A Reno golden retriever named Milo Bear has won Nationwide’s 2026 Hambone Award, a national honor recognizing the year’s most unusual pet insurance claims, after surviving 72 days lost in the mountains above Lake Tahoe.

Milo Bear ran off during a Christmas Day trip to Lake Tahoe when a sudden noise startled him, reports News 4.

His family searched for more than two months before a shelter scanned his microchip and was able to reunite him with them.

Milo Bear was very thin when he was found but otherwise unhurt, and he returned home to his family after four days of veterinary care.

Nationwide said Milo Bear won the bronze Hambone trophy after receiving the most votes among nine finalists nationwide, with more than 11,000 votes cast in the annual contest.

All nine nominated pets in this year’s competition made full recoveries from their unusual ordeals.

This year’s runners-up included a Denver dog named Henry who punctured his foot on a rake while chasing a ball, and a Phoenix cat named Hobbes who got stuck under a garage door.

Milo Bear’s story underscores the value of microchipping, since it was the deciding factor that let a shelter identify him and reconnect him with his family after such a long time missing.

We’ve followed several lost-and-found dog stories out of the Reno and Lake Tahoe area this year, including Pet Network Humane Society’s new partnership with Washoe County Regional Animal Services to strengthen lost-and-found pet services around Incline Village.

Dog owners in Nevada’s mountain and forested areas can reduce the risk of a similar situation by keeping dogs leashed near loud environments, ensuring microchip information stays current, and outfitting dogs with GPS trackers or ID tags before heading into remote terrain.