Chandelier Crash Causes Big Scare for Connecticut Dog

Six years ago, Marc and Deb Lindenman of Fairfield, Connecticut adopted a shy, skinny little puppy named Cheddar from an animal shelter in New York. He quickly became part of the family and accompanies his pet parents nearly everywhere they go. However, their latest travel turned terrifying after a chandelier fell from the ceiling and crashed on top of the unsuspecting Labrador mix. Cheddar’s freak accident and subsequent recovery have earned him the title of September’s “Most Unusual Claim of the Month” by Nationwide, the nation’s first and largest provider of pet health insurance.

At the shelter, Cheddar was shy and displayed bouts of nervousness, but that improved immensely once he joined the Lindenman family. The Labrador mix’s friendly personality and adventurous spirit quickly came to the surface, which has been a perfect fit for Marc and Deborah.

“Cheddar is super friendly and loves the outdoors. He’s the most popular dog in neighborhood,” said Marc. “He really enjoys going to the beach, the lake, or generally anywhere he can explore. He’s a great dog.”

On the morning of the light fixture fiasco, the family was celebrating Marc’s mother’s birthday at his sister’s house in New York. The house was packed with family members while Marc and his brother-in-law were in the kitchen, cooking a breakfast feast. Lured in by the irresistible aroma of bacon, Cheddar hovered in close proximity to the cooks. Things were going great—until the bacon grease began to spew and pop, causing a huge mess.

“The pan we were using wasn’t deep enough for the amount of bacon we had and hot grease was getting everywhere,” said Marc. “The kitchen started to fill with smoke and the bacon was burning. It turned into chaos.”

As the smoke alarms began to sound, Marc turned off the stove burners and hustled to open all the windows in the hazy house with Cheddar following closely behind. Meanwhile, Marc’s brother-in-law was using a jacket to fan the smoke out of the house.

The two parties eventually converged by the front door. With Cheddar by his side, Marc opened the door as his brother-in-law fanned the jacket beside them. As the jacket flew through the air it clipped a large chandelier, which came crashing down with a flurry of broken glass.

“I heard the jacket hit the chandelier,” said Marc. “It shattered and glass went everywhere. I wasn’t sure if it had hit Cheddar at first.  He didn’t act like anything was wrong, but then I saw blood on his head.”

The chandelier had indeed fallen on Cheddar and caused a deep laceration just above his eye. Marc knew that Cheddar needed medical attention and worked diligently to keep the ailing Labrador calm while he called Deborah to tell her the news. Marc then loaded Cheddar into his vehicle and rushed him to Northway Animal Emergency Clinic of Gansevoort, New York for treatment. Deborah met the duo upon their arrival to help keep Cheddar relaxed. The staff immediately cleaned Cheddar’s wound and inspected for shards of glass.

After examining the cut, the staff informed Marc and Deb that Cheddar was incredibly lucky. The depth of the gash was concerning and was only a couple inches from his eye, which could have caused far worse damage. Due to the shape of the cut, the staff recommended forgoing staples or stitches on the cut to allow for natural healing. They then dressed the cut and sent the Lindenmans home.

Within a few weeks, Cheddar made a full recovery. Marc and Deb are thankful for the fantastic veterinary care he received from the staff at the Northway Animal Emergency Clinic, and are grateful for the pet insurance support they received from Nationwide.

“The veterinarians were caring and diligent with Cheddar,” said Marc. “And having pet insurance from Nationwide has been a savior for us. We’re fortunate that we have been reimbursed for many of Cheddar’s veterinary bills. Pet Insurance been worth every penny.”