By ALMA J. BUELVA

PET owners can now avail of health insurance plans for their four-legged friends from Cebu-based Embrace Animal Care Insurance.

The insurance company is rolling out several types of health plans beginning March 18 for pet cats and dogs of any size and breed that will pass the screening process.

The first in the country to offer health insurance for pets, Embrace is banking on the fact that more Filipinos are now willing to spend for their pets' needs.

​In an exclusive interview with MetroPets, Anastacio Muntuerto lll, CEO of Embrace Animal Care Insurance, said he believes pet owners in the country will be excited and willing to insure their pets for their own peace of mind.

“As the first pet care insurance the country, we researched what are the most common illnesses or diseases in dogs and cats, how to prevent those and the costs. To capture the class A to D, we created Bronze, Silver Gold and Platinum plans with payment schemes to make sure these are affordable for every type of client we have,” Muntuerto said.

PET CARE PLANS
Cats and dogs up to 5 years old can be insured for P20,000 (Bronze plan), P25,000 (Silver plan), P30,000 (Gold plan) and P50,000 (Platinum plan). These prices may still be subject to change.

Bronze and Silver offer basic medical coverage while Gold gives medical coverage for illnesses including cancer as well as accidents and medical emergencies. The Platinum policy is Embrace's most comprehensive pet health care plan. 

Embrace has identified at least 50 leading medical conditions each for cats and dogs. Aside from coverage from these conditions, Embrace's health care plans include free grooming and anti-rabies shots once a year.

However, Muntuerto said they will have a different pricing plan for some breeds that are very large or prone to sickness. In addition, premiums would vary based on the age of the pet from 6 years or older.

“Some breeds, especially mix breed, can be sickly so we have categorized every breed with the help of our veterinary team for us to compute the premium cost,” he explained.
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“We made sure these plans are affordable for the type of clients we (will) have. We created payments schemes for our clients' convenience,” he added.

Embrace offers its health plans to dogs and cats only. To avail of their policies, Embrace requires the submission of the following:
* Pet's microchip record (brand, chip number, date of implant, clinic)
* Vaccination record (signed by client's veterinarian)
* Medical history record (verified by client's veterinarian
* Current anti-rabies certificate (date administered, expiry date, clinic)

“We require our pet clients to be microchipped before they can avail of our plans. This is for their identification and for tracking purposes in case they get stolen or lost. If we are unable to recover our pet clients, it will be classified as accident,” said Muntuerto.

Tampering a pet's microchip will automatically void its health care coverage. 

Muntuerto also said that their veterinarians will assess the pets' health conditions by doing laboratory tests so Embrace can offer the best plan possible. 

At present, Embrace has accredited only members of Cebu Companion Animal Practitioners Association (CCAPA), but “are still hoping for more invitations from other group of veterinarians to expand our services in the country,” Muntuerto said. 

Expanding its operations nationwide, particularly in Metro Manila, is definitely part of the plan. Muntuerto said they are currently looking for partner veterinary hospitals in Luzon and Mindanao. 

He explained that their Cebu clients only need to coordinate with accredited veterinary hospitals in the province. In the meantime, for clients outside Cebu, he said Embrace must make special arrangements with veterinary hospitals and clinics to accommodate them.

Aside from pet owners, Embrace is also keen on signing up breeders and importers of pets. 

“We can offer them special arrangements so they can offer Embrace pet care to their retail clients. We will make sure it's a win-win situation for us and for our partners to earn using our services,” Muntuerto said.

Embrace plans to slowly roll out nationwide its pioneering pet insurance in the next six months. 

“We made sure that this product will work to serve pet lovers nationwide. I'm now confident to say that we are ready," Muntuerto said.

By ALMA J. BUELVA

A startup dog food company, Escuin Pet Food Manufacturing, is making a strong pitch for raw feeding with its fresh line of frozen uncooked meat with vegetables and dog treats made from natural ingredients.

Its brand, Natural Goodness Real Food for Dogs, hit the ground running at the start of the year with two ready-to-serve raw dog meals (chicken or beef) and three varieties of dog chews – pumpkin biscuits, chicken strips and sweet potato chips.
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​Necessity is the mother of invention and for Donna Escuin, a self-taught canine nutrition expert, she built Natural Goodness from the ground up to save her little dog Audrey from obesity due to unhealthy diet.

Back in 2012, Audrey, a Pomeranian that should ideally weigh 2kgs max, tipped the scales at 4kgs. For a year, Audrey would see a vet every three weeks for check-ups and x-ray tests. As the dog got heavier, Donna's purse got lighter.

Fast forward to 2016, Donna not only got her dog healthy again after putting her on a natural diet, she also left the corporate world for the kitchen where she developed her first batch of Natural Goodness products that are “homemade, human grade dog food that the consumers can trust,” she said.

​Aside from ground meat of fresh raw chicken or beef, every pack of frozen Natural Goodness Real Food for Dogs contains nutritious and calcium rich meaty bones such as necks, wings, and backs for chicken and ribs, necks, tail for beef. It also contains organ meats like liver and muscle meat such as thighs, tenderloin and hearts. For added nutrition and flavor, a cooled slow-cooked vegetable stew is added to the mix along with fresh eggs, virgin coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, raw honey, turmeric and malunggay.

