It takes a certain personality (or maybe just being in the right mood) to appreciate the “Darwin Awards,” a tongue-in-cheek honor that recognizes individuals who’ve contributed to human evolution by removing themselves from the gene pool one way or another. The closest thing “dogdom” has to the Darwin Awards are the “Hambone Awards.”
Nationwide Insurance noticed that many of the pet claims they got were unusually quirky, and usually came with a bizarre story that underscores the resolve of our pets to survive, and the resolve of the veterinarians who save them. The Hambone Award® was named in honor of a Nationwide-insured dog that got stuck in a refrigerator and ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while waiting for someone to find him! The dog was eventually found, with a licked-clean ham bone and a mild case of hypothermia.Each year the public votes for the most unusual claim of the year from these monthly nominees.
We share the story of one nominee this year only because his story is one we’ve heard before, and while the first impulse may be to giggle, further consideration removes that impulse right away.
“Freckles,” a Cocker Spaniel with an infectious personality and an eager palate, has been known to go to extraordinary lengths for a treat. Long story short, one night, Freckles noticed a potato chip bag on the counter and seized the moment. She jumped up, snatched the bag, and chomped away, but in the course of reaching the last crumb, her head got stuck deep in the bag. It stopped her supply of oxygen, and Freckles lost consciousness. You can read what happened next here, but the “take away” message is that even the most unexpected things can turn dangerous for a determined dog.