Hambone Award finalists announced

Nationwide Pet Insurance announced that voting is now open for its 17^th annual Hambone Award. Each year for the last 17 years, Nationwide awarded the Hambone Award to the pet whose unexpected, unusual, or outrageous event brought the into the veterinary clinic to highlight how important pet insurance is for caring for and protecting pets.

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"Pets always find new ways to surprise us! The Hambone Award shines a light on those unpredictable moments and the amazing teams who help pets recover," said Emily M. Tincher, DVM, chief veterinary officer at Nationwide, in an organizational release.¹ "We're proud to support the pet families and veterinary teams who turn these unexpected adventures into stories of recovery and relief."

According to the organizational release, The Hambone Award is named after a dog, who was insured by Nationwide, got stuck in his family’s refrigerator and ate their entire holiday ham as he wanted to be rescued. Once he was found, the only thing left from the ham was the hambone licked clean, and a case of hypothermia.

This year’s nominees include¹:

• Bella, a Havanese dog from Illinois, who helped herself to eating a flower arrangement, leaving her covered in green, blue, and yellow pollen, plus an upset stomach.
• Boone a golden retriever from new Jersey, who took a hot piece of grilled chicken and began to choke on the bone immediately, plus suffered burns to his mouth.
• Duke, a lab-mix from Ohio, swallowed an entire spatula after licking peanut putter off it. Duke’s family was advised by Nationwide’s VetHelpline to go to a veterinary practice for x-rays, revealing the utensil in his stomach and after an endoscopy, he was back to his usual self.
• Foxtrot, a Great Dane from Texas, stole a full turkey leg from her owns hands the day after Thanksgiving, and swallowed it whole. Although presenting as okay, the VetHelpline confirmed that the bone needed to be removed.
• After eyeing up a whole in her yard for days, Hazel, a Dane-St. Bernard mix-breed from New Jersey, decided to finally pounce on it, showing everyone that it was a groundhog hole. Thanks to a blood spot trail, her family noticed a bite on her paw.
• Maddie, a bulldog from Virginia, fell ill and no one in her family could tell why, until they noticed he began spitting up bone-like objects. Turns out, Maddie had helped herself to a preserved alligator the family had noticed mysteriously vanished from the house. Worrying about potential toxic chemicals in the taxidermy, Maddie’s family made a quick visit to the veterinarian.
• When Ozi’s, a Yorkie from California, family was away, he decided the TV remote would make a good snack. However, when the family only found one mangled batter instead of 2, they immediately brought him to the veterinarian. The family eventually found the batteries under the couch.
• Salem, a shorthair cat from New York, was the first suspect when his family could not find a missing AirPod. Suspecting he swallowed it, the family performed musical tests, utilized Find My IPhone, and took 2 trips to the veterinarian, However, the missing AirPod was never found.
• After cicadas emerged in his yard one summer, Wash, a mixed-breed dog from Tennessee, could not resist and ate some of them, resulting in a sudden loss of appetite and a ‘smelly situation. After going to see the veterinarian, Wash was put on a bland diet and according to Nationwide, will be sticking to eating more conventional snacks.
• Ziya, a Belgian Malinois from California, stepping into the middle of a bull fight when he bravely jumped in to protect his humans from an angry bull on the loose. His action led to him being kicked in the jaw which dislodged a tooth.

Each of the nominated pets for The Hambone Award made full recoveries and were reimbursed for the eligible veterinary expenses. Voting opened on August 5, 2025, and will close on August 12, 2025. The grand prize winner selected will receive the Hambone Award trophy and a gift card to Petco. Along with the grand prize winner, 2 runner ups will also receive Petco gift cards.

Last year, Luca, a Shiloh shepherd from Massachusetts, took home the grand prize after he dismantled his owner’s kitchen. Luca, like other dogs, was not a fan of spending time in his crate so to make him happy, his owner let him run around the house while she ran a quick errand. When she returned, she discovered Luca destroyed her cabinet which granted him easy access to the concealed trash can.²

“I looked up the stairs and I see my cabinet gone,” Lori, Luca’s owner, said in a Nationwide news release.² “He pulled the entire cabinet out, track and everything. The barrel and the front of the cabinet was flung over into my dining room.”

Luca was brought to the veterinarian because in the trash were some corn cobs that could cause an intestinal obstruction, but he made a full recovery.

References

1. Bull-fighting pup and cat with taste for tech: Meet Nationwide's annual Hambone Award® finalists. News release. Nationwide. August 5, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bull-fighting-pup-and-cat-with-taste-for-tech-meet-nationwides-annual-hambone-award-finalists-302522168.html
2. Littrell A. Shepherd wins Hambone Award for destroying kitchen cabinet. DVM360. Published September 6, 2024. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.dvm360.com/view/shepherd-wins-hambone-award-for-destroying-kitchen-cabinet