Nosey Labrador Gets Into 'Treble'




The things dogs do never cease to amaze me! I
recently received a press release that featured a
great story I'd like to share with you today. It went
like this:

"We went to a friend's cabin for the weekend and
several people were ice fishing," said Sara Kelly of
Montpelier, Vt. "They had a bucket full of minnows for
bait and a fishing pole resting across the bucket. The
moment we got inside the cabin, our dog Quincy
rushed over to smell the minnows and ended up
inhaling a treble hook. He immediately started
thrashing like a fish on the end of a line. We took him
right to the veterinarian and he had to be tranquilized
so they could cut off two of the barbs and push the one
embedded barb through and out of his nose."

Kelly's claim for Quincy was one of more than 70,000
medical claims received in the month of March by
Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) , the nation's oldest
and largest provider of pet health insurance. Quincy's
uncommon accident was considered along with other
out of the ordinary claims submitted in March and
selected by VPI as the most unusual of the bunch.

"My advice for pet owners is to be extra alert when you
haven't had the time or opportunity to puppy-proof a
new area," said Kelly. "Fortunately, Quincy is pretty
tough. He was a bit wheezy for a day, but he was right
back to his old self in no time."

As the most unusual claim submitted in March,
Quincy's claim will be placed in the running for VPI's
first Hambone Award. Each month, VPI employees will
nominate a claim and ask the public to vote from
among the selections for the most unusual claim of
the year. The 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 March included a dog with a
taste for staples and safety pins, a dog that ate two
diamond stud earrings, a dog that was attacked by a
rabbit, a cat that tried to eat a metal coat hanger, a dog
that ingested glue, and a dog that swallowed a
scouring pad. All pets considered for the award made
full recoveries and received insurance reimbursements
for eligible expenses.

Aren't dogs something? As you can see - you just
never know what they will do, and they're always
getting into something. The safest thing to do is to
have pet insurance. This way you'll be prepared for
the unexpected and you can do the best for your
dog in the case of a problem. Get a quick free quote
- go to petinsurance.com
Until next time,

Dr. Jon