VPI Pet Insurance has a “competition” every year for the “honor” of winning the Hambone Award. This award is given to the pet that has caused the strangest pet insurance claim for that year. You can read over the nominees right now, and cast your vote for the pet that you think deserves to win.
If you are a pet owner, then you have probably heard of VPI. They are a pet insurance company that has been around since 1982. They have insured more than one million pets.
If you have a dog, or a cat, and you don’t have them covered by pet insurance, VPI is a good place to start finding out about what it covers, and how much it will cost you. Pet insurance is basically a health insurance policy for your pets.
Every year, VPI employees go through the pet insurance claims the company has received, and pick out the claims that are the most bizarre. They whittle down the selections to just one pet for each month of the year. These pets become the official nominees for the Hambone Award for that year. The winner will be whichever pet gets the most online votes.
All of the nominees are pets that made full recoveries from the situation that resulted in a very bizarre pet insurance claim. Their owners also received insurance reimbursement for eligible expenses.
The Hambone Award itself came into existence because of a real situation. There was a dog who was covered by VPI pet insurance. The dog somehow got stuck inside of a refrigerator. While he waited for someone to find him, and get him out of the refrigerator, he decided to eat the entire Thanksgiving ham that was inside the fridge with him.
Last year’s winner of the Hambone award was a Labrador retriever named Ellie, who ate an entire beehive, (bees included). A previous winner was Lulu, a bulldog who swallowed fifteen pacifiers, a bottle cap, and part of a basketball. This year is the third year of the Hambone Awards. Voting for this year’s winner starts today, September 6, 2011. The winner will be announced on September 21, 2011.
There are twelve nominees to choose from. Moose is an English mastiff that was kicked in the head by a mule. Howie is a toy poodle that swallowed an acorn. Toby is a Labrador retriever that swallowed so much water from a sprinkler that he became waterlogged. Gus is also a Labrador retriever. He swallowed five pounds of Christmas cookies. Chico is a Chiuahua who was nearly carried off by a Great Horned Owl.
Teuer is a Jack Russell terrier who was injured by a closing garage door that he tried to slide under. Eddy is a domestic shorthair cat that chased a housefly onto a heated stove. Stella Artois is another Labrador retriever who got an open can of green beans stuck in her mouth. Harley is a dachshund who got attacked by a seagull. Harley is a pug who decided to eat over 100 rocks while his owner was away. Who do you think should win the Hambone Award?
Image by hottholler on Flickr