By Josh Chetwynd
For any agent who has ever received a weird claim, consider this: Woodbridge, Va.-resident Jill Rygwalski relied on her pet insurance to cover costs when her silver-shaded Persian cat Charm swallowed more than
three feet of packaging tape.
The cat survived, but the tale was good enough to earn Charm the runner-up prize in the seventh annual Hambone Awards, given out by
Nationwide and its subsidiary Veterinary Pet Insurance Co.
Though Charm lost out to a West Virginia dog named Curtis, who swallowed a wooden barbeque skewer whole and lived with it in his belly for more than a year, the cat’s performance reflects a penchant for troubled pets in Virginia.
In 2013, an Ashburn, Va. Jack Russell terrier placed third in the competition after a Snowy Owl swooped down and carried the little dog away. The canine, aptly called Jack, survived the ordeal despite internal and external injuries.
Virginia’s two-time podium performance is impressive considering Nationwide insures approximately 22,000 pets in the state, which represents just 4% of its 550,000 policies throughout the United States.
This year, Charm was one of 12 finalists from a pool of 1.3 million Nationwide pet insurance claims.
The Hambone Awards were established in 2009 to highlight the most unusual pet mishaps and the recoveries that follow those events. The prize was named after a dog that got stuck in a refrigerator. He couldn’t get out, but made the most of his time in the cold, devouring a full Thanksgiving ham before being found and treated for a mild case of hypothermia.
Other Northeast animals that have been recognized for this award over the years include: 2013’s winner, Winnie, a Barnstable, Mass. dog who ate a two-pound bag of frozen onion rings, and 2011 victor Harley, a pug from Manville, R.I., who ate (and ultimately passed) more than 100 rocks.
