Dr. Andrew Ward wishes more people would buy pet insurance for their pets, The Observer website reports.

According to the source, the vet feels that insuring pets allows their owners to provide tip top treatment.

“It is a great idea that gives financial backing to us as vets that an animal’s treatment isn’t limited,” Ward told the Observer.

“Quite often people can’t afford things such as tests or surgery.”

Ward told the news provider that he makes it a point to discuss the benefits of a pet care insurance plan with each of his clients—because too often, the only other option is euthanasia.

“Sometimes we have no choice but to euthanize an animal for financial reasons because their owners can’t afford treatment which wouldn’t happen if they had pet insurance,” Ward told the source.

Ward told the provider that when his clients opt to buy insurance for dogs and cats, there are more methods of treatment available.

“I really do hope it is a trend that will catch on.”

Proctor & Gamble, the company that manufactures Iams brand pet foods, is recalling even more— this time, its Proactive Health Indoor Weight & Hairball cat food, The Greeley Tribune reports.

According to the source, the food, which is sold in blue, 6.8 pound bags is potentially contaminated with salmonella, which can be detrimental to pet health.

The news provider reports that any bags marked with a code date of 02304173 (B1-B6) and the UPC number 1901403921 should be immediately discarded.

This is one of three recalls the company has voluntarily alerted the public of in the past two months.

Although no salmonella-related illnesses have been reported for any of the three recalls, The New York Times has reported that the recalled products have the potential to be detrimental to both pet health and human health.

Proctor & Gamble has told Forbes that pet owners should wash their hands if they have direct contact with any of the recalled products, as it can be inadvertently passed to humans this way.

The news provider reports that pets who contract salmonella may display decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Symptoms in humans include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.

If you believe your pet’s health has been affected by salmonella, visit your veterinarian immediately.

A full listing of recalled UPC codes can be found on the Iams.com website.

For more information, call P&G at 877-340-8823.

No one likes to think about euthanizing animals—but one shelter in West Virginia makes a point of it.

According to the WOWK 13 news source, Kanawha Charleston Humane Society held a candlelight vigil last week to honor the thousands of animals that have been put to sleep.

Shelter volunteers strung 7,574 pet collars around the property to represent each pet that had been euthanized over the past year, the news provider reports.

“It is a terrible feeling because you know you could have helped them… those animals shouldn’t have to be killed because humans didn’t help them by getting them fixed or doing simple things for them,” shelter volunteer Autumn Lenn told the provider.

According to the source, 4 million animals are euthanized each year. In addition to overpopulation, some pets are put down due to expensive vet bills their owners can’t afford.

“Euthanasia of pets for other than humane reasons can be avoided,” explains Dr. Jack Stephens, founder of Pets Best Insurance. “This is why I started pet health insurance (in the US) nearly 30 years ago… as a veterinarian I hated euthanizing pets due to economics.”

In addition to helping cover vet bills due to accidents and illnesses, many pet insurance wellness plans offer spay/neuter coverage to help control pet populations. It’s a one-two punch against the leading factors contributing to euthanasia.

For more information about pet insurance, visit www.petsbest.com.

Quincy Bioscience’s newly launched animal sciences division is working on a product that can help older dogs with neurological issues, the firm told the JS Online website.

The company told the news provider that its patented jellyfish protein may improve dog health in pets showing symptoms of aging, much the same as it helps people.

According to the source, as aging occurs, the body loses the ability to make calcium-binding proteins.

The company reports that in human medical trials, jellyfish protein helped support calcium regulation in neurons, and scientists believe it may affect dog health much the same.

“Improved primary medical care has resulted in dogs living longer, but now about 14% of the older animals have cognitive dysfunction problems,” JS Online reported.

Msnbc.com reported that recent studies have shown nearly a third of 11 and 12-year old dogs have significant cognitive issues.

President of the biotech company, Mark Underwood, told JS Online that the product looks promising in aiding pet health.

“Based on our ongoing research… and what we know about the role of calcium in the body, we expect [the jellyfish protein] to be a vital protein in many aspects of healthy aging,” Underwood told the news provider.

When Dianne T. opened a can of pet food to split between her four dogs, she was aghast at what she found.

