Insurance for the pets

I was wondering if pet insurance is a good idea. I currently have two mutts I love dearly. They are about 3 and 5 years old, but I'm concerned for the future. My last three dogs died of cancer (all within about six months of each other) and the vet bills towards the end were astronomical. (Please don't tell me to just put them down when they get sick since they are like children to me and I wouldn't expect somebody to do that to their kids.) I received something from our vet about VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance) and I'm not sure if it would be worth it in the end. Routine care isn't covered unless you get additional coverage. I'm waiting for my online quote so I'm not sure how much it will cost. Does anybody here have some advice to offer me?

Conservationists are angry over a Bush administration

Conservationists are angry over a Bush administration proposal that would allow the importation of animals listed on the United States' endangered species list, a move they say will further cripple the species' dwindling populations.
The fate of exotic animals and their treatment at the hands of hunters, animal shows or leather-goods merchants has been raised in recent weeks after Roy Horne of Siegfried and Roy, a wildly popular Las Vegas show featuring live tigers, was critically injured when one of the animals mauled him on stage before a live audience.

This is sort of a followup to my question

This is sort of a followup to my question in the nearby wizard troubles thread. In it, I asked if I was crazy to want to play a Wizard without a pet--something I asked because pets, especially the starting ones, tend to be not much more than a pain in the ass nuisance and constant worry to me (waiting for them to get to stairs, hoping they don't go feral, struggling without success to credit clone, eating all my food, etc). The answer was, more or less, 'yes.'