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jigfreak
09-03-2009, 09:36 AM
Has your dog ever swallowed a hook!

Doggone it!

Pooch up for national oddball injury award




http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=RH&Date=20090903&Category=NEWS04&ArtNo=909030381&Ref=AR&Profile=1004&MaxH=290&MaxW=445 Sara Kelly's yellow lab Quincy is one of 12 animals nationwide in the running for the first-ever Hambone Award for the most bizarre injury to an animal. Quincy was snared by a fish hook.
Jeb Wallace-Brodeur / TIMES ARGUS

By SUSAN ALLEN STAFF WRITER - Published: September 3, 2009



MONTPELIER – Sara Kelly's yellow lab Quincy apparently has a nose for trouble. And for that, the dog just might win a national award.

Quincy is one of 12 animals nationwide in the running for the first-ever Hambone Award, presented by the California-based Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. to the animal the public votes survived the most bizarre injury.

The Hambone Award was named for a dog that got stuck in a refrigerator and ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while waiting to be found. Voting for the award will end Sept. 14.

The winner's human owner will earn a bronze trophy in the shape of a hambone, and the two will be featured on an upcoming segment of The Rachel Ray Show, a nationally broadcast daily talk show.

Quincy won the nomination a hard way.

In smelling a pile of minnows on an ice fishing trip with Kelly, Quincy sniffed up a treble hook and became snared by three barbs in his nose.

"The moment we got inside the cabin, our dog Quincy rushed over to smell the minnows and ended up inhaling a treble hook," Kelly said in a statement. "He immediately started thrashing like a fish on the end of a line."

A veterinarian had to cut two of the barbs out and push the third through the sedated dog's nose, Kelly said.

But the incident was not without its unexpected rewards.

The Veterinary Pet Insurance Co., which provides coverage for about a half-million pets in the United States, began collecting unusual pet-injury stories based on claims filed, and staff chose the most unique tale received each month. Quincy's treble trouble was chosen as the March claim-of-the-month, automatically entering the Hambone Award finals.

"Each month we get about 80,000 to 90,000 claims for different pet accidents," said Grant Biniasz, spokesman for VPI Pet. "Some are for accidents that are a little less ordinary. We noticed that a lot of pet owners underestimate their pet's ability to get into things and suffer some of these accidents."

The public is invited to visit a special Web site and vote for the best story. And the competition is tough, including (all animals made full recoveries from their injuries and their photos can be seen on the VPI Web site):

Scooter, a Siamese cat from California, who ate a sewing needle with thread and – two weeks later – the needle made contact with the cat's brain.

Toby, a Nebraska spaniel, who was chewing on a round roast bone that became stuck between his teeth and lower jaw. The bone had to be hacksawed off.

Rincon, an Arizona German shorthaired pointer, who was attacked by two javalinas while hiking with his owners.

Lulu, a Missouri English bulldog, who swallowed 15 pacifiers, a bottle cap and piece of a basketball.

Jean Pierre, a California French bulldog, who swallowed a corndog and the stick was poking – from his insides, into his outsides — creating a lump the veterinarian first thought was a bee sting.

And Crawford, a Pennsylvania Brittany spaniel, who was poisoned after swallowing the gel inserts from his owner's bra.

Quincy was chosen for the month of March, beating the following unique claims: a dog who ate staples and safety pins, a dog who ate two diamond stud earrings, a dog who was attacked by a rabbit, a cat who tried to eat a metal coat hanger, a dog who ingested glue, and a dog who swallowed a scouring pad.

The annual competition runs from July to June, Biniasz said, and staff already is collecting nominees for next year's Hambone Award. The winner of the first 2010 month-of-July "best claim" is a Florida dog named JoJo, who chased a bus and caught it by a tire, but lost a tooth in the process.

"The award highlights just how unexpected some of these accidents can be," Biniasz said.


http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090903/NEWS04/909030381/0/FEATURES08

cracklepopper
09-03-2009, 02:50 PM
Has your dog ever swallowed a hook!


The Veterinary Pet Insurance Co., which provides coverage for about a half-million pets in the United States, began collecting unusual pet-injury stories based on claims filed, and staff chose the most unique tale received each month. Quincy's treble trouble was chosen as the March claim-of-the-month, automatically entering the Hambone Award finals.

"Each month we get about 80,000 to 90,000 claims for different pet accidents," said Grant Biniasz, spokesman for VPI Pet. "Some are for accidents that are a little less ordinary. We noticed that a lot of pet owners underestimate their pet's ability to get into things and suffer some of these accidents."


They insure 500,000 pets. each month they get 90,000 claims, which is over a million claims/year, or 2 claims per pet per year, according to my math.
Either the claim figure is a typo, and it should have read 90,000 claims for the year, or those pet owners pay very high premiums for the privelege of making 2 claims per year.:huh: