Tame the Cost of Pet Care

If you’ve added a dog or cat to your family, consider pet insurance to manage routine and unexpected veterinary bills.

- RIVAN STINSON

ADOPTION RATES HAVE RISEN across the country as more people search for companionship while they work from home and endure various stages of quarantines and lockdowns. Some shelters, such as Riverside County Animal Shelter, in Riverside, Calif., have reported that they are empty due to high demand.

But if you’re contemplating adopting your first (or second) animal, you’ll need to budget for more than just chew toys and food. Like humans, furry friends can contract serious diseases or get injured in an accident that could end up costing you thousands of dollars for care. To ease your mind— and reduce the risk of a major vet bill—you may want to invest in pet insurance.

Once a niche product, pet insurance policies have increasingly gone mainstream, and there are more options, too. Freelance writer Daniel Bortz and his wife, Alexandra, signed up for pet insurance for their mini golden doodle, Penny, after their breeder provided them with a month’s coverage for free. Bortz bought a policy from Trupanion, a major provider.

“Penny has had a couple of ear infections so far—her breed is prone to getting them—but our main concern was an emergency,” Bortz says.