Jake the Lab Snacks on a Knee-High Sock

Gerald and Susan Marshall of Oklahoma City, Okla., have always expected the unexpected when it comes to the strange items Jake, their 120-lb. Labrador retriever will munch on and sometimes even swallow. From handkerchiefs to a package of needles and prescription medicine, Jake’s unusual appetite has led to occasional trips to the veterinarian but none required surgery until he got his paws on a knee-length sock.

“We could tell that Jake was intrigued by the big sock, but we didn’t realize he had eaten it until he became constipated for a few days,” said Gerald. “Once we realized he had swallowed something so large we took him straight to the vet.”

At the Wedgewood Pet Clinic, the veterinarian discovered that the sock was lodged halfway between Jake’s stomach and intestine and surgery would be required. During the surgery, the veterinarian was eventually able to fish the sock out, much to the Marshalls’ delight. “The veterinarian had never seen anything like this,” said Gerald. “He told us he had seen Labs eat a variety of interesting and unusual things, but never a large sock.”

Luckily for the Marshalls, their VPI pet insurance plan covered more than ninety percent of the expenses that resulted from the incident. “Pet insurance has absolutely come in handy for us,” said Gerald. “We recommend VPI to all pet owners.”

Following the surgery, Jake returned home to recover and was back at full strength in just a few days. Since the incident, Jake has stayed away from chowing down on unusual items.

Jake is the sixth dog that the Marshalls have insured with VPI. The family saw the value of pet insurance a few years back when two of their dogs were stricken with cancer. “Having cancer coverage saved us a lot of money on our dog’s expensive vet bills,” said Gerald. “We have had a wonderful experience with VPI over the years.”

While a knee-high sock is an uncommon item to be ingested by a pet, it is the not the most unusual. Here is a list of other unusual ingested items.

For more information about the danger of foreign body ingestion, please visit the VPI Pet Health Zone: http://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/pet-articles/pet-health/Foreign-Body-Ingestion-Threatens-Pets.aspx.