The dog ate my ... winning lottery ticket?

Lottery Scratch-it ticket torn to bits.

The ticket had more pieces than a crossword puzzle has clues.Oregon Lottery

Well, that’s ruff.

Nathan and Rachael Lamet, of Salem, found a chewed up Oregon Lottery ticket recently and, boy, did their two dogs look guilty.

“For some reason we left the ticket on the ottoman and they decided it was delicious,” said Rachel Lamet. “I went to bed and when I woke up it was eaten to the point that I thought it was unable to be checked.”

The lottery says officials there have just about seen it all: Tickets that have been “washed in a pair of jeans, dropped in a mud puddle, and even run over by cars.”

But when they received the Lamets’ torn-up Scratch-It ticket, accompanied by a photograph of two canine culprits and a hand-written note, that was a first.

The handwritten note sent to lottery officials.

The Lamets decided to write a letter and include a photograph of their dogs, just to brighten the lottery workers' day.Oregon Lottery

Lamet didn’t think the lottery would honor the $3 Pharaoh’s Gold Crossword ticket. “But my husband thought it was hilarious and someone might get a good laugh at at the very least,” she said. “He said it’s for sure a winner.”

The dogs, Apple (11 months) and Jack (2 years), are Alaskan Klee Kias, a breed the American Kennel Club describes as “energetic and curious.” The Lamets have had them since they were puppies. “We are definitely getting more chew toys, they go through a lot,” Rachael Lamet told the lottery. “We love them, but they are crazy sometimes.”

The lottery said in a press release its employees “fetched all the pieces of the ticket and were able to put the ticket back together, and soon realized Nathan was right.”

In addition to being “delicious,” the ticket was an $8 winner. The check, said the lottery, was in the mail.

Photo shows lottery Scratch-It ticket torn to bits.

Apple (white) and Jack (white and black) do their best to look innocent for their mugshot.Oregon Lottery

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