“Like a dog that feeds until he suffers…,” was no mere simile in an old Bad Religion song.

Here is a case of a dog that definitely fed until he suffered. At least that may have been on the mind of the owner of a sick three-year-old Great Dane as the owner rushed the dog to an emergency animal clinic after noticing the dog’s symptoms.

The owner reportedly returned home to find the dog vomiting, retching and showing no interest in eating. The dog also had a noticeably distended belly.

After checking in, veterinarian Ashley Magee took X-rays of the canine’s belly and observed “a lot of foreign material in his stomach,” according to Shawna Harch, communications specialist for DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital in Portland, Oregon, where the animal was treated.

Since it was apparent that the material in the dog’s stomach would not digest, Magee conducted a nearly two-hour surgery to remove 43 ½ socks from its stomach. A local reporter likened it to a person eating five large pizzas but with no hope of digesting the stuff.

The incident happened earlier this past February and made enough of a stir that DoveLewis staff submitted the X-ray images showing the socks in the dog’s belly to contest put on by Veterinary Practice News, a veterinary industry magazine, called “They Ate WHAT?” The case took second place and a $500 prize that has been directed toward helping low-income pet owners afford care for their pets.

The sock-snarfing Great Dane was edged out of first place by an exotic frog that ate over 30 small ornamental stones from its acquarium.