SANTEE, Calif. (CNS) - A dog from Santee that ate a beehive has won a national award recognizing the most unusual pet health insurance claim, it was announced Monday.
Ellie, a Labrador retriever, won the Veterinary Pet Insurance Co.'s second annual "Hambone Award" for eating a beehive left behind by exterminators, ingesting thousands of dead bees and likely pesticides in the process.
She received immediate veterinary care and has since fully recovered.
"Ellie may be a young dog, but she's already managed to eat everything from wooden toy train tracks to laptop computer keys," according to a statement issued by VPI. "So the beehive in the backyard was just another culinary adventure for this insatiable pooch."
Ellie was among a dozen pets nationwide up for the "Hambone Award." The winner was selected from nearly 3,000 online votes.
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 other two finalists were a border collie from Alabama that ran through a window to get at a mailman, and a terrier from Illinois that bit a chain saw. Both dogs were treated and have fully recovered.
