Posted: August 27, 2010, 2 a.m. EDT
Ellie, a 1-year-old Labrador Retriever from Santee, Calif., was recently named winner of Veterinary Pet Insurance’s Most Unusual Pet Health Insurance Claim of the year for eating an entire beehive and its inhabitants.
The Brea, Calif.-based pet insurance company had asked the public to choose among the 12 nominees and select a favorite. Almost 3,000 people voted. But in the end, Ellie won with 30 percent of the vote, taking home the 2nd annual VPI Hambone Award.
Ellie, known for eating wooden toy train tracks and laptop computer keys, ate a beehive that had been sprayed with pesticides along with its thousands of dead bees, a combination that sent her to the veterinary hospital later that night. Ellie was treated and sent home with an upset stomach but made a full recovery, according to VPI.
As the winner, Ellie’s owners, Robert and Sandra Coe, will receive a bronze trophy in the shape of a ham as well as a gift basket full of doggie toys and treats.
The VPI Hambone Award is named in honor of a VPI-insured dog who got stuck in a refrigerator and ate an entire Thanksgiving ham before being found with a licked-clean hambone and a mild case of hypothermia.
All pets considered for the award made full recoveries and received insurance reimbursements for eligible expenses.
To read Ellie’s full story as well as all 2010 nominees, visit www.vpihamboneaward.com