Vote for Pippa Early, Vote for Pippa Often

There may be a silver lining–besides living through it all–for Pippa, a Siamese cat who got pinned behind the refrigerator in the Irvine home of her owners, who were on vacation. Pippa was saved by a sitter and the staff at Irvine's Southern California Veterinary Specialist Hospital, which due to the incident is one of 11 nominees for a $10,000 grant to help sick and injured pets.

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Pippa's misadventures made her a nominee for the fifth annual Hambone Award, which is bestowed by the Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) company but is based on the votes of the general public. You have until Oct. 11 to e-vote for Pippa or any of the other four pets from California or seven others from elsewhere that were nominated.

The public vote recognizing the “Most Unusual Claim of the Year” is being collected at VPIHamboneAward.com, which is also where you can read about each nominated pet and his/her ordeal.

Ol' Pippa suffered multiple lacerations after getting pinned behind the refrigerator. Her owners believe she fell off the top of the frig and could not get out. After the sitter discovered her, the back of the frig had to be cut to reach her.

She required stitches at Southern California Veterinary Specialist Hospital but went on to make a full recovery. If Pippa's tale of woe and recovery is voted the most unusual, the hospital will receive $10,000 from the Brea-based Veterinary Care Foundation to treat the pets of owners who otherwise could not afford to pay for it.

But Pippa has stiff competition from the likes of a mixed-breed dog that munched on a two-pound bag of frozen onion rings, a 48-pound pooch who was treated for alcohol poisoning after feasting on 24 uncooked bread dough rolls, and a cat that went through a full 35-minute washing machine cycle.

So vote early, vote often.

Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!