --> 00:26:45.057
So I explored other options and went with a different procedure that has worked out really really well.
00:26:45.057 --> 00:26:48.111
It was less invasive and about a third of the price.
00:26:48.111 --> 00:26:55.073
So you know, that's something I think people to you know to talk about alternatives with their veterinarians.
00:26:55.073 --> 00:27:10.082
I mean, I love my vets and I like to keep my business there, but at the same time I have to do what's going to be not only the best for my pet health-wise, but what I can afford or what makes the most sense financially for me too, and I think the vets understand that.
00:27:10.730 --> 00:27:11.791
Yeah, I think they do.
00:27:11.791 --> 00:27:27.878
I've been fortunate to spend an incredible amount of time with vets and I know that they put the health of the pet first, and so it's in their interest to provide the pet with the best options, that pet parent with the best options for the care of that pet.
00:27:27.878 --> 00:27:32.818
I think that in human health it's not uncommon to get a second opinion in certain cases.
00:27:32.818 --> 00:27:48.000
Now I'm not suggesting that people shop around like that, but in certain cases, if you don't feel comfortable with what that vet is suggesting whether it be cost-wise or treatment-wise you have that option at your disposal as well, and I would think they would understand that.
00:27:48.650 --> 00:27:56.175
Right, there's not always just one way to accomplish a goal with either our human health care or with our pet's health care.
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