A couple who discovered their puppy had destroyed their cup final tickets will be able to collect new ones from Wembley.
Toon fans Alan Carling and his wife Jessica, from Longbenton, attended the match against Liverpool at St James' Park on Saturday.
When they returned home, they realised their tickets for the Carabao Cup final at Wembley had been delivered and their 11-month-old Golden Retriever Rudy had shredded them to pieces.
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Alan was so stunned by what had happened he posted pictures of the incident on social media and jokingly offered to to sell their pet for £5.
The part-time claims handler said: "I opened the door to find the tickets shredded all over the floor. My jaw just hit the floor. I couldn't believe it. I sent the dog out in the garden. I gave him the silent treatment, I couldn't even look at him in the eye.
"I was trying to piece them together, it was like a jigsaw. I was on my hands and knees and I think I just started laughing. I was laughing but at the same time I was like 'If I don't laugh I will burst into tears. You couldn't make this up, this is ridiculous'.
"It was a question of what do we do now?"
The pair, who are parents to Alfie, nine, Evie, seven, and Charlie, four, entered the ballot for final tickets as members. They had already booked accommodation in London and were thrilled to discover they had been selected.
They returned home on Saturday feeling delated following goalkeeper Nick Pope's red card, which means he will missing the cup final against Manchester Untied on Sunday. It is the first time Newcastle has reached a cup final for more than 20 years.
Alan said he went to the door to let Rudy out before returning to the car to help Jessica, who is a wheelchair user. He said he had to break the news to his wife that the tickets had been destroyed.
The dad-of-three, who coaches an under nine football team in Forest Hall, said: "I could see the green on the ticket and I could kind of make out Carabao Cup. I was in a state of shock, I was just gobsmacked.
"Jessica was in disbelief, she thought it was hilarious. You can't make this stuff up."
Alan said he visited the Newcastle United box office on Monday to explain the situation and a member of staff recognised his post from social media. He said the club has organised for him to collect two new tickets at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
He said: "I think I just knew in the back of my head that there was a way we could get this fixed.
"I explained the situation to a lady at the box office and she was quite bemused by it. She was quite straight-faced and I thought she thinks I'm trying to pull a fast one!
"Someone else who worked there said: 'Oh are you the guy on Facebook?' and he sorted it out straight away. He was having a good laugh as well."
Alan is studying for a foundation degree in coaching football through the Newcastle United Foundation.
He claims that Facebook has now removed his post as they believed he was actually trying to sell the pup. He said: "Rudy is an important part of our family. We got him as a support dog for my four-year-old son who is non verbal autistic.
"Facebook removed my post as they thought I was actually selling my dog online. Even if I was going to rehome him, he's worth a little bit more than £5!"
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