Portuguese Man O’ War Spoils Game of Fetch for Westie/Poodle Mix

You'll be glad your pet is HomeSafe with you after reading this unusual tale!

Pet owners visiting the beach for a day of fun and sun can anticipate the occasional safety hazard: holes in the sand, sharp pieces of driftwood or jagged shells. Unfortunately, after a recent experience with their two-year-old Westie/poodle mix, Ranger, Brace and Janet Rohrer can add stinging Portuguese man o’ wars to their list!

“My wife had taken Ranger to the beach that day and was playing fetch with him,” recalled Brace Rohrer of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “Ranger ran out to get the ball, but a man o’ war” – a venomous invertebrate similar to a jellyfish – “was lying next to it. Ranger pounced on the man o’ war instead of the ball and got stung on his right front paw.”

At his veterinarian’s office, Ranger received a dose of anti-inflammatory medication, an antihistamine, and a shot of pain reliever. He was one lucky dog! Aside from being extremely painful, a Portuguese man o’ war’s sting can cause fever, shock, circulatory and respiratory distress.

Rohrer’s claim for Ranger’s man o’ war incident was one of more than 80,000 claims received in the month of February by Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance. Rohrer’s claim was considered along with other uncommon medical claims submitted in February and selected by VPI as the most unusual of the bunch.

As the most unusual claim submitted in February, Rohrer’s claim will be placed in the running for the 2010 VPI Hambone Awards. Each month, VPI employees nominate the most interesting claim submitted and in August 2010 the company 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 hambone and a mild case of hypothermia.

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

PetSecure Helps Pet

PetSecure pet health insurance was happy to deliver some great news to Romelda Morson, an active volunteer in her Toronto community and pet parent of two dogs - Impulse and Fynnegan. The company paid for Impulse's $2,500.00 ligament surgery after she was attacked by a stray dog and her former pet health insurance company denied the claim.

Prior to the attack, Romelda faced a hydro explosion in her apartment and was forced to leave her home with nothing but the clothes on her back, cell phone and pets in hand. After this disaster, she formed a tenants' association to ensure everyone living in her building would be treated equally and fairly.

"As pet parents ourselves, we are proud to give back by providing resources and support to the pet community across Canada," says Randy Valpy, President & CEO of PetSecure. "When we heard what Romelda had been through, we wanted to help; our goal as a company is to ensure that pets across Canada enjoy longer, fuller and healthier lives, even if that means helping one pet parent at a time!"

"Things like this don't happen often in our society, let alone happen to me," Romelda stated after Petsecure told her the good news. "Petsecure has reinstated my faith in insurance companies and I'm truly grateful for their generosity and willingness to support Impulse. This has made a huge difference in our lives and has taken away a burden of not knowing how we would take care of this payment."

Petsecure wants all of their members to feel secure knowing that in their time of need, and when they really need that extra help, they can rest assured that they will be taken care of.

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

Dog Survives 90-Metre Fall

According to a recent story on CBC Television, a Springer Spaniel learned the hard way that dog's can't fly! The happy-go-lucky dog, named Poppy, chased a seagull off a cliff and plunged 90-metres down into the sea.

The incident happened on February 14 at the Seven Sisters cliffs in East Sussex in southeastern England while the dog was out for a walk with her owner's sister and a friend

Rescuers said there was just enough water to cushion the dog's fall. Apart from being in shock and having a partially collapsed lung the dog was in good shape. Paul Legendre of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution search and rescue service said the pair sought help after they went to the edge of the cliff and saw Poppy swim to shore.

Volunteer lifeboat crew member Gavin Butcher was part of the crew that rescued the spaniel from the beach underneath the cliff. ''She was cold and nervous, but apart from that, was as good as gold," Butcher told the Telegraph.

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

PetLynx HomeSafe Stories

PetLynx plays an important role in helping companion animals across Canada get HomeSafe! But whether PetLynx is the piece of the puzzle that helps a lost pet get HomeSafe or not, we are happy to share success stories!

Here are some comments from grateful people who wanted to share their pet recover experiences:

I did everything I could to find my cat... I had posters everywhere, went driving and walked in the neighborhood calling her name. On her 4th night missing, I decided to stay up and wait for her to come home. I wandered outside at 1:20 am and went to the back of the house. She came through the bushes, like an angel from heaven. She meowed with happiness and wouldn't stop purring. She is not normally is not a cuddly cat, but was so happy to be home. If you have lost your pet.... don't give up hope, they will come back!

Anonymous

SKY is ALIVE! She was hit by a car several kilometres from our home and has a badly broken back leg, cuts, bruises but most importantly non-life threatening injuries. We are ever so thankful for those loving friends that supported us in so many ways during the 48 hours of worry when she was lost. We are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

      Sky's Mom

I am very thankful that the PetLynx website is available for anyone who loses or finds an animal. Just a reminder to anyone who see’s an animal wandering around their home.... remember that there is [very likely] a worried family somewhere. The pet just might need your help in finding its way home!

    Aileen,

    Hamilton, Ontario