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.”

Animal proponent Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law last week that will help guard pets from harm’s way.

Quinn gave the go ahead Thursday to pass a statewide bill that requires the addition of a bitter flavor to antifreeze and engine coolant, the Chicago Tribune reports.

According to the source, the bitter additive is meant to ensure pet health isn’t compromised. Both antifreeze and engine coolant have a sweet taste that animals and children can be attracted to.

The news provider reports that around 90,000 animals are poisoned each year by the liquids.

“As a pet owner, I know first-hand how important it is to protect these furry family members,” Governor Quinn said in a press release last week.

According to the Daily Chronicle, the legislation passed unanimously in the Illinois General Assembly and will go into effect July 1, 2011.

“These new laws help pet owners fulfill our responsibility to keep pets safe from harm and will prevent avoidable tragedies,” the Governor said of the pet health measure.

Orange County Animal Services in Florida is seeking community support to help with the costs of vaccinating for a deadly disease found in dogs CF News 13 reports.

According to the source, the shelter has seen a rise in parvo over the past few weeks.

WMBB News reports that the outbreak is likely due to overcrowding in the shelters, caused by the recession.

“Often, the cash-strapped pet owners who are forced to get rid of their pets had also cut back on vaccinations to save money,” the news provider reports.

Officials hope the outreach will help maintain and stabilize pet health in the area.

Parvo, a highly-contagious, quick-spreading disease is especially rampant among puppies and dogs that have not been vaccinated against it.

Symptoms of parvo include loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. Although the disease is often treatable, veterinarians suggest vaccinating against parvo when a dog is still young.

According to CF News 13, the shelter workers at Orange County Animal Services have documented 47 cases of the disease affecting pet health over the past two months.

“Puppies under six months old are most likely to get the disease, but it can spread to older dogs at kennels,” WMBB News reports. “The incubation period for the virus can be anywhere between 5 and 14 days, which means dogs coming into a shelter may not show symptoms.”

At the county’s upcoming advisory board meeting, Orange County Animal Services is asking the community to support a program that would allow for free or low-cost parvo and distemper vaccinations.

*Pets Best Insurance offers limited reimbursement for parvo vaccination with the optional BestWellness™ pet insurance plan.

Due to the oil spill, shelters in Erica Callais’ area have seen a 20% increase in pets because owners can no longer afford to care for them.

“Three hundred and fifty three cats and dogs are euthanized everyday (in Louisiana). It would be a dream to get that number to zero,” Callais said.

Callais, the founder and director of Pet Education Project—a non-profit organization that aims to educate the youth of America in humane animal treatment, reached out to Pets Best Insurance with a simple request—to help animals that have been affected by the oil spill in Louisiana.

Considering the pet insurance company is comprised of animal lovers, it was no surprise they jumped at the opportunity.

Callais said she started the organization in March 2009, and that thus far, has spoken to over 5,000 students at various schools and 3,000 members of the public on the importance of spaying and neutering and other pet health related issues.

“Education is key to changing anything in a society that’s not working,” Callais said.

Since school is out for the summer, Callais said instead of talking to students, the organization’s focus has shifted to helping pets who have been affected by the recent oil spill.

“A lot of families have to choose between putting food on their tables or [feeding] their pets,” she said.

Callais said she decided to start a drive that has since grown into a nationwide outreach for pet food and supplies.

“This weekend we will be delivering and distributing to Grand Isle and Golden Meadow, LA,” she said, adding that the organization has collected a total of 3,500 pounds of food and about 300 pounds of pet supplies and other pet health related items.

Pets Best Insurance held a weeklong drive at their office and shipped off two boxes of pet supplies to the animals in need.

“I hope that the donations keep coming in,” Callais said. “Our drive is going until July 31st. This is going to be a very long period of financial need for these families.”

For more information on donating pet supplies to Pet Education Project visit www.peteducationproject.org or visit Callais’ blog www.eatgumbolivelonger.com.

San Francisco, the city named after the patron saint of animals, is rallying efforts to make it illegal to sell animals “great and small.”

According to USA Today, the idea of criminalizing the sale of gerbils, turtles and puppies, (and everything in between) is gathering steam in the Bay Area.

USA Today reports that the issue initially arose as a means to ensure dog and cat health care wasn’t compromised in puppy and kitten mills, and to lessen the flow of unwanted pets landing in shelters after owners grew tired of their purchases.

“What started out as a proposal to outlaw puppy and kitten mills is extending to the sale of just about every animal that might end up in a shelter,” the news source reports.

According to the site, Philip Gerrie, of the San Francisco Commission of Animal Control and Welfare, suggested adding the idea to the commission’s agenda as a means to advocate for pet health.

The proposal gathered further interest after Gerrie’s idea was swept up by media outlets, and The San Francisco Chronicle ran the story with the controversial headline: “Sell a guinea pig, go to jail.”

