Senior Dogs Blog

Pet Insurance for your dog

Ear infections. Broken bones. Diabetes.

Pet insurance helps pay for your dog’s unexpected injuries and illnesses you may not otherwise be able to afford.

Making veterinary treatment decisions based on improving your senior dog’s quality of life — not on money — is something all owners hope to do.

Yet only three percent of dogs in the U.S. are covered by health insurance, according to the most recent survey by the American Pet Products Association.

Part of the reason for the low numbers might be cost. Six out of 10 dog owners with pet insurance spend $250 to $499 on coverage annually. The rest spend less than $250.

About a dozen companies’ nationwide sell pet health insurance but each policy is different, with some treatments and ailments either uncovered or not fully reimbursed including pre-existing or hereditary conditions. It’s definitely a bit tougher to find affordable senior dog insurance based on the fact that many older dogs have pre-existing conditions.

Most policies, however, cover routine preventative care including vaccinations and dental cleanings.

How does it work? With most policies, owners choose their veterinarian, pay the bill and then get reimbursed from the insurance company, after deductibles are subtracted. It seems simple and straight forward.

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Imagine an elite search and rescue team of not one but five German shepherd clones – all genetic doubles of a 9-11 canine hero that located the last human survivor buried beneath smoldering rubble.

This doggie dream team may sound like part of a sci-fi movie but they’re not. Meet Team Trakr: Trustt, Solace, Valor, Prodigy and Dejav. The handsome black and tan shepherds are a duplicate of Trakr, a police as well as search and rescue dog with an impressive career that recently passed away at age 16.

The dogs were cloned for free after James Symington, a former police officer and Trakr’s partner, won “The World’s Most Clone Worthy Dog” contest held last year by a now defunct commercial animal cloning company. Seniordogs.com caught up with Symington recently to ask him a few questions about his new pups and his new mission.

What made Trakr such a remarkable search and rescue dog?
Trakr excelled at tracking and air scenting. These skills, combined with his unyielding determination and courage made him an amazing search and rescue dog.

So far, are the clones showing those same characteristics?
All of the puppies have their own unique personality. But I am already recognizing some of the same traits that contributed to Trakr’s success – strong play and prey drives; heart and determination; and the ability to problem solve.

How many months of training are needed before the dogs will become mission ready?
It takes about 600 hours to train a search and rescue dog. Our goal is to train the team full-time over a 4-month period.

When will you begin training?

To make Team Trakr operational, we will need to put in place additional support and resources, but the goal is to begin formal search and rescue training this summer. By the end of the year, I hope to share that Team Trakr was deployed on its first mission and was successful in helping to save lives.

To help, people can go to the Team Trakr Foundation Web site at teamtrakr.org.

Will your organization provide search and rescue work for free?
Yes. It is our vision that the Team Trakr Foundation will provide elite K9 search and rescue teams for free to those in need in the United States and around the world – in essence K9 teams without borders.

The Foundation’s first mission is to train and deploy Team Trakr. The next time a disaster, like the one in Haiti occurs, we hope to have Team Trakr on the ground within those first critical hours helping search for survivors. A highly mobile team of dogs with Trakr’s abilities could make a difference in saving lives.

To turn this vision into reality, we will need to put in place additional support and resources, but expect to have Team Trakr operational by the end of the year. To learn how to help, people can go to teamtrakr.org.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about Team Trakr?
Team Trakr is not about holding onto the past, it’s about continuing the extraordinary legacy of one remarkable dog. We hope and pray that disasters, like the Haiti earthquake, never happen again, but the reality is they will – and having K9 rescue teams, like Team Trakr, in place within the first hours can help save lives.

~ Staff, SeniorDogs.com

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- Caring For Your Senior Dog. Find information about health insurance, medicines, allergies, arthritis, and other topics about your senior dog.