Laying Poolside Is Supposed to Be Relaxing — Not Expensive!

ou may not think that something as harmless as a patio chair can hurt your pet, but Carole Shepard’s Labrador Meggie proved that even the patio furniture can lead to costly conclusions. Read Carole’s story below:

Our beautiful 3- year-old Lab, Meggie, very much loves her creature comforts. As a result, when she was put out on the patio because the cleaning lady was here, she decided she wanted to sit in a chair rather than lay on the concrete deck. She climbed up in a lawn chair and somehow managed to put her left rear leg through the webbing. She then got scared, leaped off the chair, and took off running around the pool dragging the chair behind her. She was in true panic mode until she got her leg loose from the chair. By the time we realized what was going on, it was all over. In the process of putting her leg through the webbing and then jumping down and dragging the chair, she managed to tear the tendons and ligaments loose in her left knee. As a result, she needed $4,000 worth of surgery to repair her leg. She now has pins and a metal plate in her knee and she has her own personal “outside” bed on the patio so that she will no longer be tempted to sit in the people chairs. The leg has healed beautifully and she doesn’t even have a limp. Thank goodness VPI was there to help with the bills!

Carole, we’re so glad Meggie is ok! Meggie is not alone; in 2009, VPI received more than 5,700 claims for fractures and of those claims analyzed, about 40 percent resulted from accidents in which pets were hit by cars. The second and third most common causes, jumping and falling, combined for another 40 percent of fracture claims. These claims most often involved pets jumping or falling from couches, beds, or the laps of their owners.

The remaining fracture claims included those in which pets ran into stationary objects, fought with other pets or got caught in a tight space. We hope Meggie enjoys her new bed on the patio!

Do you have an unbelievable tale you want to share? Visit the Tell Us Your Story section and your pet’s story could be highlighted in the “Hambone Nation” blog!