The owner of a young Great Dane sought emergency treatment for its dog after noticing its symptoms. The visit eventually resulted in the surgical removal of 43 socks from its stomach.

The owner found his dog vomiting, retching and showing no interest in eating like he usually did. Besides, the dog also had a noticeably distended belly.

Ashley Magee, the veterinarian who attended the dog at the DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital in Portland, Oregon, stated that the X-rays of the canine's belly showed a lot of foreign material in his stomach.

Shawna Harch, communications specialist at the hospital, stated that as the material in the dog's stomach was no-digestive, the doctors decided to perform a surgery to remove it. The surgery went on for two hours and 43 socks were removed from the dog's stomach. A local reporter likened this to a situation where a person eats five large pizzas and has no hope of digesting them.

The Great Dane was discharged a day after the surgery and is alive and healthy. Harch stated that it is perhaps the strangest case in the hospital's history.

The DoveLewis hospital staff submitted details of this incident of last February to a contest put on by Veterinary Practice News, a veterinary industry magazine, called "They Ate WHAT?" The X-ray images showing the socks in the dog's belly won second place and a $500 prize that would be utilized towards helping low-income pet owners afford care for their pets.

The first place and the cash award of $1,500 went to Plano, Texas, animal hospital that treated an exotic frog that ate more than 30 small ornamental rocks from its cage.