Rooster, a hound mix from Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the 2017 winner of the 9th annual Hambone Awards. The Hambone Award honors the most unusual pet insurance claim of the year. Rooster was nominated after he was impaled by a large tree branch during a routine hiking trip.
The Hambone Award, presented by Nationwide, honors the most unusual pet insurance claim of the year; Rooster was nominated after he was impaled by a large tree branch during a routine hiking trip.
Rooster was treated by the veterinary team at Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, where they performed a life-saving surgery to remove the tree branch. For their efforts, the facility will receive a $10,000 Nationwide-funded through the Veterinary Care Foundation to help treat pets in their community whose owners could otherwise not afford veterinary care.
Related: Keep your cats & dogs free from these common & expensive illnesses
|Rooster's story
On the day of the accident, Jen Hawker, Rooster's owner, had taken her small pack of dogs on a day hike. The group included Rooster, Hawker's other dog Goose and a foster dog named Lulu. The dogs were off their leashes, due to the lack of foot traffic, when they chased a vermin down a small hill.
After hearing a loud cry, Hawker noticed "an elongated bulge on his side and knew something was wrong." With Rooster unable to walk and Hawker unable to carry him back to the car, she was out of options and called 911. The group soon found out that Rooster had been impaled by a large branch that stemmed over a foot long and had narrowly missed his lungs by less than an inch.
After the surgery, Rooster needed a couple of weeks for the wounds to heal and the soreness to wear off. As the 2017 Hambone Award winner, Rooster will receive a trophy, as well as a Nationwide gift bag filled with toys, treats and various pet supplies.
Related: Mirror markets: Will pet insurance be the next renters' insurance?
|Don't forget about second and third place
Second place: Butterscotch the Great Pyrenees/Irish setter mix of Minneapolis, Minnesota. A walk in the city left Butterscotch with shocking injuries after he stepped in a puddle that was exposed to a live wire and was electrocuted. Butterscotch was treated at MedVet Chicago.
Third place: Star the Cattle Dog mix of South Bend, Ind. Star’s daily walks are often interrupted by her clumsiness, but a recent trailside blunder nearly ended in tragedy after she fell into a hidden manhole. Star was treated at the Parrett Veterinary Clinic in Indiana.
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Denny Jacob
Denny Jacob is an associate editor for NU PropertyCasualty360. Contact him at [email protected].
