Pet insurance redux: Dazzle vs. Maple
I think I may have insured the wrong dog.
Nearly a half a year after my first blog post of substance, I can see it so clearly. I was gambling, and I was doing it just like a gambler does it. Just like the fan in the stands who says of his favorite hitter who has gone 0 for 5, "He's due." I did it just like that, using the same stupid logic. He's not due, you idiot, he's in a slump, and he's more likely to strike out than he is to hit the ball. He's a bad bet, and later you'll see, in hindsight, that you should have known better.
Now I see, in hindsight, that I should have known better.
I chose to purchase health insurance for one dog, rather than two, to test the system. Nothing wrong with that. But in choosing the dog to insure, I employed all the classic gambling blunders. I decided that because I had barely spent any money at the vet on Dazzle (Dog 2) that she was due. I decided that since I had just spent over $1000 at the vet on Maple (Dog 1) that there was no reason for her to get sick again any time soon. My logic seemed 100% reasonable at the time.
But in fact, Maple is just like [insert your favorite brilliant pitcher who is healthy only 25% of the time here]. Every time he comes back to play, everybody expects great things from him. But in truth, he's the pitcher most likely to be injured next, again, because he's just plain prone to injury.
So now I know: Maple is prone to gum infections, and she is generally prone to special circumstances that make her the more expensive dog. Dazzle costs money, too, but not the way Maple does.
And now I'm thinking: Maybe it's time to insure Maple, as well. She's probably going to need antibiotics again before long ($150 for 2 weeks' worth) and she's probably going to need yearly dental cleanings (a few $hundred even without extractions). Oh, Maple, Maple, Maple. A dog that jumps on guests, a dog that jumps when she hears even the faintest jingle of her leash, a dog that hogs my bed, a dog that has more love to give than there are people to receive it. A dog that costs me more money than I spend on anything else besides rent.
A dog that's worth it, with or without insurance.
Nearly a half a year after my first blog post of substance, I can see it so clearly. I was gambling, and I was doing it just like a gambler does it. Just like the fan in the stands who says of his favorite hitter who has gone 0 for 5, "He's due." I did it just like that, using the same stupid logic. He's not due, you idiot, he's in a slump, and he's more likely to strike out than he is to hit the ball. He's a bad bet, and later you'll see, in hindsight, that you should have known better.
Now I see, in hindsight, that I should have known better.
I chose to purchase health insurance for one dog, rather than two, to test the system. Nothing wrong with that. But in choosing the dog to insure, I employed all the classic gambling blunders. I decided that because I had barely spent any money at the vet on Dazzle (Dog 2) that she was due. I decided that since I had just spent over $1000 at the vet on Maple (Dog 1) that there was no reason for her to get sick again any time soon. My logic seemed 100% reasonable at the time.
But in fact, Maple is just like [insert your favorite brilliant pitcher who is healthy only 25% of the time here]. Every time he comes back to play, everybody expects great things from him. But in truth, he's the pitcher most likely to be injured next, again, because he's just plain prone to injury.
So now I know: Maple is prone to gum infections, and she is generally prone to special circumstances that make her the more expensive dog. Dazzle costs money, too, but not the way Maple does.
And now I'm thinking: Maybe it's time to insure Maple, as well. She's probably going to need antibiotics again before long ($150 for 2 weeks' worth) and she's probably going to need yearly dental cleanings (a few $hundred even without extractions). Oh, Maple, Maple, Maple. A dog that jumps on guests, a dog that jumps when she hears even the faintest jingle of her leash, a dog that hogs my bed, a dog that has more love to give than there are people to receive it. A dog that costs me more money than I spend on anything else besides rent.
A dog that's worth it, with or without insurance.
posted by Jen S. at
10:59 AM
1 Comments:
Oh, boy. We have two dogs, one insured, one not. The uninsured is a 2-year-old boxer. The 9-year-old Bullmastiff mutt is insured to the hilt, because he is the dog version of danger-prone Daphne.
By
andrew, At
July 2, 2008 4:47 PM
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