My name is Dale!

Meet Dale the Dachshund!

Hey my name is Dale! I’m one year old now.

I just love to dance and stand on my hind legs and play with squeaking toys. My owner sure does love me and my toys and my dancing!

Want to see your pet in our blog? Nominate your pet to be Pet of the Week!

Posing with the 'Run Like a Dog' mascot!

Here at Trupanion, we really enjoy getting out into the community with our pets. A couple weeks ago we attended the City Dog Muttmixer, put on by City Dog Magazine. And last week we participated in the 5th Annual Run Like A Dog Event, benefiting the Thurston County Humane Society.  

There were over 350 participants in the 5k race and even more who participted in the 5k fun run/walk with their dogs. Everyone had a great time for a great cause! Last year this event raised over $10,000 for the Thurston County Humane Society. The final tally for this year is still being calculated.

Do you have a pet event you would like us to participate in? Leave a comment and let us know. We are up for almost anything!

As summer is wrapping up and we welcome the fall season, we  would like to wish you, your cats, dogs, and all of your other pets a great Labor Day weekend! May you have a fun, safe, and relaxing time with your family, friends, and pets as you enjoy one of the last weekends to jump in the pool, head to the beach, or BBQ!

What are your plans for the long weekend? Leave us a comment below, we’d love to hear from you!

If you have any questions about pet insurance in general, our policy, or you want to enroll your pet, we will be here all weekend to answer your calls, as we are available 24/7!

*Photo courtesy of RitmoBoxerDesigns

I recently read this great article about different dog breeds and what owning one says about its owner.

The article suggests things such as men who own Golden Retrievers are drama-free and possibly ready to settle down. It also mentions that men who own Beagles are considered the “all-American” male.

Read the rest of the article to see what else they have to say and find out what it says about you/your man!

Ladies, this one is for you! Enjoy!

Moofee is a happy dog!

Meet this week’s Pet of the Week, sent in by Lyn M.

This is our Golden Retriever Moofee.  Her favorite playmate is our Rescue Black Lab, Trixee.  She is almost 7 years old, but still thinks she is a pup. She is our good humor dog .

What do you think about this happy girl? Let her know how cute you think she is by leaving a comment!

Want to see your pet featured as Pet of the Week? Send us an e-mail to nominate your pet!

Pet insurance company Trupanion wins two awards from KOMO News ‘Best of Communities’ competition.

“We are very pleased to be recognized in both the ‘Best Place to Work’ and the ‘Best Local Business’ category,” said Darryl Rawlings, Chief Executive Officer at Trupanion, “The support from our employees and our community is why Trupanion is one of the fastest growing companies in the area.”

There were six categories – Eat, Drink and Be Merry; It’s All About the Art and Entertainment; Shop ‘Til You Drop; Look and Feel Your Best; It Is Your Business; and Pet Projects. Residents could vote in as many or as few categories as they liked.

This is the first time Trupanion has been awarded this honor.

About Trupanion™
Trupanion™ pet insurance offers cat insurance and dog insurance in the United States and Canada. Trupanion™ is self-underwritten by the American Pet Insurance Company, allowing Trupanion™ to offer a simple, customizable pet insurance policy with no payout limits and 90% coverage of veterinary bills. Enrolled pets receive lifetime coverage for diagnostic tests, surgeries, and medications if they get sick or are injured, with no incident, annual or lifetime limit. Trupanion’s mission is to deliver fast, simple and user-friendly financial support to pet owners. For more information about Trupanion™, call 800-569-7913 or visit http://www.TrupanionPetInsurance.com.

About the North American Pet Health Insurance Association
Trupanion™ is a founding member of the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA).  Founded in 2007, the North American Pet Health Insurance Association is committed to educating and promoting the values and benefits of quality pet health insurance to North American pet owners, the general public, and the veterinary community.  As an association, we are committed to high standards and transparency in all of our actions and products.  To learn more, visit the North American Pet Health Insurance Association website at http://www.naphia.org.

