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Pet care — once so straight-forward — has become happily complicated by cutting-edge treatments.

Now pets undergo radiation therapy, hip replacements and kidney transplants.

Because you love your pets, you want to be able to give them the best care possible. But the "best care" usually means "pricey care."

Enter pet insurance.

Scoffed at by some, pet insurance easily — and often — can pay for itself. Not to mention you get to experience that whole peace of mind thing.

"Veterinary medicine in particular has expanded radically in terms of what it can do," said Glen Tennison, chief financial officer of Toronto-based Pet Health Inc., the parent company of several U.S. pet insurers such as ShelterCare and PetCare pet insurance. "If you want to get an ultrasound on your dog, you can. If you want to get an MRI with your dog, you can.

"But with every medical procedure comes a cost. Insurance alleviates the burden."

Depending on whether it's a dog or cat, the age of the pet and the plan you choose, insurance can cost about $300 a year for dogs and $220 a year for cats.

Policies typically have deductibles, co-pays and caps that limit how much will be paid out annually. Pre-existing and hereditary conditions, such as hip dysplasia, normally are excluded.

Pet insurance began in Europe decades ago. It then moved over to Canada and eventually hit the United States in 1980, when Veterinary Pet Insurance, or VPI, entered the market.

VPI carries about 462,000 U.S. policies on dogs, cats and exotic pets, which could include lizards, potbellied pigs or chinchillas. About 85 percent of its policies are for dogs.

"We try to be as transparent as possible with what we don't cover," said Brian Iannessa, spokesman for VPI.

Depending on the company, owners must insure their pets by a certain age, usually by 8 or 9 years for dogs, 10 years for cats. If owners remain current with their policies, they won't be canceled as their pets age.

Premiums can be discounted for pets with microchips and multiple pets per family, among other things. Some companies, such as Ford Motor Co., offer pet insurance at a discounted rate to their employees.

According to a March 2007 article in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, pet owners in the United Kingdom insured about 12 percent of cats and 18 percent of dogs in 2005.

Pet insurance is still a rare happening in the States, however. Less than 2 percent of the U.S. pet population is insured, Tennison said.

Tucson resident Margaret Stewart has insured her three poodle and schnauzer mixes since 2006 through Pet Care Pet Insurance.

"I've had dogs my entire life, and I don't know how I afforded them before this," said the 57-year-old retired English teacher. "Almost every dog is going to get a life-threatening illness or injury during its life."

Stewart has used the insurance to help pay for cancer treatments for her 8-year-old poodle mix, Ginger.

Another pet owner, Tucson resident Greg Hutchings, doesn't really see a benefit to pet insurance.

"It seems kind of a waste," said the 29-year-old handyman. "I've had dogs and it seems like they just get a little sick — no big deal — or get really sick and it's too late anyway."

One difference between human and pet health insurance is the way it's paid. Pet owners must pay everything up front, then submit a claim and wait for the insurance company to send them a check.

Turnaround time can be fairly prompt. For example, Pet Care tries to pay out claims within a couple of weeks; VPI in 30 days.

Ginger's cancer was cured, and Stewart received about $2,400 back from Pet Care.

That's a substantial return for the approximately $23 a month per dog she paid for insurance.

"I hear that it's better to put $25 or $30 in an account every month (for your pets)," said Tennison of Pet Health Inc. "I have yet to meet anyone who's done that. I don't think that's realistic."

Like other customers, if Stewart pays her premiums in full each year, she'll avoid the $2 per dog per month service charge. And because she has multiple dogs and they're all microchipped, she gets an additional discount.

At the Humane Society of Southern Arizona in Tucson, adopted pets used to come with 30 days of free pet insurance, compliments of Petfinder.

Now Humane Society employees give new "parents" information about ShelterCare Pet Insurance, which costs $1 the first month. It's up to the new owners to call and activate the service, and then see if they want to continue with it.

Lynn Katz, shelter outreach specialist for Petfinder, explained the reason for the change.

"We wanted it to be a value-added service," Katz said. "It was basically an introduction. Once it worked out, it no longer needed our involvement."

Petfinder.com has had a hand in "12 million adoptions since 1995." Rescue groups and shelters nationwide post lost and stray pets on the site to help owners locate them or to get them adopted.

"Overall, I think pet insurance is a great idea," said Justin Gallick, 31, assistant shelter manager at the Southern Arizona Humane Society. "Accidents happen, things come up, and owning an animal isn't getting less expensive each year."