Oregon Lottery Winning Ticket Chewed Up By Pets, Doggone It, State Still Pays

Posted on: August 15, 2022, 08:33h. 

Last updated on: August 19, 2022, 05:20h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Two Alaskan Klee Kais pups, Apple and Jack, recently tried to eat a winning Oregon Lottery ticket. They did a pretty good job at mangling the tasty treat.

Two dogs, Apple at right, and Jack
Two dogs, Apple at right, and Jack, pictured above, at far right. The canines chewed up an Oregon Lottery ticket into many pieces, lower left. The dogs’ owners wrote an explanatory note to lottery officials, top left. (Image: Oregon Lottery)

But the owners mailed the mauled ticket pieces to the lottery office, anyway. State officials reviewed and pieced together the winning $3 Pharaoh’s Gold Crossword game ticket. After confirming the ticket was a winner, they send the $8 payout to the winners, officials revealed last week.

The winners, Nathan and Rachael Lamet of Salem, Ore., also included a note that explained their story in their envelope. In addition, they added a “picture of the vandals for proof.” In defense, The Lamets told lottery staff that the dogs “are cute,” the note gushed.

But sometimes, the two dogs can get into unplanned trouble. “Unfortunately, they decided that they enjoy the taste of your lottery tickets,” the note confessed.

Tickets Are Tasty Treats

The incident began one night when the Lamets inadvertently left the ticket within reach of the dogs. The owners went to sleep. But not the dogs. The next morning the Lamets found the ticket in many pieces.

We left the ticket on the ottoman and they decided it was delicious,” Rachael Lamet said in a statement released by lottery officials. “It was eaten to the point that I thought it was unable to be checked.”

Nathan Lamet found the whole thing funny. He thought the lottery staff may have found it hilarious, too.

Apple is a white 11-month-old. Jack is a black and white two-year-old.  At 11 months, some dogs still like to do adolescent chewing, which can last until a dog reaches two years, the Daily Puppy, an online site, explained.

Apple, Jack Need Chew Toys

No word yet on how the Lamets will spend the $8, but Rachael Lamet acknowledges their two dogs need more chew toys.

They go through a lot,” she said about the canine duo. “We love them, but they are crazy sometimes.”

The recent lottery win was the first time in Oregon someone sent in a ticket that had been chewed up by a dog. Oregon lottery officials said previously submitted tickets had been damaged through other means.

One went through the laundry. Another got all muddy after falling in the mud. And one was even run over by a motor vehicle.

In a statement about the Lamet’s ticket, lottery officials are now urging ticket purchasers to keep their tickets out of the reach of dogs and other pets.