When Julianne Soviero’s nine-year-old mixed breed pooch, Maynard, began developing painful rashes on his stomach, she knew she’d go to any lengths to find a cure for her pet.
The 34-year-old athletic consultant had Maynard’s blood tested for antibodies, which ran $300.
She then gave him allergy shots twice a week, totaling $180 over a period of five months, 12 sessions of acupuncture at $120 a session and even a visit to an herbalist, which cost $100 — ringing up at $2,020 total.
“He was itchy and miserable,” says Soviero, who lives in Ronkonkoma, Long Island. “It was so sad to watch, I wanted to do whatever I could.”
We could own multiple luxury vehicles for what it costs to feed him, but we have no children and he is my furry baby.
- Julianne Soviero
Soviero is among many pet owners shelling out major dough to find a cure while their furry charges struggle with symptoms from itching to vomiting to irregular bowel movements, all due to allergies.
But vets say that it’s not our pets who are getting sicker — rather owners are becoming increasingly neurotic about their furry friends’ health, and their own.
“People are more aware of it for themselves, so they are now more aware for their pets,” says Dr. Cindy Bressler, a veterinarian with a house-call service.
It’s become so prevalent, that even big businesses are feeling the effects. “Allergies are now the most common thing we see insurance claims for,” replacing former front-runners otitis and foreign body ingestion, says Dr. Kerri Marshall, chief veterinary officer at Trupanion, a medical insurance provider for cats and dogs.
But diagnosing, and treating, the cause of Fido’s discomfort doesn’t come easy — or cheap.
At New York’s Animal Medical Center, blood tests to determine environmental allergies — which can cause red skin and itchy spots — cost $350 to $450. The more accurate skin pricking test, from which
injections are formulated, run $500 to $750, and the weekly vaccine injections are about $90 per month.
Finding out the exact triggers for a pup’s bad reactions can help eliminate them from the home, forgoing a lifetime of medicinal therapy.
“The skin test and vaccines get to the root of the problem and are more holistic than drugs,” explains Dr. Mark Macina, the Animal Medical Center’s dermatology service head.
Unfortunately, removing a trigger isn’t always easy. “Pets sometimes even develop allergies to their owner’s dander,” warns Dr. Macina. “It’s actually common.”
For pets experiencing extreme distress, such as vomiting and diarrhea, vets recommend an ultrasound to get a picture of the intestines and look for inflammation.
“Ultrasounds are routinely suggested to rule out any other illnesses,” says Barbara Grimes of Long Island Veterinary Imaging, who does the in-home procedure for between $250 and $500.
For those who can’t shell out hundreds of dollars to cure Fluffy’s sniffles, vets say over-the-counter antihistamines such as Benadryl can get the job done — as can changing the animal’s diet.
“If I see chronic itching, vomiting or diarrhea, but blood work is normal and the pet doesn’t seem to be severely debilitated, I will see if we can fix it with a hypoallergenic diet, because it is the least aggressive or expensive solution,” explains Dr. Jessica Chavkin, a veterinarian at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists near Union Square.
Apparently, just as every other human in the city is intolerant of gluten, lactose, nuts or other ingredients, it seems our pets are in the same boat.
For Soviero, her time and money eventually led to a diagnosis of grain intolerance and egg, chicken and beef allergies in her dog. Now she spends $100 per week on special meals for her prized pooch.
“I did research on raw food, alternating between [brands] Stella & Chewy’s and Instinct,” says Soviero. “He put on 5 pounds, and I am now on a raw food diet, too. We could own multiple luxury vehicles for what it costs to feed him, but we have no children and he is my furry baby.”