Brea, Calif. (May 9, 2009) – Less than two minutes into his first cattle herding practice, Ranger the border collie found himself, literally, between a cow and a hard place.

“He charged down there like his usual maniac self and ran into the cow’s back legs at full speed,” said Ranger’s owner Jeanne Brown of Flagstaff, Ariz. “Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough to escape the falling cow and ended up breaking its fall. He seemed unfazed at first and kept working for a little while, but when he started limping on his back leg, I took him to the veterinarian right away. Besides some minor bruising, they determined he was all right and after a couple days, he was running around like crazy again. You’d never know he was underneath a cow.”

Brown’s claim for Ranger was one of more than 70,000 claims received in the month of April by Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance. Brown’s uncommon accident was considered along with other out of the ordinary claims submitted in April and selected by VPI as the most unusual of the bunch.

“Ranger is working toward his herding titles,” said Brown. “He’s had plenty of practice with ducks and sheep, but the title for cattle herding is the most difficult. I’m pretty sure he thought the cows would run away from him like the sheep do, but they’re not afraid. Unfortunately, he learned his first cattle herding lesson the hard way.”

As the most unusual claim submitted in April, Brown’s claim will be placed in the running for VPI’s first Hambone Award. Each month, VPI employees nominate the most interesting claim and in August 2009 will ask the public to vote for the most unusual claim of the year. The Hambone Award is named in honor of a VPI-insured dog that got stuck in a refrigerator and ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while waiting for someone to find him. The dog was eventually found, with a licked-clean ham bone and a mild case of hypothermia.

Honorable mentions in April included a dog that tried to eat a battery, a dog that swallowed a baseball cover, a dog that ingested a pencil cactus, and two dogs that had an unsuccessful altercation with a porcupine. All pets considered for the award made full recoveries and received insurance reimbursements for eligible expenses.

Note to editors: Digital images of Ranger available upon request. Send requests to biannessa@petinsurance.com.

About Veterinary Pet Insurance

Veterinary Pet Insurance Co./DVM Insurance Agency is the nation’s oldest and largest pet health insurance company and is a member of the Nationwide Insurance family of companies. Providing pet owners with peace of mind since 1982, the company is committed to being the trusted choice of America’s pet lovers and an advocate of pet health education. VPI Pet Insurance plans cover dogs, cats, birds and exotic pets for multiple medical problems and conditions relating to accidents, illnesses and injuries. Optional Pet Well Care Protection for routine care is also available.

Medical plans are available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than 2,000 companies nationwide offer VPI Pet Insurance as an employee benefit. Policies are underwritten by Veterinary Pet Insurance Company in California and in all other states by National Casualty Company, an A+15 rated company in Madison, Wisconsin. Pet owners can find VPI Pet Insurance on Facebook or follow @VPI on Twitter. For more information about VPI Pet Insurance, call 800-USA-PETS (800-872-7387) or visit petinsurance.com.