Laundry day sends Siamese mix for a spin

Meet Casper, the beloved feline of the Rodriguez family.

Casper’s mom, April, adopted Casper from a litter of kittens born at her daughter’s house—and the connection was instantaneous. “We just fell in love with him … he was the runt of the litter.”

Casper quickly made himself at home alongside two kitties, an English mastiff, and six human siblings. He even started protecting it from unexpected guests.

“He’s the guard cat,” April says.

He also discovered a love for nestling into the warm clothes fresh from the dryer, which took him on a Hambone-nominated ride of a lifetime. Here’s the story.

What happened?

According to April, Casper quickly learned to love hopping on the freshly dried laundry to soak up all the warmth.

“So, it was just kind of a little game of like, ‘All right, Casper, come out.’ It’d just be some silly game, not thinking what could possibly happen [in a] worst case scenario.”

“My husband was working at home in the office, and our 18-year-old college student son was at home,” April remembers. “He was in a process of switching his clothes from the washing machine into the dryer.”

Her son was not aware of the game April had with Casper. Having loaded the dryer, he went back upstairs to finish getting ready, unaware of the awful situation unfolding below.

“My husband hears this thud, thud, thud … a really loud thing,” April says. “He’s like ‘Did that kid put shoes in the dryer or something? What is in there? That sounds terrible.’ So, he comes in, opens up the dryer, and there’s our cat.”

Casper was barely alive by the time Mr. Rodriguez got to him.

April continues, “He brought Casper out, laid him on the cold floor, and he realized he was still breathing, but just in and out of consciousness. So, he wrapped Casper up in a towel and drove to the emergency vet.

“We got him to the vet, and then we found out from the vet that he was overheated—that was his main problem. [There was] blood coming from him biting his tongue, being flopped around in the dryer, but there was no organ damage or spinal damage.”

How Nationwide helped

Having saved Casper in the nick of time, the Rodriguez family got him the care he needed without a second thought, despite being wholly unsure of the scope of his injuries—or the cost of the care he would need.

“I never once thought that I was going to need [pet insurance], and everybody just kind of raises an eyebrow when you say insurance on your animal,” April says with a laugh. “But honestly, it’s been a lifesaver.”

She adds, “You don’t really ever think that these things are going to happen … but when they do, it’s nice to have the assistance there to help you pay for these things.”