Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

By Jill Rosen for Baltimore Sun

It’s not often a dog is rewarded for her silliness.

Except of course with the annual Hambone Award, bestowed by Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. The firm solicits stories of pets with extremely unusual insurance claims. People then vote on their favorite wacky story.

This year nearly 3,000 folks went to the polls and chose the story of Ellie: A California labrador that gorged on a beehive.

Here’s Ellie’s story, as told by VPI:

Robert Coe and his wife Sandra of Santee, Calif., thought they had seen the last of the bees buzzing around their home after exterminators sprayed a hive in their yard. That is until later that night when Sandra noticed the familyÂ’s 1-year-old Labrador retriever wasnÂ’t acting like herself.

“My wife saw Ellie throw up several times,” said Robert. “There were hundreds of dead bees in each pile.”

Unbeknownst to the Coes, Ellie had discovered and eaten the beehive after the exterminators had left. Frightened by the volume of dead bees Ellie was vomiting, Sandra decided the dog needed to go to the veterinary hospital

The emergency veterinarian on duty examined Ellie and determined she had most likely only ingested dead bees and hadnÂ’t been stung. Additionally, Poison Control indicated the pesticide did not pose a significant risk of toxicity. After a dose of anti-nausea medication and a few hours of observation, Ellie was on her way back home.

For the next week, the Coes administered over-the-counter antacid tablets and put Ellie on a diet of plain white rice and chicken. “She was eating better than we were,” joked Robert. “She acted just fine that week, really, but every time she went to the bathroom, she pooped bees. Thousands of bees. I don’t know where they all came from – the hive wasn’t that large.”

As Hambone winner, EllieÂ’s owners, Robert and Sandra Coe, get a bronze trophy in the shape of a ham and a basket of doggie toys and treats.