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope that you are all enjoying your weekend, especially with your pets!  Just the other weekend, we shared some fun dog quotes we found, so this weekend, it’s time for some fun cat quotes! If you know some good cat quotes as well, we would love to hear them! You can do so by leaving us a comment below!

• “Thousands of years ago, cats were worshiped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.”- Anonymous
• “One cat just leads to another.” -Ernest Hemingway
• “Cats always seem so very wise, when staring with their half-closed eyes. Can they be thinking, “I’ll be nice, and maybe she will feed me twice?” – Bette Midler
• “There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast.”- Anonymous
• “Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.” – Mary Bly

Project DOG

The following post comes to you from our Project DOG guest blogger Kira Stackhouse:

Hi it’s me, Kira the dog photographer again…. Here to tell you more about Project DOG! As I mentioned in my previous post, I believe there to be a great divide between dog people, hence my desire to create a project that would bring everyone together.

The goal of Project DOG is to have a book published, featuring a purebred and rescue dog of each breed. The active centerpiece of this project is a website that features dog profiles and stories that have been submitted online, via the website and Facebook.  Once all dog breeds have been submitted, the selection will be narrowed down until one purebred and one rescue dog of each breed remains. Both purebred and mixed breed dogs are being considered for the rescue breed.  The dogs will be chosen from 18 US cities – San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Denver, Austin, New Orleans, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.  I’ll be driving around to all of these cities to photograph everyone and get to meet first hand all of the breeds!

What I hope people understand is that Project DOG is much more than just a dog photo book. The process of creating the book is a catalyst that connects people and seeks to initiate dialogue about important issues surrounding dogs and the dog world.  The book is a visual representation of equality and the website, Facebook and Twitter act as the hubs of interactivity.

Since launching Project DOG online in April 2010, I’ve been able to acquire over 700 individual dog submissions, covering over half of the breed list. This response has been purely viral – through Facebook, Twitter and word of mouth.  Each dog submission received with a photo is posted on the website, creating a community of real dogs from across the country. The rescue organization associated with each rescue dog is also posted, and thus far there are over 175 different rescues representing 29 states.

If you have a dog, I invite you to submit him/her for my Project – even if you’re not anywhere near the 18 cities I will be visiting.  Adding your dog to the growing “Project DOG” population helps support a great cause – and together we can support a positive movement that celebrates ALL DOGS.

Check out and submit your dog to Project DOG!

George is insured with Trupanion!

Last night, a few of us from Trupanion had the pleasure of attending an event put on by CityDog Magazine! It was a fun, social event at the W Hotel to which we were allowed to bring our dogs.

We got to meet lots of dogs and dog-loving people! We even met a couple of dogs that were wearing Trupanion tags, including this French Bulldog, George.

The Trupanion crew

They handed out appetizers for the humans and dog bone-shaped cookies for the dogs.

The room was packed with dogs that were all well-socialized, so there was lots of sniffing, pawing, and leash tangling. There were a few minor mishaps including a dog that almost marked a lady’s legs! Fortunately the owner caught him in time before anything happened.

We mingled and had a great night! See our pictures!

We met a really REALLY tall Great Dane named Magnum

Batman and Ava, Trupanion dogs!

Ellie is a happy Trupanion dog!

From jcleggphoto.com

An easy way to name your pet is to think about words that describe him! These pets were obviously named for some of their best qualities. They are the top 10 most common adjective pet names according to our pet insurance database of insured pets.

My name is Handsome

1. Sassy
2. Sweet (as part of the name, including Sweetie)
3. Precious
4. Fluffy
5. Love
6. Cute (as part of the name, including Cutie)
7. Pretty (as part of the name)
8. Handsome
9. Fuzzy
10. Speedy

Is your pet named after something that describes him? What do you think about these names? Leave a comment below!