One of the big things that I am focusing on leading up to this trip is making sure that he is in good health to start. Most of the time I have had him, I have done mobile vet services in the area. I know that these aren't the highest quality care I could have received, but I got what I paid for. They worked well for the situation. Going into this trail, though, I wanted to make sure I was giving Lucky the best care I could.
That led me to looking into pet insurance. It may sound silly to some (it did to me for a while), but it really is something for the trail that I want to make sure I maintain. Through my union benefits, I was able to qualify for over $20 a month savings (whoot!) with a reliable company that also provides preventative care insurances for less than $20 a month. I think it's a win. It still doesn't mean that paying for everything up front is fun, but that is the process they have.
Once I decided on having pet insurance, I turned to finding a vet in the area. While I do know a vet from Search and Rescue, I ended up going with one of my friends' vets. I watched when they had to put down their dog earlier this year, and the amount of care and compassion I saw from the vets at the Brier Veterinary Hospital was impressive.
One of the things that drew me to them was they are a clinic that understands the breath of pet ownership. For me, I fall closer to the side of dogs as companionable farm animals: there is a limit to the amount of money I will spend and I can take care of a fair number of the minor health issues that arise. With having Lucky papered as an ESA, though, that does start meaning I prioritize his health more, since I want to make sure I provide him as much care as he gives me. They understand both sides of the spectrum and provide services to where you as a pet parent fall. Super great.
All this said, yesterday we went in for a check up, get introduced to the vet, make sure that I'm not missing anything major, and get the dreaded shots. Lucky was not amused. Since he wasn't wearing his vest, he seemed to be a little bit more spacey, though, as always, everyone thought him so well behaved. I guess I have just seen some of the wonder dogs out there and know that we have a ways to go.
All of the staff there, from Bree the receptionist to Dr. Anna (sorry if I got names wrong!), we met were welcoming and wonderful. They were flexible with Lucky's needs and allowed me to help keep him as calm as possible through the process. They worked with me to get records and make sure that I have all the paperwork that I need for traveling with Lucky, as well as getting all of his shots and meds and tests. They were also super flexible with how I wanted to get my prescriptions for Lucky, which is a huge blessing.
That leads us to the purchase I made today. I gave my bank account a bit of a workout. Those prescriptions I mentioned? Purchased those. I purchased a full year of medication, but such is life. It ends up being cheaper in the long run for them. My bank account still doesn't like it.
So, from here, I still have to get Lucky's Lyme disease vaccine from a mobile clinic, since Brier doesn't keep that one in supply, since it is a much smaller population that would need it. Once all of that is done, I print out all my paperwork, and then scan everything so I can submit for my reimbursement from the insurance. Whoohoo. More paperwork. That seems to the be my theme song. But, until then, I am going to go pack some more boxes.
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