What the vet saw when she gave the dog an X-ray.

Yeah, it sounds like an urban legend, but when you see the evidence -- a photo and series of X-rays -- you not only know it's true, but, in a funny way, you have to admire the damn dog.

Nearly 44 socks?

Imagine eating, say, five large pizzas in one sitting and you get some idea of what the Great Dane must of have been experiencing when his owners hauled him into Northwest Portland's the DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital.

The symptoms?

Repeatedly vomiting and retching.

Oh, and not eating.

So they checked him in, filled out all the paperwork and Dr. Ashley Magee took the dog to a back room for X-rays. She found what was described as "a lot of foreign material in his stomach," said Shawna Harch, the hospital's communications specialist.

Whatever was in the dog's stomach couldn't be digested, and that meant surgery.

The bagged evidence.

So then Magee put the dog under the knife.

During the nearly two-hour surgery, she must have thought she was working in a department store as she pulled out sock after sock after sock.

In the end, Magee removed 43 1/2 socks.

That 1/2 sock remains a mystery.

Look at that photo again -- and is it only me, or do those socks look like something laid out on a barbeque grill?

You have to ponder what that mutt -- he was only 3 -- was up to that day last February. The guys in the hotdog eating contests have nothing on this dog -- yes, the pun was intentional.

By the time the dog was stitched up and sent home, details of the case were making the rounds at the hospital.

Can you believe it?

No one could.

Harch said it's perhaps the strangest case in hospital history, and certainly the record set for the most socks eaten. The owners, she said, were unavailable for comment, and she couldn't release their names.

But I can imagine the conversation in their home the day they realized something was going on.

"Say, where are all the socks?"

"No idea. Did you check the washing machine?"

They look at the dog.

Tail wag. Innocent look.



Dog lies on the floor, but that gaze is really contemplation of a dress sock in the corner. It will be a nice after-dinner treat.

Earlier this year, DoveLewis officials learned of a contest sponsored by Veterinary Practice News, a magazine for vets. The publication announced a contest -- ongoing for nearly a decade -- "They Ate WHAT?"

Vets were asked to submit an X-ray along with case details.

And, of course, DoveLewis knew what to submit. They learned they came in third place and won $500. The money will be placed in a fund to help low-income people pay for vet bills.

As for the Great Dane?

Apparently still kicking, Harch said.

Hey, Gold Toe socks, I got your next spokesman for you.

--Tom Hallman Jr.

The story was updated to reflect that DoveLewis received a third place award, not second place.