Junk Drawer Diet Leads to Tummy Turmoil for Manchester Terrier Mix

Nick Servies of Indianapolis, Ind., describes his 11-year-old Manchester terrier mix Jackie as a happy, calm and independent dog who likes to get into a little mischief from time to time. But Nick is still scratching his head over Jackie’s last incident, after she discovered how to open the family’s junk drawer and proceeded to ingest all of its contents. Jackie’s bizarre brunch and relieving recovery have earned her the title of November’s “Most Unusual Claim of the Month” by Nationwide.

Nick first met Jackie at a rescue center in Kentucky. After learning of a homeless dog with a litter of puppies, Nick, being a huge dog lover, decided to make the trip with the intent on adopting a puppy. Nearly seven months later, Nick heard the 4-year-old mother was still looking for a home so he repeated the journey and adopted her as well, giving her the name Jackie.

“Ever since we brought Jackie home she’s been a really happy dog,” said Nick. “She gets along with our other dogs and loves to eat.  She’s really ornery though and has a tendency to want things her way, which has led to some veterinary visits over the years, but we’ve been prepared. We signed Jackie up with Nationwide as soon as we got her, as we have done with all our dogs.”

On the day of Jackie’s junk food feast, Nick had returned home from work and was greeted at the door by a commonly excited Jackie. Nick noticed that Jackie’s stomach looked bloated and wondered if she had gotten into her food or something edible. Upon further investigation, Nick noticed that one his bedroom drawers had been raided and what he discovered, or lack thereof, boggled his mind. Jackie had ingested a pair of sunglasses, the sunglass case, a medicine bottle, Chap Stick, a bottle of fragrance oil and a container of lip gloss.

“At first, I couldn’t believe that she was able to get the drawer open,” said Nick. “Then I noticed the items missing and I knew she needed to go to the emergency animal hospital right away. She’s never done anything like that before, but this is an example of why we purchased pet insurance with Nationwide. You never know what kind of trouble your dog can get into, no matter what their age.”

Once at the emergency animal hospital, the veterinarians took X-rays and ran several tests on Jackie. The X-rays revealed the various items that Jackie had ingested, which led to concern that may be required to remove them. Luckily, with the help of some powerful laxatives, the terrier was able to pass all of the foreign objects on her own.

“Foreign bodies can be extremely dangerous for pets,” said Carol McConnell, DVM, MBA, Vice President and Chief Veterinary Officer for Nationwide. “If a pet ingests something that is non-digestible, it can cause a blockage in their intestines and in many cases, require surgery to have the foreign body removed. Jackie was very lucky that she has a pet parent who got her treatment right away and even luckier that she was able to pass the objects on her own.”

Since the incident, Jackie has made a full recovery and is back to her old self. Nick is relieved that Jackie wasn’t seriously injured and has since taken precautions to prevent Jackie from looting his belongings.

“The whole thing was really out of the ordinary for her and I’m still shocked it even happened,” said Nick. “I’m just grateful that everything turned out okay and that I had Nationwide. You never know what can happen to your pet and its best to be ready for anything.”