Paw and order: Red velvet hijinks

Meet Diesel and Matilda, two beagles planning heists in Arizona.

Nationwide pet insurance member Kristilyn L. is a proud beagle mom. She knows that part of loving this charming breed means understanding what motivates them, especially their noses and their stomachs.

“There’s no trusting them,” Kristilyn smiles. “They're just mischievous all the time, but you can't be mad at them because they're so cute.”

While unified by their love of treats, her two beagle pups couldn’t be more different. Arguably, that’s what makes them such a fantastic pair. As Kristilyn describes it, Diesel is big, loud and a complete momma’s boy. Meanwhile, his sister, Matilda, is quiet and petite but she’s clearly the one in charge.

“I think she’s the brain and he’s the brawn,” she continues. “He’s so much bigger, and he can get places, but she certainly partakes in all his debauchery.”

A lot of that debauchery centers around stolen snacks. “Food is number 1 and I am number 2,” laughs Kristilyn.

When it comes to treat theft, the two are true partners in crime. “I think I would refer to them as mischief and mayhem,” Kristilyn reports. “But, also, we say sometimes love and mayhem. I think it's probably better.”

As a result, Kristilyn is very careful with how she stores food. However, on one occasion, the duo’s love of snacks (not to mention causing mayhem) left Kristilyn scrambling to solve this Hambone-nominated case of a disappearing double-decker cake.

What happened?

Kristilyn and her husband had hosted a party, complete with a two-tiered, 20" red velvet cake centerpiece. “We host quite often and my dogs will usually go to my parents’ house. We just keep them off site because there's no trusting them. They would steal all the food, right?” Kristilyn says. After cleaning up, they tucked the leftover cake into a closed pantry for safe keeping.

After work the next day, Kristilyn let the duo out of their crates as usual. “They just ran down the hallway,” she says. Almost immediately, it was a little too quiet. “The thing with beagles is, they’re like toddlers. If there’s silence, there’s a problem,” she says.

As it turned out, Diesel and Matilda had snuck into the pantry and devoured nearly the entire huge cake. The case was easy to solve—after all, they were caught red (velvet) handed. “I see them come out from the pantry and they’re each the size of a bowling ball, just waddling like two blimps with legs,” she says.

Diesel and Matilda were promptly taken to the veterinarian. After receiving care, the two thieves were sent home to sleep off their red velvet es-cake-pade … but not before checking for leftovers first.

“The second they walked into the house from just being at the vet and being miserable, they ran straight to the pantry to see what was left of the cake that they left behind. Like, no regrets.”

How Nationwide helped

With two beagles who regularly team up for just one last heist, it pays to have good security in place. That’s why Kristilyn chose Nationwide pet insurance for her pups. She says, “Nationwide has been a blessing in our lives. Not once have we had to worry about paying for unexpected vet bills. I know Diesel and Matilda will always be taken care of.”

Part of that feeling of being cared for comes from the 24/7 telehealth service that’s included with every Nationwide policy. “I've used the VetHelpline® before, because they eat everything,” Kristilyn says.

Kristilyn gets peace of mind knowing their coverage means they’re ready for any canine capers, no matter the time. She continues, “If there’s something wrong with my dogs, even in the middle of the night, I can always go to an emergency vet. I’ve never had to worry about taking them in.”