Subsidizing the Choice of Expensive and Disabled?

Did you know that some pet insurance companies and canine welfare organizations discriminate against the canine expensive and pure of breed?

Why? 

Why not?!

Embracing deformed, diseased, and dysfunctional dogs and cats is a choice, and it is a choice that neither insurance companies nor nonprofits want to subsidize.

As noted on this blog in the past, insurance companies generally charge more for Kennel Club-registered dogs because they have statistically been shown to be sicker and more expensive due to disease fomented by inbreeding within closed gene pools, and affirmative selection for deformity and defect.

In the U.K., 48% of companion animal veterinarians advise clients against purchasing a pedigree dog breed due to inherited disorders.

And back in June of 2011, the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) embraced a policy that said that organization would only bail out a single pure breed animal owned by any one household. The PDSA may have dropped the one-one pedigree dog policy (or stopped flagging it on their web site), this is what they said in 2011 (and apparently still policy in 2015:

Changes To PDSA PetAid Hospital Service

As part of PDSA’s commitment to animal welfare, PDSA has reviewed its registration criteria at its hospitals for pedigree pets in an effort to promote responsible pet ownership.

From the start of July 2011, an eligible PDSA PetAid hospital client can still register up to three pets, but only one pedigree cat or dog will be permitted per client. Special provision will be made for existing second or third pedigree pets that are reliant on continuous treatment for example, a second or third pedigree pet that is diabetic and dependent upon insulin. Ongoing registration of such pets may be permitted, as long as the client continues to be eligible for PDSA help.

The vast majority of current hospital patients (93%) are unaffected, meaning only 7% will be affected by this new policy. Despite this relatively low figure, the instances of multiple pedigree pets being presented at PDSA hospitals by individual clients, has risen. The charity has become increasingly concerned by the growing number of clients actively acquiring more than one pedigree pet without fully considering the implications of doing so.

PDSA is giving one full registration period, in addition to any months left on current registration, which gives hospital clients plenty of time to make arrangements for the care of their second and third pedigree pets. PDSA staff will provide the small minority of pet owners affected with advice on securing ongoing care, for example through pet insurance.

PDSA is committed to assisting prospective pet owners to make the right choice before they actually acquire their pet. PDSA has won recognition for its “Your Right Pet” interactive pet selector which can be found on the PDSA website in our Pet Health advice section. This provides practical advice on how prospective pet owners can choose a suitable pet for their lifestyle, advice on the five welfare needs owners must provide, as well as suitable places to source a pet and guidance on the lifetime costs.