Last modified: Monday, July 16, 2007 12:09 AM EDT DOG PAWSE: Pet health insurance is booming BY TRACIE LALIBERTE-BAILEY/FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE Did you hear the one about the dog that swallowed the teriyaki stick? His owner sheepdogishly confessed that it took five surgeries and cost $15,000 to get the dog well again. A woman I met at a nail salon last summer told me that she paws out $500 a month on medication for cancer treatment for her 17-year-old pitbull. These may sound like extreme examples, but truthfully I'm hearing stories all of the time about outrageous vet bills because of an unexpected doggy health issue. A reader recently asked me about pet health insurance, and until recently I wouldn't have even considered giving a second smell to such a preposterous idea. But, frequent visits to the vet to treat my new pup and the fact that my older dog is now 11 got me thinking: Is it possible to put a dollar amount on how much I love my dogs? Do I love them $500 worth of emergency vet care? $1,500? $15,000? This isn't an easy question to answer. This week, my little one was rough-housing with another pup and sustained an eye injury. It was nothing too terrible, but definitely something that warranted a vet's advice. As I wrote my check, I started to think about how many dog toys I could have bought with the money. When I returned home, I began investigating pet health insurance and realized that there are pet healthcare plans that would have already paid for themselves in terms of routine and emergency care. Doggy medical insurance is a hugely growing trend, and one company has reported revenues that have increased 40 percent annually since 1997 after 15 straight years of losses. My research revealed that there are a handful of companies that offer a number of different plans from routine care coverage to life threatening illness protection. Plans either offer treatment deductibles or a percentage of coverage for veterinary visits. Yearly premiums can vary depending on the age of your dog, and many of the providers offer multiple pet discounts. Unfortunately, I found exclusions and caps on every one of the plans. Most don't cover congenital problems such as hip-dysplasia for any breed of dog, and one company even provided a breed-specific listing of health problems that do not qualify for coverage. After making a few phone calls, I found one affordable plan that will help defray the cost of routine shots, dental cleanings, emergency illnesses, heartworm checks, and even flea preventatives. So, I signed up with visions of taking my puppy to training classes with the money that I will save. Pet health insurance may not be for everyone, but for those of us who love their dogs about $100,000, it might just help us sleep at night. Fancy dog food: $25. Doggy spa treatment: $40. Peace of mind in case my dog decides to swallow a teriyaki stick: Priceless. Wags, Tracie TRACIE LALIBERTE-BAILEY of Attleboro is a professional lecturer, educator and published writer on the subject of dogs. She is pursuing a doctoral degree on the human-canine bond. You can contact her with any dog-related questions at tracie@dogpawse.com.