PEOPLE Pets | Sit. Stay. Play!

Nothing's better on Valentine’s Day than getting flowers, truffles and those little heart-shaped candies with the cute sayings printed on them. But for pets, all that romance can be dangerous.

"Around Valentine's Day, it's the dogs and cats, rather than birds or other kinds of pets, that get into trouble from things such as lilies and chocolate," Dr. Louise Murray, Director of Medicine at the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital in New York City, tells PEOPLEPets.com.

Dr. Murray spoke with PEOPLEPets.com about the most common pet-related dangers lurking on Valentine’s Day and how you can avoid them.

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The Westminster Kennel Club dog show is almost upon us! So, every day this week we're bringing you the personal stories of some of the dogs participating in the show (held in New York City on Feb. 15 & 16). First up, Vala the Australian Canaan dog, who has an unusual connection to his teenage handler.

When 14-year-old Ethan Miller enters a show ring, unfamiliar judges often ask him to hold the leash with his left hand instead of his right. What they don't know is that Ethan has cerebral palsy in his left side, and is restricted to walking his Australian Canaan dog Vala with his right hand.

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When football teams win the Super Bowl, they go to Disney World. As for Grammy Award-winning country music bands? Apparently, they head to SeaWorld! After nabbing the best new artist award at last weekend's Grammys, members of the Zac Brown Band hit Orlando, Fla., for some NASCAR fun — and a visit to SeaWorld.

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Life was twice as nice for staffers at Switzerland's Walter Adventure Zoo last week, after chimpanzee Brigitte gave birth to twin babies. The 29-year-old has since been inseparable from her little ones, both male, taking close care of them in her pen in Gossau.

Just shy of 2 weeks old, the babies join the ranks of the largest chimpanzee enclosure in Switzerland. The twins — extremely rare — will stick with their mom for a while, and should start walking in about six months. That's when they'll become double the trouble!

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Here's a reason to start watching Important Things with Demetri Martin, which debuted its second season last week: Bruce the Funny Dog is a sketch about a wacky canine who wears funny costumes at the most inappropriate times. Like when a relative dies, or when the family is losing their house. Bad dog, Bruce. But good dog for wearing a wig and cracking us up!

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These stories are worth a click:

A new Bristol University study claims that cat owners are more likely to have a university degree than people who own dogs. They found that longer hours, which could be associated with better qualified jobs, may make owning a dog more impractical. —BBC

Two felines are alive and ready for adoption thanks to a Las Vegas Valley Animal Control officer who rescued them from the bottom of a 30-foot deep cellular tower. It's believed one of the cats is the mother who followed her baby down the hole when it fell in. —fox5vegas.com

Boomer the police dog survived a bullet to the head in April when he and his partner responded to a call about a person with a weapon in an alley. On Saturday, the dog was inducted into the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association Hero Animal Hall of Fame. —Kare11.com

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Sunday's Puppy Bowl pitted the underdogs against the top dogs in a showdown of skill and semblance. But in a paw-biting tail-wagger that kept us glued to our seats, it was a Chug (half-Chihuahua, half-pug) named Jake who ran circles around the 42 other furballs on the field at Animal Planet Stadium in Silver Springs, Md.

Though he never scored a touchdown (but really, who did?), Jake's ability to "break the sound barrier" with his speed earned him the title of Most Valuable Puppy.

The first quarter kicked off with a rush to the water bowl in the end zone, where a camera gave viewers at home an upshot of all the cute tongue action. Once everyone's thirst was quenched the game really got rolling as Fava, a 16-week-old cattle dog mix, scored two touchdowns within a matter of minutes. Later, she earned props for having the "drive of the game."

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