Cecil, a money-motivated goldendoodle from Pennsylvania, USA, went viral for devouring $4,000 in cash, leading his owners to a smelly quest.
Clayton and Carrie Law, who had set an envelope of money aside for a contractor, managed to recover most of the shredded bills from Cecil’s droppings and vomit, piecing it together with only $450 still missing.
The four-legged family member’s veterinarian had reportedly told the couple their greedy pet would be ok. Clayton and Carrie’s dignity? That’s another story.
Cecil, a goldendoodle, went viral for devouring $4,000 in cash, leading his owners to a smelly quest
Image credits: ooolalaw
In early December, Clayton laid an envelope containing $4,000 on his kitchen counter at his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Carrie, needed to pay their contractor in cash for installing a fence, the BBC reported.
Half an hour later, Clayton was stunned to find that his beloved pooch was enjoying the priciest meal of his life, leaving rough strips and scattered pieces of cash everywhere, as per the British broadcaster.
Clayton and Carrie Law, who had set an envelope of money aside for a contractor, were stunned when they overheard Cecil devouring the money
Carrie said in an interview with the Pittsburgh City Paper: “Suddenly Clayton yelled to me, ‘Cecil’s eating $4,000!’ I thought, ‘I cannot be hearing that.’ I almost had a heart attack.”
“I just walked around the house just doing stuff and came back, and then, all of a sudden, I walked in on Cecil just standing over a pile of mutilated cash, essentially,” Clayton told Today.
In a separate interview with the Washington Post, the disturbed couple admitted Cecil was known to be “a goofy guy,” however, they weren’t aware that their dog was also avaricious.
“It was so out of character that it just didn’t seem real,” Clayton explained
Carrie told the paper: “He’s very particular — you could leave a steak on the table, and he wouldn’t touch it because he’s not food motivated. But, apparently, he is money-motivated.”
“It was so out of character that it just didn’t seem real,” Clayton told Today.
Right after eating all the cash, Cecil, content with his crime, nonchalantly retired to the couch for an after-meal siesta. But despite the ambitious canine’s seemingly satisfying dinner, Cecil’s parents became worried and urgently called a veterinarian to see if he would need any medical treatment.
“You could leave a steak on the table, and he wouldn’t touch it because he’s not food motivated. But apparently, he is money-motivated,” Carrie said
Image credits: Jessica Guay
Fortunately, due to Cecil’s large size, packing 100 pounds of love (and money), the worried Laws were simply told to monitor the furry culprit at home.
Once digestion was completed, the exasperated couple began an unexpected and laborious jigsaw puzzle consisting of piecing together their shredded dollar bills from Cecil.
The dog seemed fine, at first, until the middle of the night when the Laws were awoken by a sound every dog owner knows all too well: the gagging of their pet about to vomit, Today reported.
“There we are at the utility sink. It smelled so bad,” Carrie recalled
Image credits: Jessica Guay
Clayton recalled: “When you hear that, you immediately just react, so I jumped out of bed and just made sure that he didn’t throw up anywhere. Not great. And then I went to pick it up…and I realized: ‘There’s a lot of like half-eaten and $100 bills and $50 bills here.’”
Carrie told the City Paper: “There we are at the utility sink. It smelled so bad.”
Image credits: Jessica Guay
The dog owners went on to attempt to tape together the destroyed $50 and $100 bills bit by bit. They reportedly worked to locate the serial numbers on both sides of the bills to ensure the banks would accept and replace them with fresh notes.
All ended up on a positive yet smelly note, as the bank reportedly took most of the dollar bills.
The bank was unable to recover $450, telling the Laws that these types of incidents are fairly common
Nevertheless, the bank was unable to recover $450, telling the Laws that these types of incidents are fairly common.
Carried told Today: “They said it actually happens quite a bit because money just picks up so many scents, especially if it’s used in the food industry. I guess dogs pick up on that — they have such a good sense of smell — and something about it just drove him crazy.”
“Money laundering at its finest,” an amused reader quipped
