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VET BILLS MAKING YOU YELP?
If you feel you’re being held hostage by the high cost of pet medication, veterinary bills, or even your own health costs, this information is for you.
August 2019 update Nel Liquorman, Investigative Reporter
First, I believe that good health starts in the grocery aisle! Nutrients from whole natural food could be the answer to avoiding the rising cost of drugs. Food should be local if possible and it should be minimally processed with no additives and in the case of meat, poultry, or fish, these foods should not be tumbled in solutions such as green tea extract and rosemary extract, which is now widely used to kill microbes and extend the sell-by dates. {1}
Pets and people may be affected by such extracts used during the tumbling-preserving-cleaning process.
Part of the problem of veterinary care and medication costs is that veterinarians feel forced to be able to provide the same medical advances that are provided to the human population, such as ultrasound, laser, and radiation therapy, this means that they must buy expensive equipment. Well, the only way to pay for that is to use it and charge a fee.
It is true that we have elevated the status of dogs and cats from companion animals to members of the family, feeling that they must have everything from human grade pet food ingredients to doggie pajamas. As long as we are willing to pay the price of medication and veterinary care, it will continue to go up until it is out of reach for ordinary people who also love their pets.
Sure there are some greedy elements in the pet medication and veterinary businesses, but let’s face the fact that many of us think that only the best is half good enough for our beloved cats and dogs. And, yes, I own this attitude when it comes to my own pets!
Even so, it helps that I believe good health starts in the food dish! I feed my former feral cats a raw diet and their food takes up as much freezer space as my own, but it has proven to keep them healthy. I may not be able to stay ahead of rising pet care costs but they only need routine checkups. My pets are not exposed to medications or pet chemicals. I keep them healthy naturally because I believe that one medicine just leads to the need for another.
While the economy is blamed for the increase in abandoned pets, the rising cost of caring for pets is equally responsible. Even though only a small percent of pet owners buy pet insurance, you can’t exclude insurance as a possible contributor to the rising cost of owning a dog or cat. Obama health care has not driven down the price of drugs and pet insurance is not likely to drive down the price of veterinarian prescribed medication.
Pharmaceutical companies exist to make as much money as possible for their investors and scientific breakthroughs aren’t cheap! New and improved drugs, technical advances in patient care, the ever-rising cost of research/development are expensive. Sure, the pharmacy industries could make less profit, but why would they?
In addition, consider how pets now seem to be diagnosed with the same diseases and problems found in the human population, such as cancer and liver failure. Since these conditions are not passed from person to person, or person to pet, it is likely that the food, environment, or perhaps even pet medications or flea chemicals could bring about these conditions.
Think about it - the same industry that could be causing the health problem benefits from the cost of treatment.
Reference and Related Article and Information: {1} Rosemary Neurotoxin In Dog Food Veterinary Pet Insurance by Lisa Ethridge, DVM Copyright ? NetPlaces Network 1606197 https://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/Vet-Bills-Petmeds-Cost_Nel.L-1412.asp SSI
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