“I saw a brown clump in the food… I was like, ‘what is that?’” the pet owner told ConsumerAffairs.com.

“I flipped it over and it was a dead frog.”

Dianne told the news provider she immediately called Pedigree’s manufacturer, Mars Petcare US, to report the problem, but the company didn’t respond the way she’d hoped.

“They offered me coupons for more dog food,” she told the news source. “I told them ‘I don’t want your coupons.’ Why would I want to give my dogs more of this food?”

According to the website, Dianne purchased the Pedigree Choice Cuts food in early August from a local Sam’s Club.

“Half the cans were chicken and half were beef,” Dianne told the news source. “And my dogs have been eating other cans from this same case.”

Dianne told the site that she contacted her veterinarian for fear that her dog’s health may be in jeopardy from the potentially toxic amphibian.

“I asked him what could happen if the dogs ate from a can that contained a dead frog… and he said they could have diarrhea, vomiting, and neurological problems,” Dianne told the news source.

According to the consumer affairs website, Mars Petcare US called Dianne’s claim “unlikely” in a released statement.

“While it’s highly improbably that this could occur, we’re taking it very seriously and launching a full-scale investigation into this consumer’s claim,” the company wrote in the statement.

Dianne said she has no intentions of suing the company; she just wants them to clean up their facility.

“Frogs belong outside. They belong in a pond – not in my dog’s food,” she told the news provider. “I don’t want anyone feeding their dogs something that is unhealthy.”

Like most other social media enthusiasts, Shiva starts her day with breakfast and a quick status update on Facebook.

The only difference—Shiva’s not human. She’s a cat.

The kitty’s owner, Kirsty Worrall, created a Facebook account for her cat, because she said her family seemed more interested in Shiva’s daily life than how she and her partner were faring, CNN reports.

“I come from a family of huge cat lovers,” Worrall told the news provider. “They’re fascinated with Shiva… they’ve been able to watch her grow through the Facebook page.”

Worrall told the source that her family and friends were able to keep tabs on her cat’s health, as well as watch her grow from a kitten to an adult.

According to the source, although exact numbers are difficult to pin down, Worrall is just one of many pet owners who pose as their pets on social networks.

“A quick scan of Facebook yields at least a few thousand profile pages for dogs and cats along with less common pets such as birds, hamsters, ferrets, turtles, fish and rabbits,” CNN reports.

Though pet owners who post as their animals generally do so for fun, many are unaware that it violates Facebook’s terms and conditions.

“Since accounts that impersonate anyone or anything can damage the integrity of this environment,

Facebook doesn’t allow fake profiles for pets,” Facebook spokesperson Winnie Ko told CNN in an e-mail.

Jessica Frey, who controls her rabbit Nestle’s Facebook page, told CNN she thinks that seems silly.

“We all know it’s really not the pets that are doing it,” Frey told the news provider. “It’s the people behind them that are making friends with other people. It’s pretty harmless.”

Worrall agrees, telling CNN that she feels completely comfortable using the social media site to pose as her cat “with other crazy cat ladies.”

Facebook did not respond when asked by the news source whether the site removes pets’ profile pages.

In addition to a recall in early July, Merrick Pet Products recently pulled more of their products from the shelf, the Examiner website reports.

The company told the news provider that although no illnesses have been reported, a sample of the Texas Hold’Em treats tested positive for Salmonella, which could cause serious pet health issues.

“The expanded Merrick recall adds to the growing number of pet food products recalled due to potential salmonella contamination,” the site reports, adding that Proctor & Gamble also recently recalled some of its pet foods.

The news provider reports that any dog displaying symptoms of Salmonella after eating the treats,
including lack of appetite, fever, lethargy, diarrhea or vomiting, should be taken to his or her veterinarian immediately for prompt dog health care.

The recalled Beef Filet Squares (Texas Hold ‘Em treats) are sold in 10 oz. plastic bags and marked with lot numbers 10084TL7 and 10127 with “Best by” dates of March 24, 2012 and May 6, 2012.

Dog owners who have questions about the recall can contact the Merrick Company at (800) 664-7387 Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Central time.

When a man kayaking in Boston’s Charles River noticed something unusual in the water, he had no idea he was about to save the life of a helpless creature.

