Dog Eats Super Bowl Tickets

This is one Super Bowl story Glendale Recreation Manager Chris Gallagher might have a hard time explaining to the teacher.

Especially when it involves explaining how his dog chewed two $1,800 ($900 apiece) Super Bowl tickets for a friend. Club level seats at the 30-yard line, no less.

“I can’t afford to go to the game myself,” Gallagher said. “It wasn’t funny at the time and it happened after a bad day. I was basically getting them sent to my house for a friend. I kind of joked, he (Gallagher’s 3-year-old labrador, Buddy) wanted to surprise me with the tickets and he must have had trouble getting the envelope open.

“About an hour or two after it happened, I was laughing about it. This is the ultimate ‘my dog ate it’ story,” he said.

An envelope was to be placed under Gallagher’s doormat with the tickets, but the courier delivery person slipped them under an opening in the door. Gallagher’s dog got hold of the envelope and ripped the tickets. Buddy has a history of monetary indiscretions as he once ripped a $20 bill apart and Gallagher was unable to read the serial numbers to save the money.

Fortunately for Gallagher, the tickets were saved with one phone call.

“I was able to call where I had gotten them from,” he said.

Gallagher told the person the bar code was intact, but all she needed was his section and seat number and was scheduled to receive replacement tickets earlier this week at an NFL will call, most likely at a hotel.

Meantime, Buddy got a reprieve from going to doggy prison, because he has served hard time in the yard.

“Basically, he looks at you with those big golden eyes and his wagging tail,” Gallagher said. “He was confined to the back yard for a couple of days. I’ve made up with Buddy and he’s back in the house.”

The experience has taught Gallagher one valuable lesson.

“I’ve learned I’m going to have to check the gap in my front door if an envelope can fit through,” he said. “We’re still struggling with Buddy to make sure he’s not digging or chewing.”