US couple forced to ‘launder money’ after dog eats US$4,000 in cash
A couple in the United States had to launder money – literally – after their pet dog devoured a substantial amount of cash.
“This is Cecil. He has never done anything bad in his life until he ate $4,000,” his owner Carrie Law wrote in an Instagram reel which racked up more than 178,000 likes. The reel was accompanied by images of Cecil and the money he ate.
Cecil, a seven-year-old goldendoodle, consumed US$4,000 (S$5,300) in cash that his owners, Mr and Mrs Clayton and Carrie Law, had withdrawn from their savings account, Pittsburgh City Paper reported.
The incident, which happened in Pennsylvania in December 2023, occurred shortly after the couple took the money home and left it on their kitchen counter. The Washington Post reported that Cecil managed to eat the cash within half an hour of its arrival.
Cecil’s mischievous act quickly spread online, garnering many likes and comments after the reel was uploaded on Instagram. One user joked the digested cash was a “puzzle no one wanted to complete this Christmas”.
Mrs Law, 33, expressed her disbelief to the City Paper, saying: “I almost had a heart attack.” Her husband, 34, was the one to discover the canine’s costly snack. The couple quickly contacted their vet, who advised that Cecil could be monitored at home due to his size.
The Laws were faced with the grim task of cleaning and piecing together the remains of the digested bills. The bank reassured them that such incidents are not rare and that they would accept the damaged bills if the serial numbers were still visible.
Despite the unpleasant process, which involved washing the remnants of the money retrieved from Cecil’s faecal matter, the couple managed to recover nearly all the money, losing only US$450.
Cecil has since been forgiven by his owners, who described him as a “very fancy fellow” with “very expensive taste”.
Mrs Law humorously remarked on the experience: “I never thought I’d be able to say I’ve laundered money, but there is apparently a first time for everything.”
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