Wackiest Pet Names of 2010

For many pet owners the names 'Max' and 'Bailey' may sound mundane and  simply boring. In order to pay homage to those who take pride in their pets’ unconventional names, Veterinary Pet Insurance set out for the third year in a row to find the 50 most unusual dog and cat names in the United States.

VPI employees selected the most unusual dog names from the company’s database of more than 470,000 insured pets, and narrowed them down by voting for the 50 most unusual names in each category.

Some of the funny names for dogs included: Pickle Von Corndog, Bettie Poops and Virginia Woof.  

Wacky cat names were Bing Clawsby, Cleocatra and Chairman Meow.

 

Does your pet have a funny name?

Share it with PetLynx HomeSafe followers!

Comment below or send us an email.

Read more funny pet names HERE.

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Beehive-eating Labrador Retriever Takes Home 2nd Annual VPI Hambone Award

At PetLynx Corporation we know that pet insurance is a great way to help keep pets HomeSafe. Here is a great story of how having the foresight to invest in pet insurance for their fun-loving Labrador has paid off for one California family!

Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) asked the public to decide which pet with the most unusual health insurance claim in 2010 would take home the 2nd annual VPI Hambone Award.

Between August 2 and August 16, 2010 nearly 3,000 people visited www.VPIHamboneAward.com to choose among the 12 nominees and select their favorite.

The votes are in, and this year’s award goes to Ellie, a Labrador retriever from Santee, California. Bee-lieve it or not, Ellie  ate an entire beehive and its thousands of inhabitants!!

PetLynx Announces New HomeSafe Initiative

23 February 2010

SecuriCan General Insurance Company, Canada's oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance, and PetLynx Corporation, Canada's innovative, cutting-edge provider of information services for the pet industry, are pleased to announce a new initiative for companion animals in Canada. Under this new collaboration SecuriCan and PetLynx will develop health insurance benefits for the new HomeSafe™ portal and offer pet insurance to all dogs and cats in Canada.


The Urban Animal Surveys conducted for PetLynx Corporation by Ipsos Reid in 2008 and dmrkynetec in 2009 clearly show that health and wellness is a top priority for pet families. These studies also show higher instances of surrender and euthanasia in communities where health care benefits aren't readily available for companion animals. To reduce or eliminate this situation the parties will work with municipalities, humane societies, veterinarians, breeders, retailers and other service providers in each community to ensure that every pet in the HomeSafe™ program is provided with medical benefits at the moment it reaches its first pet family home.


The HomeSafe™ program will provide a range of products and prices from three of the leading pet insurance brands in Canada. Pet families will choose the type of medical insurance that best meets their budget and their needs from among these offerings. Since this coverage will also be registered in the pet's record on the HomeSafe™ national system, those pets requiring emergency intervention will have the shortest path to medical attention in Canada.


There are over 14 million dogs and cats in Canada that require health insurance benefits. Using the HomeSafe™ program will give pet retailers, pet breeders, humane societies, veterinarians and other providers the ability to ensure the pets they place or service have medical benefits right from the beginning of each new relationship. In addition, pet families will manage their insurance coverage online using the HomeSafe™ portal where they manage their care profiles, breed information, recovery services, pet pictures and licensing.


'We believe this is the most comprehensive approach to improving health & wellness for companion animals in Canada', said Randy Valpy, President and CEO of SecuriCan General Insurance Company. We have already paid out more than $103,000,000 in claims which means Canadians can trust us. Now with PetLynx and the HomeSafe™ program we will take health and wellness to a new level'.


'Health care is one of the highest priorities Canadians have', said Larry R. Evans, President & CEO of PetLynx Corporation. 'Our colleagues across Canada helped us become the largest automated recovery system in just three years. Together with SecuriCan we will deliver a new level of health and wellness for pets and help Canadian communities become the best place for companion animals in the world.'


SecuriCan will launch this new collaboration in Canada on 19 April 2010, at the PetLynx Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies.


For more information please contact:


Mika Sanson
SecuriCan General Insurance Company
204.942.2999 ext 7297
msanson@securican.ca
http://www.securican.ca/


Cindy Kreutzer
PetLynx Corporation
403.219.1088
cindy.kreutzer@petlynxmail.com
http://www.petlynx.net/



Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Raising Funds for Cancer Research

Petsecure pet health insurance has declared November as Pet Cancer Awareness Month. The goal of this initiative is to raise funds for cancer in pets and was pioneered five years ago in the USA by Veterinary Pet Insurance.

"In 2009, we've paid out nearly $1,300,000 towards claims for the cost of veterinary treatment and care due to pet cancer," says Randy Valpy, President & CEO of Petsecure pet health insurance. "Although cancer is the leading cause of death among older pets, 50% of pet cancer is curable. Our goal for this month is to raise money for researching cancer in dogs and cats across the country and to educate Canadian pet parents on how to prevent and treat a disease that affects 1 in 3 household pets."

By raising funds for cancer research, Petsecure hopes to decrease the sad pet stories they hear by helping to find a cure for this deadly disease. Petsecure is encouraging pet owners to help 'FURther the Fight' by becoming a fan of their Facebook page. For every new fan they receive in November PetSecure will donate $1.00 to the Ontario Veterinary College Pet Trust Fund.

November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month

Cancer Among Most Common and Costly Pet Conditions

Cancer is not strictly a “human” condition. As the #1 disease-related killer of dogs and cats, cancer claims millions of pets each year. This November, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) will seek to increase awareness about the prevalence, detection and treatment of pet cancer during its fifth annual Pet Cancer Awareness Month.

VPI started Pet Cancer Awareness month in 2005 after noticing that cancer diagnoses often caught pet owners by surprise. Many either did not know their pets could develop cancer or underestimated the cost to treat cancerous conditions. In 2008, VPI received nearly 30,000 claims for pet cancer.

To raise funds for pet cancer research, VPI has partnered with the Animal Cancer Foundation and organized bi-coastal pet cancer awareness walks in Long Beach, Calif., and Brooklyn/Manhattan, NY.

VPI's website also provides pet cancer detection tips. To detect cancer early, pet owners should be attentive to any growing lump or sore that fails to heal, drastic changes in a pet’s appetite or weight, unusually strong odors coming from a pet, discharge or bleeding from any body opening, difficulty chewing or swallowing, or an unwillingness to exercise.

Overall, cancer claims were the sixth most common type of medical claim received by VPI in 2008. According to VPI’s claims data, which draws from a population of more than 450,000 insured pets, the following are the 10 most common types of cancer found in dogs and cats:

Top Pet Cancer Claims in 2008
1. Lymphosarcoma
6. Neoplasia - Liver
2. Mast Cell Tumor
7. Neoplasia – Thorax
3. Neoplasia – Spleen
8. Neoplasia – Brain or Spinal Cord
4. Neoplasia – Eyelid
9. Fibrosarcoma
5. Osteogenic Sarcoma
10. Hemangiopericytoma