Spatula-snatching Lab mix swallows a spoonful of trouble

Meet Duke, an Ohio pup who is half Labrador retriever, half golden retriever—and 100% snack lover.

“Duke was being trained to be a service dog with an organization in Louisville, Kentucky named Paws With Purpose,” says Nationwide® member Jennifer W. “As part of their program, they train the dogs in a correctional institution for women.” However, when COVID restrictions were announced at the facility, the dogs had to be removed from their program and put into foster care.

For Duke, that move led to a fateful change in his life path. “He was in somebody's home, and they figured out that he has allergies, and he would no longer be able to be a service dog," says Jennifer.

So, Duke became an adoptable dog. As luck would have it, a member of his new fur-ever family was in the neighborhood. Jennifer continues, “My sister, who lives in Louisville, is neighbors with the people who were fostering him.” Soon enough, Duke was on his way to his forever home with Jennifer in Ohio. She continues, “It was a win-win, because he makes a great pet and Duke found a loving home.”

Duke settled into his new home life, where he found the snacks available much to his liking. “If there's food around, Duke is for sure around,” says Jennifer. “Duke is very food and treat motivated—the minute the refrigerator is open, he's by my side.”

However, that love of a tasty treat proved troublesome when he became overly enthusiastic about licking a spatula—and swallowed the whole thing, netting him this Hambone nomination.

What happened?

“Duke was at the dog sitter's home,” Jennifer remembers. “We had gone to Virginia for five days, and Duke stays with this woman whenever we go out of town. He stays at her house, and he loves going there.”

Then one day during treat time, Duke lined up with the other dogs to get a lick of peanut butter from a silicone spatula. That’s when things got out of hand.

“He not only licked it, but he pulled the spatula head off and swallowed it,” Jennifer remembers. Frantic, the dog sitter reached out to Jennifer.

“I questioned, ‘He swallowed the spatula? And she responded, ‘Yes, he swallowed the whole spatula.”

Not sure what to do in such an unusual situation, Jennifer reached out to Nationwide VetHelpline® for advice. The expert said that the size of the object Duke had swallowed warranted a veterinary follow-up, and he should be kept under close observation for the time being. Duke, for his part, didn’t seem bothered by the spatula stowaway in his belly.

“I’m texting to see how he's doing, and [the sitter is] sending me videos—and Duke's running around with the other dogs, acting completely normally,” Jennifer remembers.

Jennifer returned home and took Duke to the vet for an X-ray. Due to the positioning of the spatula in his stomach, Duke would need an endoscopy. Luckily, the procedure went off without a hitch, and Duke was on the road to recovery—and Nationwide covered his eligible veterinary expenses.

How Nationwide helped

Duke was covered with pet insurance as part of his training with the Paws With Purpose program. Jennifer decided to continue with that coverage, in part because of her sister’s experience parenting a dog with a chronic illness.

“Her dog developed Cushing's disease,” Jennifer says. “She was also a Nationwide member, and Nationwide was phenomenal with covering the costs of care due to her dog's illness and throughout her dog's life.”

Jennifer is glad that she chose Nationwide, both for the coverage and member features like 24/7 telehealth.

“I think it is invaluable to have the VetHelpline,” Jennifer says. “If anything happens, the first thing you want to do is call a veterinarian. With Nationwide VetHelpline, you have somebody to talk to all the time who has experience and can calm you down and tell you what they think you should do.”