According to the PeoplePets website, “He wasn’t sure what the object was, because there was very little of it above water.”

The news provider explains that the kayaker, who declined to be identified, lifted the crate above water and discovered a full-grown cat locked inside.

The cat, who has since been named “Grandma Moses,” was taken to a veterinarian immediately, where her body temperature was returned to normal thanks to top-notch cat health care.

“Staffers warmed the cat, then treated her bloodied paws, which she presumably injured while trying to escape her sinking crate,” the source reports.

According to PetPeople, X-rays revealed that other than swallowing large amounts of air, likely gasping for breath, the cat sustained no internal injuries.

As Grandma Moses is restored to normal cat health, officials are trying to find out how she got into the river in the first place and why.

“Animal abandonment in Massachusetts is considered animal cruelty, a felony,” the site reports. “It can be punishable by a $2,500 fine and up to five years in prison.”

According to the source, Grandma Moses is now enjoying life, “exploring her surroundings” and patiently waiting for a loving home.

“We’re waiting to make sure she’s healthy, and want to see what the investigation turns up,” officials told the news provider. “But we’ve already had several people contact us expressing interest in adopting her.”

Proctor & Gamble Company (P&G) has voluntarily expanded a recent recall to include more dry pet food because it might be contaminated with salmonella and harmful to pet health, Forbes.com reports.

Although no salmonella-related illnesses have been reported, the company opted to recall Iams Veterinary, Eukanuba Naturally Wild, Eukanuba Pure and Eukanuba Custom Care Sensitive Skin pet foods, just days after recalling some of its cat foods.

According to the New York Times, P&G recalled two lots of prescription cat food for fear of salmonella contamination, as reported July 26. No canned food or treats were affected.

A full listing of recalled UPC codes can be found on the Iams.com website.

Forbes reports the recalled products, which have the potential to be detrimental to pet health, are sold in veterinary clinics and some pet retailers in the US and Canada. P&G has instructed consumers who have purchased any of the recalled products to throw them away.

The news provider reported that that pet health and human health are both at risk, as humans who handle the food could contract Salmonella. P&G told Forbes that pet owners should wash their hands if they have direct contact with the product.

Pets who contract Salmonella may display decreases in appetite, fevers and abdominal pain, the news provider reports. Symptoms in humans include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.

Consumers showing signs of illness after having contact with the products should see their health care providers and any pet showing symptoms should be taken to his or her veterinarian.

For more information or a product replacement or refund call P&G at 877-340-8823.

Pet owners and animal adorers alike are chowing down at restaurants with their Chow Chows.

According to USA Today, the number of restaurants where dogs are permitted to join their owners while they dine is rapidly growing.

“To appreciate food and life is to appreciate animals, too,” owner/chef of Art and Soul restaurant Art Smith told the news provider.

Smith’s restaurant, located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., offers the “puppy patio menu” which includes a 3-ounce steak and homemade doggie granola to its four-legged patrons.

Karen Berndt, owner of the Harbor Fish Market & Grille in Baileys Harbor, Wis., told the news source that it’s the presence of the dogs that keeps people coming back to her restaurant, and keeps her staff morale up.

“Several times in a day an employee will rush in and say, ‘You’ve just got to come check out this sweet chow… and I go out and we all smooch up the dog and chat with the people.”

Sundays at the Colorado Springs restaurant Nosh, are extra special for pet enthusiasts and animal lovers.

“Plastic kiddie pools are filled with water, tables are arranged to maximize romp-around room, and off-leash dogs frolic dog-park style, sniffing… sampling treats from the bags of doggie goodies presented free to each diner accompanied by a dog,” USA Today reports.

According to the source, members of the staff watch over the playful pooches to make sure it doesn’t get too out of hand and that patron and pet health aren’t compromised, but Nosh’s manager Tyler Schiedel said there haven’t been any issues and the dogs are just happy to be there.

“A dog has to be pack friendly,” he told USA Today.

Chris Lynch of Sonoma County’s Mutt Lynch Winery in California said they also rarely get any misbehaving dogs.

“Even people who don’t bring their dogs to the winery appreciate animals and enjoy having them around,” Lynch told the news provider, adding that if they don’t, “We tell them there are a lot of other very nice wineries around.”