Vote Now for the 2015 Hambone Award

After reviewing more than 1.3 million pet insurance claims received over the past year, Nationwide has nominated 12 worthy candidates for the 2015 Hambone Award. Each year, the nation’s first and largest provider of pet health insurance, searches through its database of more than 550,000 insured pets to honor the most “Unusual Claim of the Year.” The winner will be decided by a public vote now through Sept. 30 at HamboneAward.

In addition, the animal hospital that treated this year’s Hambone Award winner will receive a $10,000 Nationwide-funded award through the Veterinary Care Foundation to treat pets whose owners could not otherwise afford treatment.

Hambone Award Nominees:

• July 2014 – Nikko the Shih Tzu (Hollywood, Calif.). After running a few errands, Nikko’s owner Courtney Cecil returned home to find her house engulfed in flames and Nikko trapped inside. Following a daring rescue, both Nikko and Courtney were treated for severe smoke inhalation.
• August 2014 – Charm the silver-shaded Persian cat (Woodbridge, Va.). Charm’s mouser mischief took a near tragic turn after he swallowed more than three feet of packaging tape. After medication and laxatives, Charm eventually passed 19 inches of tape and regurgitated the rest.
• September 2014 – Lola the Labrador retriever (North Bend, Wash.). Lola’s timing couldn’t have been worse when she chewed through an extension cord and suffered from a severe electrical shock on her owners’ wedding day. Lola suffered from pulmonary edema and was treated for fluid in her lungs, but her owners’ were able to get married after Lola was stabilized and the veterinarians prescribed them to “Go get married!”
• October 2014 – Jacques the Yorkshire terrier (New York City, N.Y.). Jacques’ busy New York lifestyle was brought to a halt after the tiny terrier got his paws entangled in an escalator. Jacques suffered from severely lacerated paw pads and required one toe amputation.
• November 2014 – Jackie the Manchester terrier mix (Indianapolis, Ind.). Jackie’s bizarre break-in gave her a huge belly ache after she figured out how to open the family’s junk drawer and ate all of its contents, including a medicine bottle, a bottle of fragrance and a pair of sunglasses. Jackie needed X-rays and laxatives, but eventually was able to pass all the items.
• December 2014 – Zimba the Rhodesian Ridgeback (San Diego, Calif.). Zimba’s rough housing halted his family’s road trip after the ridgeback crashed through a roof top window. Zimba suffered from deep lacerations, but was able to complete the road trip after receiving stitches and medication.
• January 2015 – Bones the Labrador retriever (Frackville, Pa.). Bones the hunting dog made a rare mistake when he jumped off his usual patch and was impaled by a tree branch. The branch went through Bones’ throat which required surgery for removal and repair.
• February 2015 – Miles the Catahoula mix (Walnut Creek, Calif.). Miles survived three days in a blizzard after being separated from his camp and traveling for miles before being found. Miles suffered from dehydration and various lacerations.
• March 2015 – Rocky the miniature Dachshund (San Diego, Calif.). Rocky lived up to his name after he successfully fended off a rattlesnake from making a snack out of his smaller siblings. Rocky’s fight left him with multiple deadly rattlesnake bites, but he was able to pull through and make a full recovery.
• April 2015 – Woodrow the French bulldog (Yardley, Pa.) Woodrow had quite the identity crisis after he swallowed the nametags right off his collar….while he was still wearing it. Woodrow needed surgery to remove the tags and the tag ring from his stomach.
• May 2015 – Curtis the Boxer (Princeton, W. Va.). Curtis’ knack for snacking landed him in serious trouble after he swallowed a barbeque skewer, which disappeared in his body and surfaced more than year later, nearly ending his life. Curtis needed emergency surgery at Virginia Tech. University’s veterinary college to save his life.
• June 2015 – Sam the Pug (Monrovia, Calif.) Sam will eat whatever he can get his paws on, but he may rethink his diet after he swallowed a bunch of magnets that bonded together inside him and pinched his intestinal tract together. Sam needed emergency surgery and a long rehabilitation program, but he has made a full recovery.

Originally named after a dog that ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while stuck in a refrigerator, the annual Hambone Award has since been given to the most bizarre medical claim each year since 2009. Past winners include: Charlie, a Labrador retriever who became entangled with a tractor; Ellie, a Labrador retriever that gobbled up an entire beehive and its thousands of inhabitants; Lulu, a hungry bulldog that swallowed 15 baby pacifiers, a bottle cap and a piece of a basketball; Harley, a pug that ate and subsequently passed more than 100 rocks; Peanut, a dachshund-terrier mix that survived a fierce squabble with a skunk; and Winnie, a mixed breed dog that swallowed two pounds of uncooked onion rings.