Pet insurance in Illinois

Pets have a great life in the Prairie State but there are many reasons why you should get pet insurance in Illinois

Illinois is a wonderfully varied state. It has its fair share of the great outdoors, not to mention a bit of a Great Lake – plus one of America’s greatest cities in Chicago. This makes life as a pet parent pretty great, no matter what kind of lifestyle you choose. There are also good reasons to get pet insurance in Illinois.

Chicago - a dog's kind of town

If we’re talking about Illinois, it’s hard not to start with the Windy City, Chicago. This world-famous metropolis on the shores Lake Michigan is no bad place to have a pet. There are two off-leash dog beaches - Belmont Harbor Beach and Montrose Beach - where your Goldendoodle or Pug can run and splash to their heart’s content, plus plenty of dog parks, some of which have fabulous names like Wiggly Field and Jackson Bark (the latter has an agility course).

Of course, with freedom comes responsibility. You need to make sure your dog has plenty of fresh water to drink, especially on a hot day. Dehydration can cost $1,000 to treat at a vet’s and the water in Lake Michigan isn’t safe to drink. The water also attracts mosquitos, which can carry West Nile disease and infect your dog or cat directly or through dead animals. A pet safe repellent can help, as well as careful supervision. There’s no treatment for West Nile virus but a severe case could require hospitalization, which will set you back up to $2,500 a night.

Dog-friendly nightlife

Elsewhere in Chicago, plus other cities like Springfield and the Illinois part of St Louis, you’ll find plenty of pet-friendly bars and breweries where you can socialize with your furry friend. Always be mindful, though, of traffic in cities and suburbs, especially if you’ve had a couple of drinks…

Broken bones in dogs and cats usually cost up to $1,500 to fix, but complex breaks can reach $4,000. So it’s well worth having pet insurance, perhaps topped up with an emergency plan for life-threatening situations (these cost as little as $24 a month).

A great state for pets

Illinois also has some wonderful places in the country for you and your pet to visit (or live). One of the most popular destinations is the Shawnee National Forest in the south of the State. Dogs are welcome on the trails but must be leashed there and in picnic areas and campgrounds, for their own safety and the comfort of other visitors. However, some cabins, such as Rim Rock Dogwood Cabins, allow dogs off the leash in the communal grounds, as long as they don’t bother other guests or animals. Shawnee is a fantastic place to walk your dog, but there are plenty of ticks around which cause Lyme disease, which can cost around $1,000 in diagnostic and treatment costs.

It's worth remembering that, whether residents of Illinois or not, all dogs in the state must have a current dog license tag and be up-to-date on vaccinations. Your dog will also be quarantined for 10 days and reported to the police if they bite anyone, no matter the circumstances.

Why get pet insurance at all?

At Petted, we sincerely believe that pet insurance is a must for all pet parents, whether you live in New York, North Carolina or Nebraska. It doesn’t matter if you’re a city- or country-dweller, if you have a Bull Mastiff or a Burmese, your beloved pet is at risk from injury, illness and inherited conditions – and these things can cost a lot of money to fix.

If you don’t have a very large savings account then you run the risk of either getting into a ton of debt (we’re talking tens of thousands of dollars in some cases) or – and we hate to think about this – not being able to pay for your pet’s treatment and having to either give them up or, tragically, have them euthanized.

So, for the sake of a few dollars a month, please buy yourself some peace of mind and your pet a healthier, more secure future. To find the best pet insurance policy for where you live, click here. We'll fetch you the perfect quotes in less than a minute.