The 3-year-old Great Dane was miserable, retching and vomiting, when his owners rushed him to a northwest Portland emergency animal hospital.

It was something he ate! X-rays showed a stomach full of “a large quantity of foreign material.” Nearly two hours of surgery later, Dr. Ashley Magee had the answer — the dog had consumed 43 ½ socks.

DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital spokeswoman Shawna Harch says it’s perhaps the strangest case in the hospital’s history.

So strange that the hospital entered last February’s tale, complete with X-rays and photos of the recovered socks, in an annual contest sponsored by a magazine for veterinarians and won a prize. Fittingly enough, it’s called “They Ate WHAT?”

Harch confirms the dog is alive. No word on what it’s been eating lately.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com