New York Yorkie Narrowly Escapes Escalator Entanglement

Gina Conzo and her five-pound companion Jacques, a one-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, live a fun-filled, active life in New York City. Jacques is familiar with all sorts of travel whether it’s walking on a leash, taking a cab, riding the subway or simply tagging along in Gina’s dog carrier purse. However, one day the duo’s travels took a tragic turn when Jacques suffered serious injuries after getting his paws entangled in an escalator. Jacques’ frightening fiasco and heartwarming recovery have earned him the title of October’s “Most Unusual Claim of the Month” by Nationwide.

The incident took place at the train station as Gina and Jacques were hurrying to catch their scheduled route. Gina had Jacques in her bag as usual when they boarded the escalator, but set the tiny terrier down for just a moment to get situated for the long ride. Gina secured Jacques on his leash and searched through her bag for one of his toys as they approached the top of the escalator.

“All of a sudden I heard my baby make the most horrifying yelp, so I immediately pulled up on the leash and put him into my arms,” said Gina. “Everything happened so fast and I couldn’t tell exactly what had occurred, but I knew it involved the escalator. When I looked down at my arms there was blood everywhere and I knew Jacques needed help right away.”

Fortunately, Gina had a relative nearby who was able to pick them up and rush Jacques to the nearest animal hospital. During the car ride, Gina realized Jacques had injuries on both of his front paws, but that the left was significantly worse. Once at the hospital, the veterinarian team quickly examined Jacques and their findings were terrifying. All the pads on Jacques’ front paws had severe lacerations and one of his toes had been severed, which led to concerns of blood loss on his tiny stature. The team rushed Jacques into emergency surgery to amputate the remainder of the damaged toe and patch up the pads.

“I knew from the staff’s reaction that Jacques was in pretty bad shape and it broke my heart,” said Gina. “Jacques is a huge part of my life and waiting to hear from the veterinarian during the surgery was nerve-racking. I didn’t care about cost because I knew Nationwide would help with that, I only cared about getting Jacques back.”

The surgery was a success, but Jacques had a long road to recovery. The placement and severity of his wounds required constant visits to the veterinarian for bandage changings and check-ups. Jacques also had to deal with an infection in his left foot that slowed his recovery, along with learning how to balance with one less toe. However, after weeks of being wrapped up and struggling to walk, Jacques made a full recover.

Now that Jacques has his stride back, he and Gina have returned to their lively Manhattan lifestyle. Gina is so thankful for the veterinarians that treated Jacques and is incredibly happy with the support she received from Nationwide.

“I knew that having Nationwide would help with the costs, but I never expected to get this much coverage,” said Gina. “Having Nationwide made this difficult situation a little less stressful, and not worrying about the costs made it easier to focus on getting Jacques the care he needed. Jacques was the first pet I’ve insured through Nationwide and now I’ll never go without it again. With Nationwide, we’re ready for anything!”