Man Misses Vacation, Loses Thousands After Puppy Destroys His Passport

A man was left unable to go on his planned vacation when his 5-month-old puppy got hold of his passport.

Jacob lives in Washington State and shared the nightmare moment on Reddit's r/mildlyinfuriating forum where it has had over 44,000 upvotes and thousands of comments.

In the picture, a passport sits in a dog bed with chewed strewn pages surrounding it.

"I was pre-packing all of my clothes and set the passport on top of my duffle to make sure I wouldn't forget it," Jacob told Newsweek. "He then grabbed it when I wasn't looking. I carried on packing for another 20 minutes and came out to find him eating it."

U.S. government rules state that a damaged passport is invalid and cannot be used for international travel. Official guidance says that a passport is considered damaged if "the passport has been materially changed in physical appearance or composition, or contains a damaged, defective or otherwise non-functioning chip, or includes unauthorized changes, obliterations, entries or photographs, or has observable wear or tear that renders it unfit for use as a travel document."

Without his passport, Jacob's travel plans were quickly up in the air.

"I was supposed to board a plane eight hours later to Paris, then spend two weeks traveling around Europe," he said. But he was unable to make the flight without his travel documents and instead was forced to skip the trip.

"I was unable to get any refunds unfortunately because I did not get travel insurance. Accommodation was a no refund as well since it was within 48 hours of check in," he said. "I will not be able to go, that time window was a good break in taking time off work."

Losing his vacation and a few thousand dollars, Jacob shared his pain on Reddit where thousands of people rushed to sympathize with him.

Far from the first person to be left stranded because of a naughty pup, last year newlyweds Nick and Caroline almost missed their honeymoon after 11-month-old miniature dachshund Tater Tot got hold of one of their passports.

"One's mistake is a life lesson to others, thank you for your sacrifice," said one Redditor. "Note to self, when getting a puppy and going on holiday, keep important documents safe and out of reach of the baby dog."

Another commenter said: "This isn't mildly infuriating this is like I'd have a mental breakdown."

"That puppy knew you were trying to leave," said another. While one joked: "Should have got a kitten."

It isn't just important documents that canine companions have been causing trouble with either. Earlier this month another pet owner shared how their dog destroyed their $600 sleeping bag.

Luckily, the dog owner found some positives in the responses from other Reddit users. "I was happy to post it on Reddit," said Jacob. "Reading through the comments has been kind of therapeutic."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.