After spending 72 days lost in the mountains of Lake Tahoe, Milo Bear, a golden retriever from Reno, Nevada, is back home safely – and now he has a national honor to go with his remarkable return.
Nationwide named Milo Bear the winner of the 2026 Hambone Award, an annual contest recognizing the year’s most unusual pet insurance claims.
Milo Bear ran off during a Christmas Day trip to Lake Tahoe after a sudden noise startled him. His family searched for him for 72 days before a shelter scanned his microchip and he was finally able to come home. He was very thin but otherwise not hurt. After four days of expert veterinary care, he returned to his family…