Whether it's purchased individually or acquired through anemployer-based plan, pet insurance is still a perk enjoyed by onlya tiny fraction of American pet owners.

Out of 174 million cats and dogs in the United States at the endof 2014, only about 1.4 million were covered by an insurancepolicy, according to a pet insurance trade group. That isnevertheless a significant increase from 2008, when only 680,000were covered.

About 81 percent pet insurance policyholders are dogs. Themajority of the rest are cats, but there is also a small group ofpeople who have purchased plans for other types of pets.

Steady increase in U.S. pet population

Pet health insurance works pretty similar to human healthinsurance. The policies are priced based on a number of riskfactors, including age and breed. Purebreds are often moreexpensive to insure because, ironically, they are typicallyanything but pure when it comes to health.

A report last year on pet insurance attributed its growthpartially to increasing prices charged by veterinarians as well asthe steady increase in the country's pet population.

On its face, pet insurance may seem to be a product marketeduniquely to the wealthy. But in fact, its greatest appeal may be tomiddle income people who can't bear the thought of having to put abeloved pet to sleep if they're hit by a huge vet bill they can'tpay.

Most unusual pet insurance claims

A recent press release by Nationwide,which says it has nearly 600,000 insured pets, documented the mostunusual (and occasionally comical) insurance claims that itprocessed for pet owners over the past year, nominating them forits annual “Hambone Award.”

The animal hospital that treated the winner of the award willreceive $10,000 that it can use to cover the care of pet owners whocan't afford to pay their vet bills.

Among the claims Nationwide nominated for the award:

“Hey human, are you going to finish that?” (Photo:iStock)

A ruff encounter with Ruffles

A cocker spaniel nearly died after getting her head stuck in abag of potato chips. She required a plasma transfusion and anovernight stay at the animal hospital. Miraculously, thenear-suffocation the dog suffered did not leave her with braindamage.

“I can fly! Wait, no I can't.” (Photo: iStock)

Paying out the nose

A blue heeler mix shattered his snout after jumping into acement barrier in a park, separating his nasal cavity from hismouth. The surgery called for veterinarians to reattach his snoutwith the assistance of a specialist and the entire process tookhours, no doubt leaving his owners with a bill worth manythousands.

After six weeks of “grueling recovery,” the playful pooch wasback at the park, although hopefully with a heightened sense of therisks of jumping off elevated platforms.

Related: How to prepare your pets for a naturaldisaster

“Can we snuggle on the cushions, not betweenthem?” (Photo: iStock)

Too cozy for comfort

A Cavalier King Charles spaniel slipped between couch cushionswhile napping and dislocated his hips trying to get out. The dogrequired two major operations on both hips. Anything short ofsurgery would have left him unable to walk again.

“Hey human, that's mychair!” (Photo: iStock)

Game of chairs

A Sphynx cat in Texas was severely injured when a recliningchair closed on her. The hairless feline had been hiding inside areclining chair and was nearly crushed when her owner, unaware ofher presence, put the chair back into the upright position. Itturned out her injuries were not serious, although discovering thatrequired X-rays. She was prescribed antibiotics for her bruises andcuts and made a full recovery.

Related: 12 factors impacting dog bitclaims

“I thought this thing was supposed to make it easier tobreathe …” (Photo: iStock)

He did inhale

A giant schnauzer picked up his owner's asthma inhaler and madethe near-fatal mistake of biting down on it. He inhaled almost theentire dose of asthma medication that had just been loaded,provoking his heartrate to double. Ultimately, after spending anight at the vet, the dog's condition improved and he was able toreturn home without undergoing any major interventions.

“Hmm… a quick snack before bed soundsdelicious.” (Photo: iStock)

Terrible taste in jeans

A Great Dane swallowed an entire pair of kid-sized jeans. Atfirst there were no clues besides the sudden disappearance of thepants, but the dog began to vomit uncontrollably later on,prompting his owners to take him to the vet. He received emergencysurgery to remove the jeans, which were as good as new after beingwashed.

Related: 7 tips for keeping your pets safe onHalloween

“Look at these chompers. Good as new!” (Photo:iStock)

A sucky injury

A border collie got her mouth caught inside the suction tool ofa vacuum cleaner, breaking off teeth and injuring her mouth in theprocess. The wound required oral surgery, which ain't cheap.Luckily the dog made a full recovery and her owners were sure totake precautions to keep her away from the vacuum in thefuture.

“Sorry, human. WebMD has no answers to 'How do I dislodge mydog from a tree table?'” (Photo: iStock)

Stuck between a tree and a neckbrace

A Tibetan terrier got her head stuck in an opening of a solidoak coffee table. The dog was contorting its body as it attemptedto dislodge her head, to the point that her owner thought she wasgoing to break her neck. The owner delivered the dog, still stuckto the table, to an emergency vet clinic, where the vetadministered a sedative that relaxed the dog's body to the pointwhere they were able to squeeze the pooch out of her table.

Related: 10 dog breeds most often blacklisted by homeinsurance carriers

“Who needs an alarm system when Fido comes to therescue?” (Photo: iStock)

A heroic dog

A Jack Russell terrier intervened during a home invasion, inwhich both he and his owner were stabbed by a burglar. Bothunderwent surgery and survived serious knife wounds. The dog likelysaved the life of his owner by attacking and distracting theintruder.

“Humans, we're starting to feel a little loopy …“ (Photo: iStock)

Unsafe for allcreatures

After a faulty carbon monoxide detector failed during a leak ona cold winter day, a cat and poodle suffered from major carbonmonoxide poisoning, along with their owners. While their humanowners were attended to by human physicians, the pets were placedin an oxygen chamber at the veterinary hospital. Both petsrecovered the next day.

Related: 6 tips to protect pets from householdfires

“Help me, hoomans! I iz stuck!” (Photo:iStock)

A pain in the tail

A cat jumped off his “cat tree” and got his tail caught in theblinds of a window. His owners' frantic attempts to free his tailwere successful, but they knew he wasn't right when they finallygot him free. His tail was severely wounded, although happily hedid not suffer any nerve damage, something they discovered aftertaking him through extensive examination and X-rays at the vet.

Related: How to find the best pet insurance plan for yourclients