Nibbles-n-bits: Tidbits for animal lovers

Weird tales of pet insurance

Anything that causes an emergency visit to the vet is serious, but some emergencies also leave you scratching your head. Veterinary Pet Insurance, or VPI, the largest U.S. pet insurance provider, has started keeping track of some of its more unusual claims, picking a monthly "winner" featured on their Web site at www.petinsurance.com.

At the end of the year, the public can vote for the goofiest claim and the winner will receive the Hambone Award, named in honor of a dog that got stuck in a refrigerator and ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while waiting to be rescued.

Meanwhile, VIP has released a list of the most common pet wounds. Here are the top five:

1. Bite wounds, mostly from cats and dogs mixing it up with each other or with wild animals.

2. Torn nails.

3. Insect stings

4. Abrasions, the dog version of a skinned knee.

5. Eye trauma, sometimes from letting pets hang their heads out of car windows. (They make goggles for pups who like a little breeze.)

Follow your pet's every move

It has crossed the mind of every pet owner: What does little Rocky do while I'm at work?

Now you can find out.

The Pet's Eye View Camera by Uncle Mil ton is a lightweight, water-resistant digital camera that attaches to your cat or dog's collar. It uses a built-in timer to snap photos that you can download to your Mac or PC. It's $39.99 at eToys.com, USB cord included.

Get a hoot outof book about owls

Owls are everywhere, populating every continent except Antarctica. But we seldom see these mysterious birds. Wildlife author Francis Backhouse's book Owls of North America (Firefly Books, $34.95) helps us get closer to these often misunderstood birds.

■ Owls do more than hoot. Some whistle, scream and even make a barking sound. The young begin vocalizing even before they hatch.

■ In England, owl soup was once thought to cure whooping cough.

■ "Mobbing" is the act of a large group of birds attacking and chasing off an owl. Researchers think the birds are upset by the presence of a potential predator and seek to drive it off.

■ Some species can catch a bat in flight.

■ Not a lot is known about owls and their consumption of water. Some, such as the great horned owl, get all the liquid they need from the prey they eat; others, such as the ferruginous pygmy owl, visit bird baths daily. Still others eat snow.

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