Tomorrow, Tom and I leave to attend the North American Vet Conference in Orlando, otherwise referred to as NAVC. I think Dr. Larry arrives today.

I have not been to a vet conference in many, many years. As Dr. Larry noted in his post yesterday, I'm sure to be surprised by all the amazing developments in veterinary science. I do know that more girls than boys (woman than men?) graduate from vet school, these days. It's definitely an attractive profession for women - albeit, a tough one.

I say tough because there is a lot of suffering that goes along with the care of animals. And yet, our pets rarely demand as much attention as their human counterparts. Pets are accepting of many medical issues - because they don't know better. To me, that's why today's improvements are so important. Creating that long and healthy life for our pets is every pet owner's desire. Isn't it?

Why wouldn't you buy pet health insurance?

And, what's missing in the websites you check for this option? We try to provide down to earth information on our site and our blog, but we're looking at things from inside, not outside. In marketing, that's where we recognize that reading the label from inside the bottle doesn't tell us anything. You have to be outside the bottle to read the label - and even then, it can have confusing information.

Dr. Larry is especially passionate about providing good, relevant, easy-to-understand information about the topic of pet health insurance, but we expect you still have questions. As we move forward into 2010, we want to be more responsive and attentive to our readers. So, I'm wondering...

In this discussion, we listen to Dr. Bill describe a claim made by the owner of a dog, named Piper, with hip dysplasia. This is a common concern of pet people who have larger dogs, and Dr. Larry has discussed this issue over at Scratchings & Sniffings, if you would like even more information.

Dr. Bill's claim story is from a family in CO, which is where we'll be moving next week. Isn't life interesting, that way? You'll learn what hip dysplasia is, that it's a chronic condition, but also what the claim on the PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance policy covered for this dog (hint: it's a lot!). Listen up...

This isn't just my opinion, it's the opinion of veterinarians, pet lovers, pet communities, and even MSN money. In fact, Liz Pulliam Weston, at MSN Money, says, "A few years ago, pet insurance would have ranked right up there with life insurance for children and dread-disease coverage on my list of policies you don't need. Now, I'm not so sure."

Why isn't she so sure now? Because she recognizes (a) that pets are people, too - to some of us, and we would do anything, spend anything, to make sure our pet is happy and health; and sometimes, that means really big vet bills - for treatment of accidents, cancer, disease, whathaveyou; (b) she cites the rise in new treatments and the cost of medical care for pets.

In this episode, Dr. Bill and Dr. Larry talk some more about the value of pet health insurance when your pet suffers from a chronic condition that requires life-long monitoring and treatment. The example here is from a claim for a 13 year old cat diagnosed with kidney disease.

Dr. Bill gives another example from his personal experience with his own cat that lived with chronic kidney disease from age 15 to 20 years! 

Today's podcast with Dr. Bill and Dr. Larry discusses another chronic, long-term care condition that requires multiple visits to the vet.

Dr. Bill shares the story of a diabetic cat - and how pet health insurance was a big help to her pet parents. Knowing they had the support of pet health insurance to help manage this disease not only saved them money, it gave them peace of mind.

(It also brought back memories of my days working at the Cat Hospital locally; we had a number of diabetic cats that came in for insulin and fluids, on a regular basis - I remember discussing how helpful pet insurance would be, back then - before we had it)

Another discussion of PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance Claims. Today, Dr. Bill talks about chronic conditions that require repeated medical care and vet visits. Listen to this Springer Spaniel's, story... and how having pet health insurance helps with his care.

Because of his condition, he will need care for his entire life. That's where insurance can be very helpful.

Dr. Larry usually writes the posts about PurinaCare® Pet Health Insurance because he has access to all the claims and details behind the scenes. We also post podcasts with him and Dr. Bill Craig, the real force behind those claims, so it may seem a bit strange to see me posting something on the "worth" of pet health insurance.

Here's the scoop - my daughter visited over the weekend. She, of course, knows about pet health insurance from an insider's view - because she's my daughter. Mostly, though, she reads the blog and listens to the podcasts. And...she's "considering" pet health insurance, now that PurinaCare is available here in NY. She has 3 delightful, crazy, active, sometimes go outside in the backyard, kitties.

You might think you're prepared for this claim file podcast, but maybe you aren't. Have a listen as Dr. Bill and Dr. Larry discuss cats and hairballs. (We clean up after the Wabby daily - and sometimes have to race across the room to get her off of the bed or the couch - or off the expensive rug in the dining room!)

But, even this made us realize that we have it easy! When it comes to cats, Wabby is an "Oscar Madison Cat"... as Dr. Bill calls cats that are more fastidious about grooming, but she's also fond of us so we're usually around when she starts that hairball cough. It's easy to get complacent and think hairballs come with the territory, until something tramatic happens, as it did here...and then, you'll be glad veterinary medicine has come a long, long way.

I only hope that before then, you will at least consider looking at pet health insurance. Good thing the pet parents of our podcast example, Gabe, did. He wins the hairball story in my book! (hint: think Smurfs!)

You hear about athletes with torn ACL injuries (anterior cruciate ligament), but I was surprised to hear Dr. Larry and Dr. Bill talk about how common this sort of knee injury is in dogs. In this podcast, they explain how such injuries can happen to your dog and the different sugeries that are used to treat them.

The title refers to the most modern surgical technique for repairing a torn ACL, called a TPLO, or tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, which requires special tools and special training even for a veterinarian — and lots of practice just to say it!

My dog, Carmel, had this injury several years ago. Though I don't know which kind of surgery our vet used to treat her, it was expensive and I wish I'd had pet health insurance back then.