Protecting more than one million pets means we hear a lot of different stories about how pets get sick or hurt. Some of them are run-of-the-mill and others are—well, let’s say they stand out from the rest.
We created the Hambone Award® to highlight the incomprehensible situations that our pets can get into. Each year, our team sifts through millions of claims in search of nominees to find the crème de la crème of unusual pet tales. Nominees are selected, and the public weighs in on their favorites. This year’s 8 stories also serve as a reminder of all the things that can happen to pets—and the importance of being prepared.
The Hambone Award is named in honor of a Nationwide-insured dog who got stuck in a refrigerator and ate an entire holiday ham while waiting for someone to find him. The dog was eventually found, with a licked-clean ham bone and a mild case of hypothermia.
Since then, we’ve awarded the grand prize to 16 pets, including a bold black cat who was smooshed by a sofa, a pair of German shepherds who were trapped in an abandoned missile silo, a brave Jack Russell who battled a burglar and many others.
This year’s celebration was truly one for the ages! Our roster of nominees included:
Archie – A mixed-breed pup who plunged a paw through the front door window to greet the mail carrier. Read more about Archie's front door fiasco.
Bear – A corgi who got the attention he wanted when he chewed on a bottle of nail glue—and found himself in a sticky situation. Read more about Bear's sticky glue snafu.
Clover – A black-capped conure who got her toes all tangled up one day. Read more about Clover's tricky toe entanglement.
Irma – A Maltese pup with a mysterious digestive illness of a metallic origin that perplexed veterinarians. Read more about Irma's metal munching mystery.
Kodiak – A Gordon setter who loves the outdoors so much, she brought them inside—her stomach that is. Read more about Kodiak's rock n' recovery.
Lambeau – A mixed-breed pup who made the perplexing decision to eat 250 pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Read more about Lambeau's puzzling snack situation.
Luca – A Shiloh shepherd who took on some interesting home renovations when he pulled a whole cabinet out of the wall to access a trash can. Read more about Luca's kitchen demolition debacle.
Skye – A Great Dane who added to his list of odd trips to the veterinarian when he got a little wild with a weasel in the backyard. Read more about Skye's wild weasel woes.
After a competitive race that saw several nominees take the lead, the winner is … drumroll please!
Luca, a Shiloh shepherd whose surprise home renovations made him the top dog for Hambone Award voters.
When Nationwide member Lori C. ran out for a quick errand, she had no idea that Luca had designs on doing some, er, surprising home renovations. Lori returned to find her house a mess: A cabinet destroyed, trash all over the floor and a puppy who had eaten potentially dangerous food scraps. They rushed to the emergency vet, where Luca was treated and given a clean bill of health.
Special congratulations to our second and third place participants: Lambeau, the puzzle-eating pooch, and Archie, the door-busting pup, who were both hot on Luca’s tail.
All nominees considered for the Hambone Award made full recoveries, and their owners received reimbursement for eligible pet healthcare expenses.
Visit petinsurance.com/hamboneaward to see all our Hambone Award stories and photos (and much more!)