Pet Insurance...What a rip off

When I decided to get a French Bulldog mix I knew I should invest in Pet Insurance. Even though she is half Boston Terrier, I know that both breeds are prone to health problems stemming from their smooshed in faces. I decided to go with the ASPCA as a provider since its the ASPCA, I figured it was good.

My plan was just renewed automatically on January 15th. Now, normally that would be fine, but they charged me a fee of $10.50 to renew the plan and didn't tell me. Lame. Then I called and tried to reduce her plan. She has higher coverage because it covered all her puppy shots and her spay etc. I tried to lower it and they said that 1) I'd have to wait another 30 days from February 15th for illness to be covered and 2) anything she illness or injury she had on the previous plan would be considered a pre-existing condition and not covered. It is considered a new plan as soon as they renew it, automatically, without telling you.

What is even worse, is that when they renewed my plan, it made anything that happened to her the previous year a preexisting condition and now its not covered. WTF? So basically, unless it can be cured in a year, you're paying for it. They even had the nerve to up sell me on a "Extended Coverage" add on, which gives you an extra $1000 for long term care. Um...$1000? For the rest of their treatment? That is nothing. If Olive, god forbid, had to have surgery that wouldn't even begin to cover it.

So I cant lower my plan and nothing that happened to her since I got her is covered now. And I pay $35 a month for this. Seems like a rip off to me. Not to mention, every reimbursement check I get, I swear they nickle and dime me and find some way to not cover something entirely.

Oh and don't even get me started about how the Governator wants to fix California's budget problems by raising the tax on vet services!

Taking care of your pet in a responsible manner shouldn't be so hard.

ASPCA, you should be ashamed of yourself for such a scam.

Olive it totally going on vitamins starting this weekend.

If Olive was a human...

Philip The Hyper Hypo Kid - The top video clips of the week are here

Best Pals!

I just found these pictures on my camera the other day. They are from a couple months ago, which shows how often I upload pictures/clean off my memory card. But anyway, Bubs and I are BFFs.

Olive's 1st Boston Terrier Meet Up!

In an effort to make both dog and human friends, I signed up for the San Diego Boston Terrier Meetup. It is probably one of the best things I have done out here. The people there are wonderful and their dogs are just as hyper and crazy as Olive! It was nice to know that they are all feisty. We even met another Frenchie/Boston mix named Beefcake.

I of course forgot my camera at home, but Anna the group organizer got some shots of Olive being Olive.

She is crawling. Yes, crawling. She puts her chest on the ground and pushes herself with her hind legs. And she only does it in front of people. I don't know why she does it, perhaps to cake herself in mud, maybe to scratch her tummy, or purely for attention. Whatever the reason, it is pretty funny.

I cant wait for the next meet up in a few weeks. This time, I will remember my camera so maybe I can get some live crawling footage haha.

Fives and Tens

I have been working on Olive's training more lately, in preparation for her first dog class on January 10th. I don't know, I guess I don't want her to be totally untrained and unruly. I want to show I have at least tried haha.

She has sit, wait, and hi five down cold. Now we've upped it from "Hi 5!" to "Gimme 10" with great success. She sure does love to hi five, that's for sure... even when you don't want her to.

Olive does know a good number of words/phrases though. It is not that she is slow, she is incredibly smart. But with that intelligence comes stubbornness. That is why I am seeking the help of professionals. Not to put too much stock in breed, but Bostons are known to be smart and Bulldogs are definitely known to be stubborn, so it makes sense.

I hope to someday have her trained to be a therapy dog. Its looking pretty grim at this point though. Therapy dogs cant get excited and it is just her nature to be happy and excited. She loves everyone and loves to show it. I thought she would be great with kids in the hospital because she is so friendly and goofy and she loves kids, but I dont think she would pass the certification process. Kind of a bummer, but I guess we'll see what happens after Dog School is over.

But you know, I like her being excitable and hyper. I wanted a dog with personality. I didnt want a couch potato, I wanted a dog to play with. Thats part of the reason that attracted me to the mix in the first place. I get to play and goof around with her and then when she is tired, I get to cuddle. I mean, what more could you ask for?

My goal in the new year is to teach her to skateboard. You can full expect videos of that!

An Introduction

Dear Internet World,
If you are reading this, then you probably know me in real life. And if you have ever spoken to me, you already know about my dog. You have most definitely heard about her antics, things of mine she has destroyed, how cute I think she is when she is sleeping, her many trips to the vet, etc. So for all of you, I will keep this short.

Olive is a 1 year old French Bulldog/Boston Terrier cross. I think the term is "Faux Frenchbo Bulldog" or something lame like that. Frenchie/Boston mix works fine for me. And I think she is the cutest dog in the world obviously. But don't let the cuteness fool you, she is a terror. Perhaps one day I will write a "Marley and Me" type novel about her, but for now this will be my outlet. She is the sweetest little demon I have ever met.

Many of these entries will contain images of things she has either devoured and/or destroyed. Olive loves nothing more than tearing things apart, which I learned from a very young age. She is smart and sneaky too, which is how she always manages to get things when I'm not looking. Her timing is impeccable.


However, she is also the most affectionate, cuddle loving, happy, excited dog I have ever known. So I guess it balances it out and its part of the reason I have developed a sense of humor about it/ I hope you will find these entries entertaining and heartwarming, because really, that is what Olive is at her core.

Thanks for reading.