At the commission’s Thursday meeting, the usual handful of attendees turned into a standing-room-only gathering with pet store owners, rescue groups and pet owners all trying to get a word in about animal sales, pet health, and over population of shelters USA Today reports.

“The commission, overwhelmed with varying opinions, voted not to vote, tabling the debate until at least another month,” the source reports.

Zak Anderegg wasn’t expecting to find anything but rocks when he rappelled deep into a slot canyon near the Utah-Arizona border—so when he came upon a puppy in dire need of dog health care, he was shocked.

After climbing 350 feet into the rift, Anderegg was stunned to discover the small, emaciated puppy, stuck at the bottom of the deep crevice all by itself.

“He was completely starved,” Anderegg told KSL.com. “He was, my best guess, 24 to 48 hours from being dead.”

According to the news provider, the canyon was so deep and narrow, some of the sections were pitch black in the middle of the day.

“I cannot believe I found this guy down in this frickin’ pothole in this canyon,” Anderegg told the source. “The rim of the canyon is 350 feet above us, so falling from the rim would have killed him.”

That’s why the rock climber thinks the dog was intentionally left there.

“Every single time I work it through my head, I come up with the same answer: someone put him there,” he told the news provider.

Andreegg provided the pup, which needed immediate dog health care, with water and food before he climbed out of the canyon for help.

After a local Arizona town refused to send out their fire department and sheriff to help rescue the dog, Anderegg decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I took risks,” Anderegg told the news provider.

According to the site, Anderegg went back the next morning and “rigged up a system to attach [an animal carrier] to his ropes… then he climbed back out” with the dog in tow.

KSL.com reported that Anderegg then immediately took the pup to a vet clinic where it received dog health care.

Anderegg told the news provider that the dog, which he calls “Puppy,” is in substantially better pet health now.

“The rate of improvement is just incredible,” Anderegg told the news source. “I’d say within two weeks he’ll be at his weight.”

According to the source, Anderegg hasn’t decided whether to keep the pup- because he already has so many other pets.

If you are interested in adopting “Puppy,” contact Zak Anderegg at zak@wrench-it.com.

Sharon Kovesdy knows first-hand that it only takes a single experience to change a pet owner’s perspective forever.

After the New Yorker lost her beloved cat, “Tiny” to multiple brain tumors and drained her bank account to pay for his medical bills, Kovesdy knew she never wanted to be in a similar situation with her other pets.

“When we lost Tiny last year, I said ‘God forbid if something happened to Squeeky,’” Sharon said of her other cat.

“How do you say to [a pet], ‘I can’t help you; I don’t have the money?’” Kovesdy lamented. “I never wanted to be put in that position again.”

Less than six months after purchasing a pet insurance policy for Squeeky with Pets Best Insurance, Kovesdy said her 10-year-old Siamese became very sick.

Sharon said Squeeky developed a series of major pet health problems including inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, helicobacter and chronic cholangitis— which are all treatable with medication that Squeeky will have to take for the rest of his life.

“To be faced with thousands of dollars trying to treat something you love, versus not doing it, is a decision you don’t want to have to make,” she said.

With financial help from Pets Best Insurance, Kovesdy is able to afford the treatment her beloved Squeeky needs.

“Terrible catastrophes can happen,” Kovesdy said. But with pet insurance, “the stress of having to find cash put away somewhere is eliminated.”

Kovesdy calls Pets Best Insurance “the angels on my shoulder.”

“My feelings are very strong that way,” she said adding that she now can’t fathom the idea of not having a pet care insurance plan.

I can’t believe that people wouldn’t consider health insurance for cats or dogs,” she said.

“Your company has just been outstanding. The kindness that your people have shown to us… so compassionate, so understanding,” Kovesdy said.

“Your staff has been incredible, really and truly.”

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

Pet health and safety may be at risk for pets that use the “Heated Wellness Sleepers” pet beds distributed by PetSafe.

According to UPI.com, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of the Radio Systems Corp. power adapters used in the heated pet beds due to possible electrical malfunction.

UPI.com reports that about 20,000 adapters were imported from China and sold with the PetSafe heated beds and that some of the heated bed adapters could malfunction.

The Pet Product News website stated that the PetSafe Heated Wellness Sleeper can be a hazard to both human and pet health.

UPI.com reported several incidents of the connectors melting, while The Pet Product News website states that the beds were recalled because they “pose a fire risk.”

“When the adaptor is removed from the bed, it can cause arcing between the coil spring covering the electrical wire and the metal connector,” which the site says can potentially cause fire or burn risks, to pets or their owners.

Petsafe distributed the heated pet beds in hunter green, sand, military blue, and sand and khaki, some with a PetSafe logo stitched on the front.

Pet Product News reports that consumers who purchased the PetSafe Heated Wellness Sleepers “are urged to stop using the product immediately and call Radio Systems Corp.’s customer care” to avoid pet health and safety issues.