This month Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) awarded their second annual Hambone Award. The award is given for the most unusual insurance claim. Nominations are submitted and then people have an opportunity to vote for the finalists. This years winner is Ellie, a Labrador that ate a beehive.
Part of me, mostly the boring part, wants to talk about managing things, especially with a dog that you know eats everything in sight and a beehive full of pesticides anywhere near each other.
The other wants to laugh at the story about the dog that ate a beehive! If, for no other reason, that when I first saw the headline "Dog eats beehive." I knew it was a lab. (Although, to be fair, I did picture a chocolate lab.)
One of the runners up was a Border Collie that broke a window trying to get at the mailman, which isn't funny at all. I have mixed feelings about it making the list. It's a very sad story, but the fact that they discuss what was done afterwards to address the issue redeems it a bit.
Other than a pit bull who was bit on the toe by a muskrat (it seems they don't understand play bows,) I've been pretty lucky over the years. How about you?
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15 Minutes of Fame
I'm a recreational musher in Alaska, with 14 dogs in my small kennel, any of which either has been or will be a hambone in his/her own right.
I had a very promising young leader who lost a rear leg in an unfortunate accident at a boarding kennel (I was away from home at the time). He very nearly lost his life, but through the efforts of two very good veterinarians and his own sheer will he survived. His story as a "tri-pawed" racing dog made the local paper, at http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/6867396/article-Abner--the-three-le...?
Today Abner has a new "job". He is now living and working on a friend's team, where he leads a team that introduces wounded soldiers and veterans to the sport of dog mushing by taking them out on dog sled tours. Many of his charges are still coping with the realities of their own amputations. He's a huge morale builder for his precious human cargo. Although many Alaskan huskies are rather aloof with strangers, Abner (now called Zephyr) is as much a love-muffin as any Lab or Golden. In addition to showing off his talent and drive on the trail, he delights in showering his clients with affection and "kisses".
That's an amazing story, and
That's an amazing story, and Abner's new job is truly inspirational.
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Eric Goebelbecker eric@dogspelledforward.com
Dog injuries
One of my mom's dogs had quite an injury-prone youth. In one year she got a fish hook stuck through her cheek (in the middle of the forest), was run over by a car and bitten by a copperhead snake. The copperhead was THE most life threatening but luckily it was also a youngster and not as deadly as the full grown snake would have been. She looked terrible! She was bitten on the nose and the swelling worked its way down her whole body. Poor girl but she's 14 now! :)