How a couple recovered $3,550 cash after Cecil the dog ate it: ‘It smelled so bad’

A couple in Pennsylvania were left stunned after their pet dog ate $4,000 in cash.

Cecil, a goldendoodle who previously had “never done anything bad in his life”, was reportedly unharmed by his expensive meal on Friday.

Owners Carrie and Clayton Shaw were horrified and sprang into action, sifting through piles of Cecil’s mess to retrieve their lost money.

Ms Shaw told the Pittsburgh City Paper that Cecil was always well-behaved, refusing even to touch food when she brought it home.

Recalling the incident, she said: "Suddenly Clayton yelled to me, ‘Cecil’s eating $4,000!’ I thought, ‘I cannot be hearing that.’ I almost had a heart attack."

Mr Shaw told CNN that he had withdrawn the money from the bank in order to pay workers mending a fence and had put the money on a countertop but returned 30 minutes later to find the cash in shreds.

The pair set about gathering up as much of the shredded money as possible but realised they would have to wait until Cecil had “expelled” more.

Mr Shaw told CNN that he woke up on Friday night to discover Cecil throwing up a $100 bill.

Over the next few days, they collected scraps and washed them, recovering a total of $3,350.

"There we are at the utility sink washing this s***** money, yelling ‘Yay! Yes! We got one!’” Ms Shaw told the City Paper. “It smelled so bad.”

In a social media video documenting the ordeal, she added that the bank had assured them that such incidents “happen all the time”. The bank can replace notes if the serial numbers are intact.

The couple have now embarked on a new artistic project with the remaining cash scraps, and will turn them into a collage, which Ms Shaw describes as “our most expensive piece of art”.

Cecil is now reportedly back in the good graces of his owners and will feature in the artwork.

"He’s a very fancy fellow," said Ms Shaw. "He just has very expensive taste."