A COUPLE were left horrified after finding their winning lottery ticket had been shredded by their dogs.
Nathan and Rachael Lamet were delighted when they found out they had won £6 on a scratchcard in their local lottery in Salem, Oregon.
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But the couple woke up the next morning to find the winning ticket had been torn to pieces – with two very guilty-looking suspects nearby, their Alaskan Klee Kais called Jack, aged 2, and Apple, 11 months old.
Rachael said: “For some reason, we left the ticket on the ottoman and they decided it was delicious.
“I went to bed and when I woke up it was eaten to the point that I thought it was unable to be checked.
“But my husband thought it was hilarious and someone might get a good laugh at the very least. He said it’s for sure a winner.”
With their fingers crossed, they sent off the torn ticket to the lottery company.
Oregon Lottery said: “Officials at the Oregon Lottery have seen lottery tickets in many different states.
“Washed in a pair of jeans, dropped in a mud puddle, and even run over by cars. But earlier this week was a first.
“The Oregon Lottery received a letter with a torn-up ticket and a picture of two dogs. That’s right, the dogs ate the lottery ticket.”
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Oregon Lottery said staff members “fetched all the pieces of the ticket and were able to put the ticket back together, and soon realized Nathan was right”.
The £2.48 Pharaoh’s Gold Crossword scratchcard scooped the couple a modest £6.61.
The couple couldn’t believe it when the lottery company said they had patched up the winning ticket and a cheque was in the post to them.
Rachael said: “That’s too funny. We are definitely getting more chew toys, they go through a lot.
“We love them, but they are crazy sometimes.”
Oregon Lottery added: “In the event of winning a jackpot, players should consult with a trusted financial planner or similar professional to develop a plan for their winnings.
“And above all, make sure the ticket is out of reach of any furry friends!”
It comes after another lottery winner managed to cash his ticket despite it being ruined when his wife ironed his trousers.
Back in 2019, the punter brought the blackened Lotto ticket – worth £30 – back to Diamond’s newsagent in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
But the Camelot machine to confirm winning National Lottery tickets couldn’t read his charred stub.
Luckily, the unnamed local claimed his winnings after a worker with kind-hearted newsagent Eugene Diamond, 61, read the numbers by holding the ticket to the light.
And in 2016, gran-of-four Susanne Hinte falsely tried to claim a £33million Lotto win after claiming she had put the winning ticket in the washing machine.
She said she had won half of a £66million pot, but her battered Lotto stub had no date or barcode.
Camelot were able to verify the numbers and the real winners came forward.
The gran was flooded with offers to pose as a lingerie model, but died of a suspected heart attack in 2017, aged 49.
Winning tickets are usually paid out in newsagents when the National Lottery machine reads the barcode.
But a manual payout can be made for damaged tickets – at the newsagent’s own risk.
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
