Pet insurance in Maine

The Pine Tree State is a great place for dogs and cats, but there are lots of good reasons why you should get pet insurance in Maine.

There aren’t many states that have a breed named after them and the Maine Coon tells us a lot about the Pine Tree State. Maine is known for its humid summers and bitterly cold winters, plus vast expanses of rugged wilderness and dramatic coastline. But this cat is at home in cold temperatures (it’s thought to be related to the Norwegian Forest and Siberian breeds) and is an excellent hunter, so no wonder it originated here.

Not that the Maine Coon has monopolised the state; it generously shares it with millions of other pets, so they too can benefit from its natural wonders. There’s Ferry Beach State Park with its pet-friendly nature trail and beautiful golden beach (dogs allowed October–March). You’ve got Vaughn Woods State Park with its 165 acres of forest by the Salmon Falls River and, if you want your Golden Retriever to run free, Ovens Mouth Preserve lets dogs off the leash, as long as they’re good boys and girls who are under control. They can even take to the skies on the Sunday River Chondola during the summer months before hiking back down (or just getting back on the gondola).

Keep your pup hydrated

Nature isn’t just beautiful, it’s powerful too, and your pet is always going to be at risk of illness or injury in the great outdoors. Long, tough walks can harm joints and muscles in a costly way: muscle strains ($3,000), leg-breaks ($2,000) and arthritis (up to $1,000 per year). So make sure you have a pet insurance plan that covers these conditions. You also need to get your pet hydrated, especially during those hot Maine summers. Recovery from dehydration might require an immediate IV drip, which can cost around $1,000. 

Pets in Maine can also enjoy an urban lifestyle. Most major cities, such as Portland, Belfast, Waterville and Bangor, have excellent dog parks where your pooch can go nuts – or chill, no-one’s judging – and hang out with other like-minded dogs. You need to be careful, though, as dogs can transmit diseases to each other. Canine distemper is potentially fatal, but thankfully there’s a vaccine for it, which a good wellness plan should cover. Parvovirus – aka ‘parvo’ – is another nasty bug that affects the gut and can also kill dogs, but again can be vaccinated against. If your dog does get it, it could cost up to $2,000 for diagnosis and treatment. 

Dogs can also get a bit rough with each other; treating a bite wound can cost thousands, depending on the severity. So it’s not only a good idea to have pet insurance for injuries to your dog, but to cover any third party costs if they cause any damage to other animals or humans.

Great places to hang out!

Maine has plenty of human-friendly places your pet can hang out in, too. They (and you) can hang our heads out of a train on the Narrow Gauge Railroad as it pootles along Portland’s waterfront, or you could take them on one of Cap'n Fish's Cruises in Boothbay Harbor.

Some legal stuff you should know if you live – or are thinking of living – in Maine: dogs need to be registered annually at a municipal clerk’s office, in exchange for which you’ll get a pet license. And both cats and dogs need to be vaccinated against rabies.

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.