How to Save Money with your
Dog and Cat
In this episode of ER VET, Dr. Justine Lee, DACVECC, DABT, board-certified emergency critical care veterinary specialist and toxicologist interviews Dr. Ernie Ward, practicing veterinarian and author of how to save money with your dog and cat. Should you get pet insurance? What veterinary tips can help keep your pet healthy while sparing your wallet at the same time?
BIO:
Early in his career, Dr. Ward was instrumental in bringing senior pet care guidelines to general veterinary practices in 1999. In 2001, he developed and published protocols for monitoring pets receiving long term medications such as Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Previcox, Metacam, Enacard, thyroid hormone, prednisone and more. His chart for drug monitoring guidelines is found in most small animal veterinary hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Ward was an early promoter of mandatory pre-surgical blood testing for dogs and cats, the administration of intravenous fluids throughout the procedure and pre- and post-operative pain management, even for routine surgeries such as spay (OHE) and neuter (orchiectomy). Dr. Ward was an outspoken advocate for extended vaccination protocols as early as 1999. He was an early adopter of C02 laser surgery, beginning to use surgical lasers in his practice in 1999. He gave over fifty lectures in the US, Canada and Europe on the importance reducing pet vaccinations by using extended duration vaccines and wrote and produced a veterinary staff training video and guidebook on immunology and vaccinology in 2004. In 2005, he founded the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention to help raise awareness on the dangers of excess weight in dogs and cats. He wrote "Chow Hounds: Why Our Dogs Are Getting Fatter" in 2010 and coauthored the American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) Weight Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats in 2014. He is a certified personal trainer and USA Triathlon certified coach and multiple Ironman finisher.