- Pets will get up to anything, from tying their toes in a knot to remodeling your kitchen.
Every year, the insurance company Nationwide hands out the Hambone Award. This most distinguished of awards acknowledges the most harebrained pet insurance claims of the year.
This year marks the 16th time the Hambone Award has been handed out to a misbehaving or unfortunate pet. Nationwide just announced the results, with the winner being a Massachusetts dog called Luca, who decided to renovate his owners’ kitchen.
Yet, the other stories are worth hearing as well. So, here are the stories of Luca and the seven other 2024 Hambone Award finalists
Winner: Luca
Luca is a young Shiloh shepherd owned by Lori C. from Massachusetts. Having been involved for a long time with shepherd fostering and rescues, she knows they can be energetic and rambunctious dogs.
However, one afternoon Lori had no choice but to go run a quick errand. Luca had been very well-behaved, so she figured it was okay to leave him alone for a little while.
That was a mistake.
While his owner was gone, Luca had identified which kitchen cabinet Lori kept the trash can in. So, he decided to remodel the cabinetry.
By the time Lori got home, Luca had ripped out and dismantled the entire cabinet. Of course, he’d also spread the trash can’s contents all over the kitchen and devoured everything he could choke down—including stuff that’s dangerous to dogs.
Fortunately, Luca got away with a vet visit and a stern talking-to. He’s since been crate-trained to prevent further renovation projects.
Runner-ups
Archie
This 65-pound lap dog is easily excitable—a bit too much so. Seeing the mailman outside, Archie jumped against his owners’ vintage plate glass front door and jammed both his paws through it.
Of course, that freaked the poor pup out, so the now-injured Archie ran bleeding all across the house. Fortunately, he only needed a couple of stitches, but he did leave the house looking like a murder scene.
Bear
Bear is a corgi who normally gets a lot of attention from his work-from-home owners, but one day they were busier than usual. The bored Bear started amusing himself by chewing his toys, but at one point his owners noticed strange white fuzz in his mouth.
They thought it was just the stuffing of a toy animal, but it turned out to be foaming nail adhesive—basically super glue. Bear had chewed through the bottle and some of the glue had gotten in his mouth.
Fortunately, the stuff turned out to be non-toxic and Bear didn’t glue his mouth shut.
Clover
Clover is a green conure, a kind of parrot. One morning, she started behaving strangely—the bird had issues keeping her balance, she was sitting at a weird angle, and she wasn’t as energetic as usual.
As it turned out, Clover had somehow managed to get her toes tied, and her toenails had hooked together. Her owner couldn’t get the knot untangled and a vet had to unravel Clover’s toes.
Irma
The owner of Irma the Maltese got worried as the pooch kept having constant gastrointestinal issues. Diet changes helped for a moment, but Irma’s stomach would always get upset.
After months of failed treatment attempts, an ultrasound discovered a bunch of metal bristles, likely from a barbecue brush the dog had chewed up at some point, were lodged inside Irma’s tummy. Although removing them is impossible, fiber supplements and a homemade diet have helped the dog poop normally again.
Kodiak
Kodiak the Gordon setter likes his snacks—especially rocks. After the dog consumed four rocks five years ago, her owners removed all rocks and stones in their yard.
Yet, after Kodiak started throwing up and looking uncomfortable, they had a sneaking suspicion. A visit to the vet confirmed that she had indeed somehow managed to gulp down two rocks.
Luckily, she didn’t need major surgery. One of the rocks was removed through a minor incision, while the other one was ejected through the natural passage.
Lambeau
Lambeau is a lovable mutt from North Carolina who has always been well-behaved. So, his owners thought it’d be fine to leave Lambeau alone at home for a couple of hours with a puzzle spread over the coffee table.
Yet, when they got back home, the puzzle mysteriously had a lot fewer pieces. With the help of his owners, Lambeau vomited up all the missing puzzle pieces.
Bet they didn’t finish the puzzle.
Skye
Skye is a Great Dane, so you’d imagine he can take on just about any animal. Yet, one night he went out into the yard and got into a tussle with… Something.
His owners ended up rushing Skye to the vet with a small bite wound to his right eyelid, since his rabies shot was about to expire. Before that, though, they wanted to know what kind of an animal had bitten Skye so the vets could treat him better.
In the corner of their fenced yard, they found an irate weasel that was eager for Round 2 with Skye. Fortunately, the dog didn’t need any major treatment — although we’re sure he’ll have a lifelong grudge against weasels.