Great Dane squares up with a wily weasel

Meet Skye, Kristen K. and Cassy W.’s clumsy and lovable Oregonian Great Dane.

When it came time to adopt a new puppy, Kristen and Cassy decided to go big—extra big. They went to a rescue that specializes in matching families with large dogs, specifically Great Danes. That’s where they met Skye.

“Both of us grew up with dogs,” Cassy says. “Kristen grew up with big dogs—I did not. I grew up with a long-haired miniature dachshund who was all of six pounds. This was a completely new experience.”

Turns out, their big puppy had a uniqueness and magnetism as big as his frame—a little chaotic, afraid of random things and always looking to play with any critter in the backyard. “I’ve never had a dog with this much personality,” Kristen says. “A Valentine’s Day balloon came into our yard the other day, and he was so terrified of this heart balloon. But then he’ll run after animals!”

Cassy says, “He’s just a giant puppy.”

Since Cassy and Kristen adopted Skye, he has experienced health problems both big and small. “Everyone knows him for having these ridiculous things going on,” Kristen continues. “There are multiple people, friends and or coworkers, that [will regularly ask], ‘Is anything wrong with Skye right now?’”

But one incident involving an unexpected wildlife encounter stands out among all the others—one that was surprising enough to get him nominated for a Hambone Award.

What happened?

The evening started out as routine as any for Skye. Cassy says, “We usually let Skye out to go to the bathroom at night. I will say Skye’s vision doesn’t seem to be the best, except for when there’s small creatures.”

She continues, “Even though we are in Oregon, we’re in a pretty city-townish area, so we've not run into a lot of different critters. This day, he saw something as soon as I opened the door and bolted. He made it to the back, [and] I could hear something happening—and then I heard him yelp.”

Cassy adds, “We were like, ‘What, oh my God, what happened?’”

They brought Skye back inside to determine what happened. He was messy but mostly uninjured, aside from a small a bite wound right on his eyelid. However, to make matters more urgent, his rabies shot was days from expiration. They rushed to the emergency veterinarian.

Before heading to the veterinarian, Cassy went out back to identify the mystery animal that Skye had tussled with, and she was surprised to discover a creature they had never encountered before: a weasel. In fact, the mischievous mustelid was lying in wait along the fence.

“There’s this little triangle head with two little beady red eyes just staring at me,” Cassy remembers. “I screamed so loud.”

Luckily, Skye wasn’t seriously injured by his weasel experience, and he quickly made a full recovery. And thanks to his pet insurance coverage, Cassy and Kristen were reimbursed for his eligible veterinary care.*

How Nationwide helped

“Our rescue prepared us, saying ‘Hey, by the way, Danes are not a low-financial-commitment dog.’ And I think that was something that we learned very quickly,” Cassy says.

His Nationwide insurance continues to come in handy—especially since Skye hasn’t dropped his penchant for finding new and exciting ways to visit the veterinarian (he even managed to injure himself during this nomination photo shoot!) So, the next time he needs veterinary care, they’ll be ready for anything.*

Kristen continues, “I would say that anytime we’re ever worried about him, it’s not a question of, ‘Oh, should we go to the vet?’ It’s more like, ‘Hey, we’ve got pet insurance, we feel comfortable going to the vet.’ That part of it, I think, has really made the difference for us.

"We like being able to pay monthly and know generally what the costs are going to be, versus not knowing when you’re going to have to drop a couple thousand dollars.”