“We have four resident testers (two Pomeranians, an Aspin, and a cross-breed) plus dogs of breeder friends who tried our products and they loved them,” said Donna.

A 2-kilo bag of frozen chicken doggie food costs P570, and P710 for beef. Donna gives discounts for bulk orders.

For treats, Natural Goodness' sweet potato chips (with malunggay flakes) and pumpkin biscuits are both priced P120 each for a small bag, and P370 each for a big bag.

A small pack of chicken strips costs P150 while the big pack sells for P450.

The raw meals can be frozen for four months from manufacturing date, while the treats are good for one month when kept in room temperature not exceeding 30ºC, and two months in a refrigerator. She also keeps her products fresh by preparing them based on demand. Most of her initial customers are dog breeders.

Donna arranges meet-ups at BF Homes Parañaque with customers who order the frozen doggie food. The treats, however, can be delivered to customers from Metro Manila for a minimum P60 shipping fee.

A popular local online pet store is interested to carry Natural Goodness products, said Donna, adding that supplying to other retailer pet stores later may be the way to go to give her more time to focus on product development and marketing.

WHAT'S (not) COOKIN'?
With Natural Goodness now in the market, Donna plans to enroll herself in an online course in Australia to formalize her education in canine nutrition to boost her and her products' credibility.

To date, she has relied on her own intensive self-study on raw feeding and advice from veterinarians to come up with her own carefully balanced dog food close to the “natural prey model” of eating that is intrinsic in every dog.

“I came to fall in love with the Biologically Appropriate Feeding method...I kept sharing my recipes in groups on Facebook. The only thing that saddened me was too many people I talked to would say they could not continue the diet because it was too much work. So, in my head I was like, okay I'll do it then,” said Donna.

She believes raw feeding is gaining traction among local pet owners though misconceptions such as how bones will choke dogs or raw meat will turn them into blood-hunting monsters continue to dissuade others from trying it.

Raw feeding advocates like her believe that switching a dog's diet of kibbles to raw food should be second nature.

“All dogs are designed to consume raw so it should be natural for them to love this diet. However, when a dog is too accustomed to over processed kibbles or canned food, it may find it strange at first. If you are feeding cooked, try mixing some raw little by little. However it is not recommended to mix raw to a kibble because these two foods require a different level of acid to be digested and may confuse the dog's digestive system which may lead to upset stomach,” said Donna.

The suggested amount of raw feeding is 3 percent of the dog's ideal weight, but Donna said it is best for a dog owner to first seek a veterinarian's expert opinion before changing a dog's diet and for how much more or less.

“Feeding dogs raw food can start with one meal once a week. One natural meal a week is better than nothing,” she added.

Meanwhile, she plans to move Natural Goodness' kitchen out of her house in the coming months and to open a Natural Goodness store next year.

“We are a very small company—so small that the owner who answers the emails also does the cooking, packing and arranging shipping and meet ups,” Donna revealed.

But she's not complaining because advocating raw feeding and offering alternative dog food is what she really wanted to do ever since she saw how it helped improve her dog Audrey's health.

“I decided to go into this business to spread awareness and knowledge. To be able to offer much better option for pet owners to better care for their loved ones. If there are any Audreys out there suffering, I hope to help them through our product,” said Donna.

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By ALMA J. BUELVA

PURINA Petcare Philippines, a business unit of Nestlé, plans on making 2016 more fun and exciting for people and their pets.

Without giving specifics, Joshua Frederick P. Alarkon from the local Purina office told MetroPets that they will continue the meaningful programs they have done in the past like the Lend A Paw campaign. He also hinted at the possibility of additional pet products to provide local consumers with more choices. 

​Known for its creed “Your pet, our passion”, Purina staged the social media-driven Lend A Paw program in 2014 and 2015 which encouraged pet owners to share original photos of themselves and their pets holding hands as a way of reaching out to shelter cats and dogs with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). 

“We saw the way pet owners love to take photos of their pets, so might as well do it in a way that could help,” said Alarkon.

For every valid photo entry, Purina donated a bowl of Alpo or Friskies for the animals at PAWS. In total, 17,000 bowls of pet food were donated in 2014 and 18,000 more in 2015.

Alarkon said it's likely that there'll be a third run of Lend A Paw this year, again for the benefit of PAWS. 

“We chose to partner with PAWS because what they do is close to what Purina stands for,” he added. 

The Lend A Paw campaign was primarily an avenue for Filipinos to help shelter animals, but it also attracted a big share of participants from abroad. This year, Purina aims for bigger participation among local pet lovers.

Meanwhile, Purina is in the middle of a Facebook-based campaign called PuspinsofMeownila that seeks to elevate the image of the humble native cat to high-quality pet material. (See related story).

“Purina wants to fulfill the lives of pets and pet lovers. Across the year we will have programs and events for dogs and cats,” Alarkon added. 

Purina is the maker of the premium canned cat food Fancy Feast and also the popular brands Alpo, Friskies, Beggin' Strips and Tidy Cats (non-clumping cat litter). Asked if there'll be new products coming in the market this year, Alarkon declined to answer but emphasized that “pet lovers will be happier this year”.