"Dogs are not our whole lives, but they help make our lives whole."
-Roger Caras

Copyright Notice

Pet insurance is one of those things that you are "sad you paid for if you don't use it, but glad you had it if you do use it." Since we can't predict the future, we don't know if we'll need it.

I remember a story someone told me, though I might have the injury not quite right...it went something like this: Her two dogs were playing while she was emptying clean dishes out of her dishwasher. Her 2 year old beagle tried to leap over the open door and completely severed his Achilles tendon, which required surgery and hospitalization and weeks in a cast. That's a case where one would be glad to have insurance! But most dogs don't have a major event until they are 10 or 12 years or older, and then my question would be, does insurance cover normal age-related things at that point in time?

One company I've seen a LOT about that is almost all negative is the company or companies you get insurance through with PetCo and/or Petsmart. I'm sure it's been good for some, but I've mainly heard negative feedback.

Someone recently told me their pet insurance quote was $61 per month, and they were debating whether to get the insurance or to just create a savings account and put $61 in it monthly.  Saving $61 per month in a dog savings account is only $732 a year, but does add up to over $5800 in 8 years. If costs were that high or higher when an event occurred needing that type of veterinary help, chances are that it would be a MAJOR thing with quality of life and success of the procedure being in question.

It's a hard decision. It would be nice having the insurance in the younger years, but savings would cover most issues if the dog had a normal course of life-care costs during it's youth and prime years (vaccinations, deworming, spay/neuter, etc.).

On the other hand, if your dog suffered an injury, or ate the remote control of a pair of socks, or any of a number of other events that truly "can" happen, insurance would be nice to have if it covered a major part of the bill.

So, I can't really advise you other than to see what the insurance covers when you DO go to the vet, and then think about how much out of pocket you still have to pay while also paying premiums.

In addition (and probably the best advice), your veterinarian might be good to ask, as he/she has probably seen enough to know which companies are good and bad, and also "in general" whether it is a good investment for people on average.