Just discovered World Rabies Day. This year it's on September 28th.

The information came via my Google alerts on pets. MarketWatch, an online resource I use for many things, has a good article about this - with a reminder to vaccinate your pets.

My dog, Carmel, will be going for her yearly vaccinations this week, but her rabies isn't due for two more years. Rabies' vaccinations are not something I would EVER neglect...for Wabby, my cat, or Carmel, my dog.

In the MarketWatch article, they say, "Rabies is still a major threat worldwide." That was a surprise to me.

We have both a dog and a cat in our house. I like it that way. Makes life interesting. Sometimes, I think they get confused over what species they are. The dog acts like a cat, and the cat acts like a dog. Maybe that's because they grew up together. We had the cat as a kitten, and then adopted the dog when she was a puppy, less than a year later.

According to this article, "Cats happy to share if they're top dog," in ABC Science, "...if the animals are introduced to each other while still a puppy and a kitten, the two can actually learn each other's body language."

I hadn't thought of it as learning "body language" but that makes sense. In the article, it talks about the sniffing procedure. We all know what dogs like to do - regardless of human sensibilities! Cats are much more proper - they sniff noses.

This is a story about my dog, Carmel. She's going on 14 years old. For a lab/shepard mix, that's pretty old. I didn't notice how old she was getting until this summer. It's clear she has more trouble getting up and down this year, than she did last year. It's clear she is struggling to finish our morning walk. But, all in all, Carmel is in good health and probably has a year or two left in her.

That doesn't sound like much - a year or two. I've had at least four good dogs in my life, and all of them lasted to at least 15, but none of them were like Carmel. Carmel is special. I wanted to write about her today because I wish there had been pet health insurance around when Carmel was a puppy. It would have come in handy!

This is the last podcast on Exclusions, what's included, what's not, and other details of the PurinaCare pet health insurance. To access ALL of the podcasts, click the PurinaCare podcasts in the Category list on the right. You may also click here to be connected to Parts 1,2 and 3 of this series on PurinaCare. Please feel free to comment and/or leave questions. We welcome your feedback.

Hereditary conditions often get people confused, when it comes to their coverage in pet health insurance. In this podcast, Dr. Larry talks about this issue and which hereditary conditions are NOT excluded. The goal is to educate the consumer to help you understand your pet health insurance.

As with any kind of insurance, the little things can often get people rolling their eyes, so these podcasts are meant to help uncover the reality, as it pertains to PurinaCare, and to be as educational as possible. We know it isn't about the insurance, it's about the pet and his or her long-lasting health.

(see links below for Parts 1 and 2)

Part 1 talked about Exclusions: Pre-Existing Conditions

Part 2 covered Breeding and Other Items.

Once upon a time, a long time ago...probably at least last year (LOL) people picked on my cat, Wabby Wibby becase she was big-boned. Or, fluffy. In other words, she was porky.

Like the now famous 44 pound kitty of Regis and Kelly fame, Wabby Wibby waddled when she walked. She  only weighed 13 pounds, and none of the vets I took her to ever commented about her weight. It was the human beings who petted her or picked her up that thought she was a bit over the top. I've always thought she was just fluffy. Much like my daughter's cat, Booger, shown here. (Wabby did not want her picture taken, sorry)

She's old now...and has lost some weight. She still wobbles when she walkes. It's how she walks. But, it is time for her check-up...to find out whether or not this weight loss is something to be concerned with. Unlike the "jumbo stray" nicknamed Princess Chunky ('she' turns out, is a 'he')... Wabby will never be famous and will always rely on her simple, but fond, people to care for her.

In Part 1, we talked about the most commonly talked-about exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions. This time, we'll cover many of the other exclusions listed in the PurinaCare™ Pet Health Insurance policies:

Once again for the left-brain learners, here's some of the relevant language

This will be the first in a four-part series covering many aspects of "exclusions" from the coverage of PurinaCare™ Pet Health Insurance. We'll be talking about a number of items that are specifically excluded from coverage, as well as a couple of areas you might not think would be covered, but are!

So this might be a good time to remind that you can subscribe (RSS or email, at right) to avoid missing the coming installments. We'll be adding links to each post after they're all published.

In this part, Dr. Larry explains the term "Pre-existing Condition" and why they are excluded from coverage:

For those who want to, shall we say, follow along with the text,