I also have this rod and no what you mean hah But I have heard that you can send any Shimano rod in with a note that says you let your dog chew it up on purpose an they will still replace it for free no questions asked! Isn't Shimano great!?

First off...

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. If things hadn't worked out I would have contacted Shimano. I've always heard nothing but good about their customer service.

As usual, I got my undies in a wad over nothing. My shakey/drop-shot rod was out of commission, it felt like the tip of my most important rod had been broken off... I called the shop I bought it from and explained what was going on. He told me he would be more than happy to make me up another receipt with the correct model number on it. He said he would warranty it if I wanted him to but of course I would have to absorb the shipping cost, expected and totally understandable. My closest Shimano dealer is about 90 miles away so I said, "Why don't I just send this one to you for warranty, buy a new rod, and you stick the warranty in with the new rod to save on shipping cost?" I ask him how much he would sell me a Cumara Reaction CUC70H for, shipping and all...He says $185!!!!! I almost dropped the phone! BPS gets $219.99+shipping for that rod. Awesome. Then, he gives me a tip to keep from having to pay the balloon charge for a package over 80'' Cleanly cut the rod in half and it get's the package down below the balloon charge. It made the cost of return shipping drop from around $24 to $6 USPS Priority Mail.

Before this, I had only heard that Shimano had an over-the-counter warranty. Well, they do. Just keep up with your receipt and according to my retailer most Shimano dealers will honor it pretty much no questions asked. Barring there are no teeth marks from your dog or tire tracks on it etc...

Another success story and why I always recommend Shimano rods...  8-)