Feb 10
Labrador Retriever Runs into Stick and Trouble During Game of Fetch
Veterinary Pet InsuranceFeb. 10, 2010
Labrador Retriever Runs into Stick and Trouble During Game of Fetch
Nation’s Largest Pet Insurer Selects Most Unusual January Claim
Brea, Calif. (February 10, 2010) — Sometimes you get the stick, and sometimes the stick gets you. That’s what Kirsten Myers of Menlo Park, Calif., learned late last year during a game of fetch with her 6-year-old Labrador retriever Phoenix.
“It was a freak incident,” said Myers. “My brother and I were at a park playing fetch with Phoenix. I threw a stick for Phoenix to catch. The stick landed, lodged in the ground, and essentially impaled him under his tongue when he ran into it at full speed. The stick pierced about two inches into the fleshy part underneath his tongue.”
Although the stick came free on its own, Phoenix had a two-inch deep wound under his tongue that required a trip to his veterinarian for cleaning and stitches. “I was with Phoenix when the veterinarian was working on him and almost passed out.” Myers said. “I literally had to take myself out of the room.”
That night, Phoenix was in a lot of pain. He shook, curled up into a ball, and wanted to be in Myers’ lap. After a good night’s sleep, however, Phoenix began acting like his perky self. “The very next day, he was gung-ho to play fetch again.” Myers said. “But no more sticks.” A few days later, Phoenix was off his prescribed pain medication and antibiotics, eating solid foods again, and the stitches in his tongue had dissolved.
“He’s perfectly healed now,” Myers concluded. “It was just one of those bizarre things. It could just never, ever happen again.”
Myers’ claim for Phoenix’s stick incident was one of more than 80,000 claims received in the month of January by Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance. Myers’ claim was considered along with other uncommon medical claims submitted in January and selected by VPI as the most unusual of the bunch.
As the most unusual claim submitted in January, Myers’ claim will be placed in the running for the 2010 VPI Hambone Award. Each month, VPI employees nominate the most interesting claim submitted and in August 2010 will ask the public to vote for the most unusual claim of the year. The VPI 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 hambone and a mild case of hypothermia.
Honorable mentions in January included a Dachshund that ate a glass holiday ornament, a golden retriever that fell into Lake Michigan, a mixed-breed dog that got into a fight with an opossum, a shih tzu that gobbled up a fire log, a Westie that swallowed bathtub cleaner, and an Australian shepherd that ran headfirst into a surfboard. All pets considered for the award made full recoveries and received insurance reimbursements for eligible expenses.
Stories and pictures of the Hambone Award nominees are at http://www.VPIHamboneAward.com.
Note to editors: Digital images of Phoenix are available upon request. Send requests to gbiniasz@petinsurance.com.
About Veterinary Pet Insurance
With more than 475,000 pets insured nationwide, 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 CareGuardSM 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.
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