Brea, Calif. (July 25, 2011) – According to Lori Laverdiere of Manville, R.I., her pug Harley simply isn’t “an eater.” Unlike most dogs, Harley had shown little interest in ingesting things he shouldn’t. Turns out, the crafty canine was waiting for the perfect opportunity.
“I picked up Harley from boarding at his veterinarian’s office, where he has frequently stayed since he was a puppy,” said Lori. “When we got home, I took him for a walk and he started pooping out rocks. Nothing else, just rocks.”
Lori immediately contacted her veterinarian to find out what had happened. The staff informed her that boarding dogs are let into individual runs for 10 to 20 minute periods, which is where he must have consumed the rocks. She was advised to monitor Harley and to bring him in if he was unable to keep food or water down. Lori could feel several rocks in her pug’s stomach, so she stayed outside with Harley, hoping he would pass them on his own. However, as the afternoon progressed, Harley’s condition worsened until he could no longer eat or drink anything without vomiting.
“By that point, I was hysterical. I took Harley to an emergency animal hospital where they took X-rays of his belly,” said Lori. “I wasn’t aware of how many rocks Harley had ingested until I saw the X-ray. We’re not talking about one or two rocks – Harley’s stomach was half-full and his intestines were jam-packed. According to the emergency vet, Harley had consumed more than 100 rocks. He had never seen anything like it.”
Fortunately, the rocks were small enough for Harley to pass without surgery. He was kept overnight at the hospital where his veterinarian administered medication to help him expel the stones. Within a couple of days, Harley was completely back to normal.
Lori’s claim for Harley’s rock incident was one of more than 80,000 claims received in the month of June by Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance. Harley’s claim was considered along with other uncommon medical claims submitted in June and selected by VPI as the most unusual of the bunch.
As the most unusual claim submitted in June, Harley’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 June included a Yorkshire terrier that got his foot stuck in the bathtub, a Jack Russell terrier clawed by a bear, a mixed-breed dog that poked himself in the eye with a cactus, a Dachshund that tangled with a mole and another Yorkie hit by a baseball. 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 Harley and his X-ray are available upon request. Send requests to ncross@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.