Brea, Calif. (May 16, 2011) – Like many Labrador retrievers, Stella Artois had to learn her lesson the hard way: be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it—stuck on your face.
““She’s a garbage hound,” said Cathy Timmons of Ramsey, N.J. “I supplement her breakfast with a can of vegetables, and that day it was green beans. I usually only give her half the can and put the rest in the fridge, but that day I wasn’t thinking and threw it in the trash without taking the trash out.”
While Cathy was getting ready for work, Stella plucked the green bean can out of the trash and attempted to salvage something edible. The can easily slipped onto Stella’s lower jaw, but its partially detached lid had been pushed down into the can and restricted movement in the opposite direction. When Cathy returned to give Stella her morning walk, she found the young dog sitting calmly in her normal spot with the green bean can firmly stuck around her lower jaw.
“I was more panicked than she was,” said Cathy. “I was worried that she wouldn’t be able to breathe, but she was staring back at me like nothing was wrong. I tried to take the can off, but I was worried that the lid would dig into her skin, so we went to the veterinarian.”
Cathy’s veterinarian had never seen a similar case, but fortunately was able to remove the can by hand after administering a mild sedative. Once the can had been removed, Stella was back to her old self. In addition to keeping dogs and trash away from each other, Cathy recommends completely removing the lid from used tin cans in order to prevent similar incidents.
Cathy’s claim for Stella’s tin can incident was one of more than 80,000 claims received in the month of April by Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance. Cathy’s claim was considered along with other uncommon medical claims submitted in April and selected by VPI as the most unusual of the bunch.
As the most unusual claim submitted in April, Cathy’s claim will be placed in the running for the 2011 VPI Hambone Award. Each month, VPI employees nominate the most interesting claim submitted and in September 2011 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 ham bone and a mild case of hypothermia.
Honorable mentions in April included a Labrador retriever that chewed up a box of razors, a cocker spaniel that survived a 75-foot fall off a cliff, a boxer that sprained her leg after getting tangled up in bed sheets, a mixed-breed dog that ate a porcupine, a cat that ingested chopsticks, and a whippet attacked by a woodchuck. 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 www.VPIHamboneAward.com.
Note to editors: Digital images of Stella Artois are available upon request. Send requests to gbiniasz@petinsurance.com
About Veterinary Pet Insurance
With more than 485,000 pets insured nationwide, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co./DVM Insurance Agency is the No. 1 veterinarian-recommended 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 CareGuard® 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.