Dog park play session ends in punctured jaw

Working with animals, Nationwide pet insurance member Rachel Wallis knows that lots of things can go wrong when you have a pet. But nothing prepared her for her dog Pistol’s accident at a local dog park.

“There was another dog there, maybe around 10 months old, and Pistol and that dog were playing hard,” she recalls. “They were running parallel to each other and the other dog stopped suddenly and one of her canines hit Pistol’s jaw and pierced the back of his mouth.”

The story of this unlikely collision and resulting oral puncture earned the Australian cattle dog a nomination for the 2020 Hambone Award.

“He was such a little baby about it,” laughs Rachel before admitting she was pretty shaken too. “Oh my gosh, I was crying, in total tears. His wound was bleeding and the other guy whose dog it happened with was concerned too. You try to be calm, but I just felt so helpless.”

Rachel knew she needed to get Pistol to a vet as soon as possible. She took him to Beverly Hills Small Animal Hospital in Beverly Hills, Calif., where Pistol was stitched up after some X-rays to rule out more serious damage.

Rachel was thrilled with the service she received at the veterinary hospital as well as the service she received from Nationwide.

“Filing a claim was no trouble and super easy,” she says. “We submitted it through the portal and got about 80% back and were appreciative.”

When it came to insuring Pistol, Rachel relied heavily on the word of a good friend who is a veterinary technician.

“She spoke so highly of it and recommends it all the time,” says Rachel. “I’m happy that I got it.”