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14 economist sunsuntribune saturday july 2 2005 fidos health by joan ransberry staff writer four legs and fur didnt matter tasha was family when the 10yearold pure bred rottweiler was diagnosed with bone cancer in january her owner did nt know what the future held vicki johnson of aurora fell in love with tasha the moment she laid eyes on her as a sixweekold puppy mrs johnson and her hus band luke are newlyweds tasha and two cats made up their fami- iy we just loved tasha and she loved people mrs johnson said she was mybaby soon after the diagnosis was made at abbotsford animal hos- pital in aurora mrs johnson was given a choice have tasha eutha nized of try to prolong her life by treating the cancer unfortunately tasha died shortly after this story was writ ten technology is driving changes in the way pels are medically treated pacemakers kidney trans plants mri and ckcmotherapy are now part of the pet world unlike the great majority of pets tasha was covered by pet insurance through petplan a 17- yearold canadian company only about 60000 of canadas estimated 12 million dogs and cats are insured it insured pets is still very much in the minority dr mark cole a veterinarian at the abbotsford said pet insurance is essentially an option of course for those with it they dont have to worry about the cost if something goes wrong the answer is fix it if possi- ble the insurance was the decid ing factor for tasha who up until january enjoyed an illness and accidentfree life if we didnt have the insur- ance we would have faced hav animal lovers turn to pet insurance staff photobill roberts unfortunately tasha died of cancer last month but owners luke and vicki johnson made her life better dirough medical provided with the help of pet insurance ing to put her down mrs john son said we just couldnt afford high medical bills it would be a hor rible situation but there would be no choice in the past six months tasha racked up 18000 in medical bills she had undergone many tests biopsies chemotherapy arid radiation treatments and a few surgeries including a leg amputation in late january complica tions from surgery resulted in a serious hemorrhage tasha was rushed to hospital by ambulance a service offered by pulczer mobile 1 veterinarian service of richmond hill that ambulance service saved tashas life mrs johnson said the dog was taken to the abbotsford hospital where sur gery to stop the bleeding was performed the staff took turns sitting with her around the clock mrs johnson said she needed a great deal of medical attention and was in the hospital another two weeks medical treatment for pets is expensive a broken knee ligament a common occurrence in dogs can end up costing 2000 meanwhile treatment includ- ingxraysfor a cat with a blad der infection can cost 700 if you have pet insurance youre miles ahead dr cole said when considering taking out insurance pet owners should first examine how they handle money dr gerry thomson of the stoufiville veterinary clinic said if someone is good at sav ing money by putting the money in the bank tiieyll likely come out a little ahead over a 10year period dr thomson said then again for others pet insurance is worth it they dont have to worry if their pet gets sick or injured pet insurance gives people peace of mind randy valpy president and chief operating officer for petplan said if something unexpected happens then people have the resources to cover the costs some accidents and illnesses can run into the thousands of dollars too often people have to put dieir pet to sleep for eco nomic reasons many pets do not receive potentially lifesav ing treatments because the cost is too great for die owners to bear mr valpy said pet insurance isnt cheap while petplan offers plans for as low as 995 a month for see shop page 14 anne brodie on movies spielbergs scifi flick deserves hype war of the worlds starring tom cruise dakota fanning and justin chatwin directed by steven spielberg now playing spielbergs coldssally entertaining and deeply frightening film star ring tom cruise deserves the hype its been getting since the media swooped down in new jersey last winter to see what crowds of hundreds were doing late at night turns out they were escaping aliens in an operation that looked like the invasion of nor mandy under the direction of spielberg war of the worlds is a revelation not only in creating emotion but also in the art and craft of filmmaking timing pac ing cinematography and editing how easily spielberg makes us join and relate to the characters on screen and the huge events they endure the film is only loosely based on hg wells classic radio drama the war of the worlds from 1938 that so sea red the public that people were made ill by it and the government sat up and took notice fearing a real invasion of mar- tians spielbergs masterpiece is an extrava gant risk thats sure to make paramount very happy indeed as ticketbuying audiences savour every delicious terror spielberg is at the top of his already mighty game here arid cruise is so good in this decidedly antimainstream but bigbudget film you forget he is at die centre of a personal and public melt down its all about performance both score major careerconfirming points the action begins quickly as crane operator ray ferrier- cruise ends his shift and goes home his children by his ex- wife are coming for a rare weekend visit and they arent happy about it hes a bad dad unable to relate to his kids in any meaningful way its evening and ray anddaughter sec frightening page 14 ell your unwanted household items nhaaiflvv from the comfort of your home computer go to wwwyorkregioncom to place your article for sale its only 995 to place the ad for any of our newspapers or website and 1500 for any two publications leverage unparalleled market reach to sell your stuff 15 words 500word per additional word private party ads only no garage sales or vehicles for sale york it clicks home