This is an Alert to Clients to the Dangers of Foreign Body Ingestion!!
Mystery of Missing Pacifiers Solved When Fifteen Found in English Bulldog
For six months, VPI policyholder Jennifer Zwart believed her daughter's missing pacifiers had simply been misplaced ~ but "Lulu", her English Bulldog, knew better.
"One day I saw "Lulu" licking a dropped pacifier and I scolded her for it. I didn't pick it up right away, because I never thought she would eat it, but I turned around and the pacifier was gone," said Zwart of Warson Woods, MO. "The X-ray was unclear, so the veterinarians decided to perform surgery, they started a 'binky count,' as they pulled out pacifier after pacifier. They had never seen anything like it." Turns out that over the course of six months, "Lulu" had swallowed 15 pacifiers, a bottle cap and a peice of a basketball. After the surgery, the contents of her stomach filled half of a one-gallon Ziploc bag! The technicians even asked if they could take pictures with their camera phones!
"Lulu" received the care she needed thanks to her VPI Pet Insurance policy. VPI covers costs associated with foreign body ingestio, including X-rays and surgery. In fact, VPI received nearly 5,000 ingestion claims last year alone. Fortunately, "Lulu" made a full recovery, and Zwart received reimbutsement for all eligible expenses.
"Did you know that rocks are the #1 foreign body ingested by pets?"
Top 10 Items Ingested by Pets
1. Rocks
2. Socks
3. Underwear
4. Pantyhose
5. Balls
6. Chew toys
7. Corn cobs
8. Bones
9. Hair ties/ribbons
10. Sticks