Pet insurer hands out award for oddest claim

Animals are crazy. Anyone who's witnessed a cat chasing its tail or a dog running into a glass door will already be aware of this.

So, working for a pet insurance agency is never going to be a dull job.

In fact, after being inundated with so many bizarre claims, the Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. of California created an award for the strangest of the year. The VPI Hambone Award is given out every year and 2011's nominees have just been announced. The award itself is named after a dog who ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while stuck in a fridge.

Past winners have included a Labrador that ate an entire beehive, including all of the bees, and a bulldog that ate 15 pacifiers, a bottle cap and a piece of basketball.

Here are some of this year's best nominees:

• Chico the Chihuahua found himself in a tug of war with a Great Horned Owl after it lifted him off the ground via his leash
• Harley the Pug ate 100 rocks while his owner was away
• Sadie the Golden Retriever was attacked by an angry otter
• Teuer the Jack Russell Terrier attempted to dive under a closing garage door but the stunt went wrong and he got stuck as the door pinned him to the ground

You can vote yourself here.