Scooter the cat made a full recovery after a veterinary technician discovered that she ingested a sewing needle. |
Veterinary Pet Insurance of Brea, Calif., is inviting the public to
vote for the most bizarre insurance claim of the year, ranging from ingesting toxic bra gel inserts to eating 15 pacifiers. The twelve unusual claims can be voted on until Sept. 14.
The winning claim will receive VPI’s first Hambone Award, named in honor of a VPI-insured dog that got stuck in the refrigerator and ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while waiting to be found.
All pets considered for the award made full recoveries and received insurance reimbursements for eligible treatment expenses.
“Our intent with the Hambone Award is to let pet owners know just how unexpected the unexpected can be,” said Carol McConnell, DVM, vice president and chief veterinary medical officer for VPI. “We frequently hear pet owners say that they aren’t worried about the cost of veterinary care because their pet is healthy. Unfortunately, we also hear them say that they never thought their pet would get a turtle shell stuck in her nose, sneak into a refrigerator, fetch a poisonous sea urchin or end up under a cow. Some things are impossible to predict, so we make it possible to insure.”