It’s still pretty mild up here, Minnie, our three-legged barn cat, hasn’t demanded to come in yet. When she does, we will make her comfortable inside for the winter, especially at night. She still likes to hunt.

Minnie always makes me think about pet insurance. She was attacked by an unseen predator three years ago, and her right rear leg was amputated at a cost of nearly $2,000. Her recovery was long and painful, and I still doubt that we did the right thing by subjecting her to this traumatic surgery and us to this unexpected cost at a difficult time.

Recently, I have been exploring the option of acquiring pet insurance. Red has had a number of medical issues, he is getting older and is getting regular laser treatments and massage. Fate limped badly the other day, and we spent $400 finding out that nothing was wrong with her.

Fate is the kind of dog that will get into trouble again,  cutting her leg, spraining some muscles, tearing some pad.

I called several insurance companies, talked to several vets, researched five or six programs online.

Pet insurance is not for me, even though the cost of veterinary care has skyrocketed, even doubled in some cases, in recent years. The plans are complex, and unlike human health insurance, have no plans to prevent insurance companies from denying dogs with pre-existing conditions, or older dogs from any insurance at all.

Insurance for a dog like Red would cost well over $250 a month, if he could get it, and include steep deductibles, from $250 to more than $500.

The insurance would not cover routine office visits or vaccinations. For Fate, the cost of this insurance would be cheaper, between $65 and $100 a month for the lesser or mid-range plans, she is a younger and healthier dog. Most plans would not cover any routine examinations or visits, and would pay 90 per cent of the costs of any accident or emergency.

It just didn’t make financial or practical sense to me, and often, there are forms to send and fill out, reimbursements to wait for, challenges to contend with. If you apply for insurance, the company contacts the vet and seeks any information regarding the dog’s medical history. Sounds familiar. Red would not make it, he injured his back when stomped by our pony.

Even though he has recovered, insurance would be denied or prohibitive.

I have ethical reservations about insurance as well. Having an insurance policy makes it much more likely we would agree to expensive referrals to specialists, new and very costly tests, and surgical procedures I would not normally agree to. Human health insurance is an absolutely necessity in our world, animal insurance is not.

We can make the kinds of choices for our animals we cannot make for our parents or loved ones. The problem with veterinary care, as with human health care, is that costs are rising out of control or reason, insurance just seems to enable that sad reality. Surveys have found that 38 million animals live in households below the poverty line, and many pet owners are foregoing veterinary care completely.

Some people cite veterinary care costs as a reason for not rescuing or buying a dog.

I have strong reservations about subjecting dependent and powerless animals to invasive surgical procedures that can cost many thousands of dollars. To me, that is a loss of perspective and a great step towards the emotionalizing of animals, which does them little good and much harm, even if it makes us feel better. In a world with such pressing need, it seems immoral to me.

I believe many people are going deeply into debt and suffering severe emotional trauma, guilt and anxiety by treating animals much like human children. And by subjecting them to the depredations  of the kinds of expensive and unregulated  medical medications and treatments that are so afflicting people and draining human resources.

I won’t agree to many of them for myself, I wouldn’t subject Red to them. We cannot help people leave the world with dignity, we can do this for our animals.

Since I am unlikely to agree to these extraordinary referrals and procedures – when Lenore and Izzy were diagnosed with cancer, we did not bring them to specialists or prolong their suffering and confusion and fear in any way. I consider that an extreme form of animal abuse and exploitation, far worse that asking a carriage horse to pull a light carriage through Central Park in good weather.

That left little motivation or justification for monthly payments for pet insurance.

I understand and respect that many people feel differently, and I wish them good luck and support for their choices.

As always, I am not telling others what to do, only what I have done and decided to do. Maria is in full agreement. We do differ on things, she was very much in favor of Minnie’s surgery, I had reservations. We both agreed finally that it did not seem that it was Minnie’s time.