My general impression is that extended warranties are made for the sole purpose of making the company money. However, I have broken one of my SLRs before - cost me 350 to repair it (I dropped it out of my bag after a wedding I was shooting ended...pretty stupid, right?). The question you need to ask is - would it be much cheaper to just get a rider on your insurance policy?

On the negative side, you won't get the cleaning and replacement batteries, but my guess is that you do not need to replace NIMH batteries every 12 months. I still have batteries that go back five years to my D30(though admittedly I am now beginning to see a noticable drop in charge in them).

Good luck with your new camera!! I hope that we will see some new pet photography shots from you soon.

-JM