A couch-smooshed cat, a door-slammed conure, and a deer-fighting pooch are among the pets vying for the 15th annual Hambone Award.
Nationwide has announced seven dogs, two cats, and a bird as the finalists for its annual awards program, recognizing the most bizarre veterinary medical claims of the year. The 2023 class of nominees—all of which made complete recoveries—overcame animal encounters, entrapments, ingestions, collisions, and other precarious predicaments.
“Each year, we’re able to highlight nominees that have made remarkable recoveries because of the diligence of the pet parents and the incredible skills of their treating veterinary healthcare teams,” says Nationwide’s chief veterinary officer, Jules Benson, BVSc, MRCVS. “Pets might still get into unusual or unexpected situations, but the peace of mind that comes with protection allows pet families and veterinary healthcare teams to focus on what counts.”
The 2023 Hambone Award finalists are:
- Aurora (Belmont, N.H.), a goldendoodle who suffered a broken leg while trying to extract her stuck paw from a snow-covered storm drain grate. Emergency surgery was needed to repair the bone that had snapped above her knee.
- Belle (Atlanta, Ga.), a Jindo who confronted a large deer that wandered into the family’s backyard. The tussle with the big buck resulted in soft tissue damage and scratches.
- Bernie (Rescue, Calif.), a mixed breed dog, tumbled by an ATV while on a Christmas Eve run. The injuries were not life-threatening, but the pooch required significant care and recovery time to get back to his normal self.
- Giles (New York City), a cat, smooshed in a sofa when out-of-town visitors inadvertently closed the folding couch (while Giles was underneath it).
- Grayson Haze (College Station, Texas), a Labrador retriever that jumped off a 36-foot-high bridge and landed onto a concrete embankment. No surgery was necessary, and his internal injuries healed after two months of rest.
- Jax (Las Vegas), a pug who, while recovering at home following a surgery, became overheated to the point of heatstroke while under a comforter. After some cooling treatments administered by his veterinary healthcare team, his temperature and temperament returned to normal.
- Josie (Alameda, Calif.), a mixed-breed dog who lost four teeth and suffered a broken jaw while aggressively chasing a ball during a game of fetch.
- Miko (New Orleans, La.), a cat who took a seven-foot flying leap off of his “catio” to try and catch a pair of doves setting up a nest. (The family’s home security camera showed Miko being bitten near the eye during a mid-air encounter with one of the escaping birds.) Beyond a minor cut, the cat was not seriously harmed.
- Rolex (Milton, Mass.), a green-cheeked conure who was accidentally slammed in a door while visiting the household of a family friend. While the bird’s injuries were quite serious, Rolex was treated and recovered.
- Sunny (Anaheim, Calif.), a Labrador retriever who shimmied his crate five feet across a room to get close to an electrical outlet, where he snagged and ingested three phone charger cords. The pooch underwent an emergency procedure to clear the foreign objects from his system and has fully recovered.
Originally named after a dog who ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while stuck in a refrigerator, the Hambone Award has since been given to the most bizarre medical claim each year since 2009. (The inaugural recipient was eventually found, with a licked-clean ham bone and a mild case of hypothermia.)
This year’s finalist with the most votes will receive the coveted Hambone Award trophy, along with a gift card and a donation in their name to an approved pet charity of their choice. Second- and third-place finishers will also receive a prize and opportunity for a charity donation.
For a more detailed account of each story and to vote for your favorite, click here.
To read about last year’s winner—a Siberian-mix cat who survived a 45-foot drop down a water-filled drainpipe—click here.