[nagdu] pet insurances

[Criminal Justice Major Extraordinaire]

Hi, Cheryl,
Although there are Pet Insurance plans for dogs, there are times when it's 
not even worth it, especially when the dog has a pre-existing illness which 
Odie already has since it's respiratory related.
Although there may not be plans in each state probably, a person could still 
use a ATM bank card to have the insurance money come out of the count such 
as $35.00 on a monthly basis.
I know that when I've gone to my search engine, I did research on pet 
insurances and depending on which one would suit your needs, some do offer a 
discount for guide dog users.
One question I asked one time when speaking to a pet insurance company was 
if they'd cover the cost for a pet ambulance if one exist in a state that a 
guide dog handler lives in.
Their answer was, "What is a pet ambulance?"
Sad thing is not too many states will have a pet ambulance service at all 
and then the handler is stuck with having to utilize a taxi cab company to 
transport the dog to an emergency vet.
User is then stuck with having to pay for the transportation part because 
pet insurance won't even pay nor cover it.
Only states that I know of so far who do have a pet ambulance program is in 
Phoenix, Arizona and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Here in Colorado, we used to have it, but that wend down under and out of 
business.
I actually experienced a rough task one time of having to rush Odie to 
University Hills Animal Hospital during February, 2006.
I had no one to help me on hand to get him there immediately as he was 
really ill and vomiting continuously.
We ended up taking public transportation to get to the vet.
Misfortune struck on the way there when he threw up on the floor of the bus 
while riding the former route89X to get me over to the Southmore Transfer 
Station during that time upon making another connection that would get me 
close enough to the vet.
It was an embarrassing experience of Odie vomiting on the bus.
Luckily, some passengers were very kind and offered to help me clean up the 
mess as I had a roll of paper towels on me.
Bus driver told us just to cover it up and leave it as he'd already called 
into dispatch for a bus trade.
When Odie and I borded on to the bus, I was considerate enough to warn the 
driver that my boy wasn't feeling good.
Driver and passengers all took it with stride.
I not only felt bad, but also felt as if I ruined everyone's appetites for 
the evening along with their day.
Bus driver nor passengers weren't upset and felt glad that they could try to 
help out.
Odie also felt embarrased and sad for making a mess.
The next time he ended up having to go to the vet when he felt ill again, I 
was able to get someone to help me get him down there.
My hopes are that as long as I continue to be a dog user, I'd rather not 
have to go through what I did when it came to doing public transportation.
Bibi and Odie
the happy spirited bounty labra wolf