Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) gets a lot of interesting claims throughout the year—so interesting in fact that they have an annual award for the most unusual claim.

Each month VPI employees select the most interesting claim from that month as a nominee. Readers of the company's blog then read each pet's story and vote for the winner of the VPI Hambone Award.

Click “next” to see which pet is the winner of the 2012 Hambone Award, as well as the second- and third-place winners and the rest of the top 12 unusual pet-related claims of 2012.

1. Buried Alive

As a dachshund-terrier mix, Peanut is preprogramed to hunt. So it wasn't uncommon for Christy and Keith Wolfrom's best friend to get in squabbles with some of the wildlife outside the family's Sicklerville, N.J. home. But one disagreement with a skunk went too far when Peanut buried herself alive in the dirt beneath their deck.

After hours of searching, a firefighter spotted the pup's paw. Cold, barely breathing and stinking of skunk, Peanut was brought to a vet and made a full recovery.

2. Road Trip

Pebbles loved exploring the outside world. One weekend when his owner Leann Munro of Rio Linda, Calif. was out of town, Pebbles snuck out of the house and got himself caught in the engine of a car. The driver traveled for 15 miles with the cat stuck in the alternator belt. A good Samaritan found the injured Pebbles in his shed and dropped him off at a veterinary emergency hospital, where they were able to locate Leann via the microchip implanted in the feline.

Pebbles suffered a broken jaw and several deep lacerations, and required surgery. “The cost of the treatment without pet insurance would have seriously threatened by budgetary constraints,” says Leann.

3. Something Fishy

At 14-months-old, Bayley was a rambunctious Labrador retriever. When analyzing how the puppy could have shattered their 55-gallon tortoise aquarium, his owners Carol and Robert Richardson of Lothian, Md. Realized that he must have hit it with his chest. Sure enough, Bayley had a two-inch-long gash on his chest that required surgical staples.

Big Bite

One night Michele Bashore of Pittsburg, Pa. let the family's four miniature dachshunds out into the yard where they immediately ran to attack a muskrat. When Michele was able to get them back into the house, she discovered that one of them, Nathan, was lying on the carpet in a pool of blood. Having suffered a severe puncture wound, Nathan required surgery to stop the injured vein from bleeding. Thankfully, the surgery was a success and Nathan made a full recovery.

“When your veterinarian is stand there telling you what needs to be done to save your dog's life, the last thing you want to worry about is how much it will cost,” says Robert, Michele's husband.

Major Accident

Joseph Burns of Minneapolis, Minn. and his Labrador retriever Major were playing one of their usual games of fetch with dummy birds when Major ran full-speed into a rock that resembled his toy. The dog suffered from several broken teeth and possible brain trauma. Luckily, a vet did not find signs of brain damage, but was unable to salvage five of Major's teeth, which had to extracted.

Nuts for Nuts

When her English cocker spaniel Tomis ate a bowl of raisins and almonds, Ellen Unsworth of Sacramento, Calif. immediately brought him to the vet for potential raisin toxicity. While being treated for food poisoning, the vet discovered that Tomis had coughed up an almond, causing it to get lodged in the back of his nose. The almond needed to be removed surgically.

Bacon Overdose

Pot-bellied pig Crispy Bacon's owners Teresa and Ian Choe of Las Vegas, Nev. came home to find he had knocked over a table with prescription drug bottles on it and swallowed ibuprofen, acetaminophen, omeprazole and beta blockers. Crispy Bacon began to vomit and concern rose for the health of his heart, kidneys and liver. After being treated for drug toxicity, he made a full recovery.

Life Saver

Collars typically ensure a dog's safety, but one day Calixte Defay of Bryan, Texas came home to find his Labrador puppy Beretta hanging from the barbecue grill by her collar. Defay believes Beretta became tangled while exploring the grill, and twisted around, making her collar tighter. Defay immediately removed the collar and took the immobile Beretta to the vet where thankfully she was immediately revived and was determined to have suffered no serious damage.

Escalator Misstep

While on vacation, Scott Thisdale's shiba inu Kei got his paw caught on an escalator's grates. Luckily, a woman guided them to the nearest emergency animal hospital. Kei's injuries included nail bed avulsions and lacerations on the pad of his left, hind paw. After stitches and six hours in the hospital, Scott and Kei were able to continue enjoying their vacation.

One Clean Pup

Dogs are notorious for having beef with vacuum cleaners, but not Havee. Janice and Angelo Donato of Pompton Plains, N.J. recalled that their Havanese lived peacefully with their vacuum until Angelo accidentally vacuumed under a table while Havee was sleeping there. He let out a yelp and ran out of the room, and later in the day the Donatos realized that Havee wasn't wagging his tail. A vet determined that the vacuum ran over Havee's tail and caused severe bruising.

Fast as … A Turtle?

One day when Susan Burr of Rocky Hill, Conn. was outside with her golden retriever Ginger, a giant turtle piqued the dog's curiosity. Instinctively, Ginger sniffed the turtle, who quickly snapped on Ginger's muzzle. The startled Burr took her equally startled companion to the vet, where they were relieved to learn that her wounds were superficial.

Eight Left

They say cats have nine lives, and after surviving a 100-foot fall, you better believe it's true for Baxter. Diana McDougle of Seattle watched as her cat nudged the glass of a window open enough to slip out onto the ledge and fall 11 stories. Baxter suffered a broken collarbone, dislocated sternum and fluid surrounding his heart and lungs, but made a full recovery.

Special Reports /

12 Unusual Pet Insurance Claims

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