Dog nearly blinded by insect wins unusual claim award.
September 9, 2010 | 0 Responses
Balboa the one year-old Pug from Louisiana has won notoriety for an unusual insurance claim after an encounter with a nasty insect.
Balboa was out walking with his owners Eyad and Shereen Bahhur.
The Pug spotted what must have looked to him like a fun stick to play with.
Unfortunately for pug the object was in fact a Southern Walking Stick, who defence mechanism is to spray toxic venom into the eyes of predators.
Sensing that Balboa was an attacker, the insect sprayed him in the eyes. Describing the moment, Eyad said.
“Balboa was sniffing around like he usually does…but then he jumped back all of a sudden. He was foaming at the mouth and wouldn’t open his eyes. We took him inside the house and rinsed his eyes out, but he was still squinting.”
The Bahhur’s took Balboa to the vets who, having limited experience in this type of injury, referred Balboa to a specialist an hour and half’s drive away.
The specialist told the couple that corneal ulcers had developed in both Balboa’s eyes and if left untreated the pooch would likely loose his sight.
Intensive treatment was used to save the dogs eyes. Almost a dozen different treatments were prescribed, Balboa needed eye drops on the hour and Eyad had to have a week off work to take care of the sick pug.
Luckily the treatment worked and within three weeks the pug was back to his old self.
Luckier still Eyad and Shereen had taken out pet insurance so they could claim back the cost of Balboa treatment.
The claim was consider the most unusual claim made to the insurance company in August and is now in the running for the 2011 VPI Hambone Award. The award is an annual award given to the most unusual claim made over the past 12 months and is named after a dog that ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while trapped in a refrigerator.
Honourable mentions from the past month also included a pit bull that ate a jellyfish, a Yorkshire terrier that stumbled into a bucket of bleach and a Maltese terrier that got its toe stuck in a video tape.
If you are a dog owner you will know they can get themselves into all sorts of scrapes and bother. Taking out dog insurance is a great way to protect your dog and your wallet against any unsuspected injuries. At www.pet-insurance.co.uk we offer comprehensive pet insurance to cover you for vets fees, straying, public liability and more. Visit today for a quotation and 20% online discount.