The posts went live March 2 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Combined, the posts received nearly 107 thousand likes. WeRateDogs has over 11 million combined social media followers.

One of the featured dogs is Tavi, a Canine Companions for Independence^® puppy, sponsored by State Farm. A potential future service dog, Tavi is being raised by State Farm employees Robin and Tony Bird.

Benefits of Pet Medical Insurance

For Illinois State Farm agent Axel Jimenez, talking about pets comes naturally. “My agency is BIG on keeping updated on household members. Asking about pets is a very easy step since we view fur babies as household members. Showing customers that we care about everyone in their family helps with relationship building and pet medical is a great product to offer pet parents.”

Pet medical insurance is an important part of a financial plan to help prepare for unexpected illness or injury. The last thing any pet owner wants to decide is whether they can afford to treat their beloved dog or cat for illness or injury. Medical insurance for pets makes the decision easier, allowing pet owners to focus on care and not cost.

Since 2018, State Farm has offered medical insurance for pets through Trupanion, first piloting the product in six states before expanding to all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2020. Pet owners can sign up for medical insurance by visiting the State Farm website at www.statefarm.com/insurance/pet or by contacting an authorized State Farm agent.

Note: Pet owners in AR, SC, RI, and MA can sign-up for a pet medical policy online only at this time.

Why Pet Medical Insurance Matters

Agent Axel Jimenez shares his own story of the importance of pet medical insurance and how it helped his family and his dog, Archie.

Julia Sleeper learned of the negative stigma associated with the “tree streets” in Lewiston, ME, when a college professor advised her not to visit that section of town. People there were considered dangerous.

However, Julia did not listen to her professor’s warning. What Julia found were low-income residents, looking to improve their lives and the lives of their children.

In 2005, Julia began an outreach program, helping local students with homework. As needs grew beyond homework assistance, a group of individuals discussed the possibility of starting a summer youth program. In July 2011, Tree Street Youth Center opened to provide low-income youth the opportunity to learn and grow in a nurturing environment.

As the Center’s initiatives increased, so did the need of financial support. In early 2013, Julia submitted an application for the State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant program. Out of 3,000 applicants, the Center was selected as one of the Top 200. With the help of the community and Lewiston agent Lisa Laliberte, the Center received enough votes in the crowdsourced program to win one of 40 $25,000 grants.

“What I have learned from the grant program is it is not the size of the community, but rather, the size of the heart of the community that makes winning a grant possible,” said Laliberte. “Neighborhood Assist empowers individuals to identify issues in their communities and provides funding to help create a positive impact.”

Each day, the Center serves between 120-150 youth grades K-12. Nearly all youth at the Center live at or below the poverty level. Services include academic/tutoring support, safe space mentoring, arts and cultural enrichment, leadership programs and college prep support. So far this academic year (Since September 2014) they have served 365 different youth with new students joining weekly.

“Since receiving funding from State Farm we were able to double our enrichment class offering, while providing both volunteers and staff with proper supplies and space,” said Sleeper.

All enrichment classes are offered to youth at no cost to families and are open to all students at the Center.