SunLive – Fur real! 10 wacky pet insurance claims

Southern Cross Pet Insurance has released 10 unusual claims from the last 10 years.

The list featured palm spikes, a pup getting stuck into their owner’s renovations, a potentially deadly dose of magnets and a combination ACC claim (owner) and vet visit (pup) thanks to a falling tree.

The claims highlight how even everyday items and events can spell real danger for our furry friends — and how costly it can be for their owners, particularly if they don’t have insurance.

“Even the most well-behaved pets aren’t immune to having accidents or getting up to mischief – but there’s no such thing as ACC or publicly funded healthcare for cats and dogs,” said Southern Cross Pet Insurance former Vet Nurse and National Business Development Manager, Kerri Murray.

“We get quite a few claims for things you would never dream might happen and a lot of these situations can be very costly and stressful for the animal and the owner.

“Take Indy, a curious dog. She ate part of a decomposing puffer fish (including toxic spines) that she found on the beach. Her owners rushed her to the vet who induced vomiting in case of tetrodotoxin poisoning.

“In addition to the $400 bill just to make her throw up, the stress of waiting to see how she’d come out the other side was right up there. As an aside, puffer fish on beaches is an issue we need watch out for more as these creatures start to show up more in our warmer waters.

“Our experience shows it’s important not to underestimate how much vet bills can cost. Pets give us so much joy but when they are sick or injured there’s no safety net unless you have the peace of mind of pet insurance.”

Although New Zealand has one of the world’s highest pet ownership numbers, insurance rates here are low compared to other pet-loving nations.

10 (other) wacky claims over the last 10 years include:

• Maverick the puppy had to have surgery to remove a large cleaning cloth after vomiting up a sock a couple of days before. This was the first claim for Mav, and he was only 8 months old at the time – $5228 (2024)
• Kenzi got into the calf feed on the farm and ate enough to be a potentially toxic dose. The feed also had the ingredient ionophore in it, which is toxic to dogs – $821 (2022)
• Kaito the cat jumped out of the window onto the owner’s palm tree not once, but twice. The first time he had to get a 3cm palm spike removed from his nailbed. The second time he had to have surgery where the vet had to cut all the way back to his thoracic wall to remove the palm spike. Ouch! – $979 (2020)
• Labrador retrievers end up quite regularly at the vets for consuming all sorts of stuff. Like Geordie, who ate a spool of cotton with a needle tucked into it. During treatment, the vet also found a piece of a plastic wrapper, a piece of an orange, a grass seed, an ice cream wrapper, some carrot, a large piece of glad wrap and a piece of wood – $4871 (2024)
• Thinking he’d take part in the family’s renovations, Tekka the dog needed surgery to remove lots of underlay pieces, carpet string, hessian and fur from his stomach. His vet said he was very lucky to not have swallowed something longer and linear – $3975 (2020)
• Tahlullah the dog got into a visitor's bag and ate a whole roll of dental floss. The floss had unravelled all through her intestine, requiring multiple incisions to remove it – $2873 (2018)
• Just as dangerous for small humans as they are for dogs, Monty had swallowed magnets. When stuck together these can cause tissue necrosis between the bowel loops. Ugh – $8703 (2021)
• In what sounds like an ACC TV ad encouraging people to think twice… Charlie’s owner felled a tree trunk which sent them flying and the trunk fell on Charlie causing hip dislocation. He needed surgery to fix the hip back into place – $7072 (2017)
• Pepper the cat fell into a paint can and despite her best efforts the owner could not get all paint off. Pepper tried to lick the paint off herself, so the owner rushed Pepper to the vet, wearing a ‘collar of shame’ where the vet had to sedate and shave her – $425 (2014)
• Zoe the dog ate dinner then picked up a 5cm long sewing needle from floor and swallowed it before her owner could grab it off her. An x-ray at the emergency vet showed the needle sitting in her full-of-food tum. Fortunately, she managed to pass the needle and didn’t need surgery, which was certainly on the cards. Nevertheless, the bill came to $1465 (2014).