It is not uncommon to feel that taking a healthy pet to the vet is unnecessary. After all, if your pet was sick, you would rush to the vet! But your pet isn’t sick. So what’s the point?
Veterinary wellness exams are considered one of the cornerstones of pet health maintenance. In fact, they are arguably the single most important tool pet parents have to nip illness in the bud before it gets catastrophic.
DIY Approach vs Vet Exam
All pet parents are on the lookout for oblivious signs of health problems. Changes in eating, drinking, activity levels, and how often a pet goes potty will usually sound alarm bells in an experienced pet parent. Unfortunately these signs don’t tell us as much about their health as we need to know.
Specifically, pets can’t tell us when something is feeling a little strange. It’s not uncommon for a sick pet to show no signs of illness that a pet parent could reasonably notice, until the pet’s health problem is already serious.
Something as simple as an annual physical exam and a chat with your veterinarian will do wonders to maintain the health of your pet. Veterinarians can spot anything from a minor ear infection to a major health problem at its early stages. You never know what could turn up in a routine exam.
It Saves You Money
Spotting your pet’s health problems while they are still minor is helpful in so many ways:
With early diagnosis and treatment, your pet’s outcome is almost always going to be a lot better than if you waited until your pet was visibly sick.
Treating a problem early may allow more treatment options.
Correcting a minor problem is usually less expensive than treating a major problem later on.
It Saves You A Whole Lot Of Money
If that’s not enough to convince you to start taking your pet for an annual wellness exam, consider the cost benefit. An exam at your local vet’s office may cost between $50 and $100 on average, depending on where you live.
Rushing to a veterinary emergency hospital can cost you double or triple the wellness exam cost, just to have your pet examined. Add the testing required for a diagnosis, along with any treatment your pet needs, and you could be very fortunate to walk out with less than a $1,000 bill.
Of course, a pet wellness exam is not a guarantee that absolutely nothing can happen to your pet for the next year. But, it will greatly reduce the possibility that there is anything wrong with your pet when the exam was done. That translates into a lot less chance that an illness or injury can quietly evolve into a big problem down the road, because your vet is always paying close attention.
How We Can Help
Medical Cost Sharing is a community of people who rely on each other to pay their medical bills. We provide the first Pet Medical Cost Share, where pet parents combine forces to improve their pet’s lives on a long term basis.
Check out your Pet Membership options to join our community today.
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