A bride penned an apology to the government after her dog ate her passport weeks before her honeymoon - and sent hilarious snaps of the unrepentant pooch as evidence. Amanda Avila had just arrived back from a trip to Iceland on August 10 when she found 'seriously mad' mixed-breed dog Dillon surrounded by chewed-up pieces of her passport.
The two-year-old pooch had also decided to munch on his dog goggles and one of her favourite boots - apparently in protest of her going on holiday without him. The mum-of-two was then forced to write to the National Passport Center to apply for new travel documents but jokes even Dillon's 'teeth marks' weren't enough evidence.
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After being asked for further details, Amanda then wrote a hilarious letter and enclosed snaps of the 'grinning' naughty 'Covid puppy' chomping on her work - to prove he was the culprit.
The 47-year-old was then forced to apologise on Dillon's behalf and joked he 'promised never to do it again'.
Amanda, from Fort Collins, in Colorado, US, said: "I got Dillon as a Covid puppy. He was my quarantine dog and had never been apart from me.
"I went to New York for almost two weeks in June and he wasn't happy with me after that, but when I went to Iceland at the beginning of August that sent him over the top. He wasn't happy with me at all.
"Within a day of being home, he'd chewed up my passport, his 'doggles', his sunglasses that he's supposed to wear, and one of my favourite boots - just one of the pair.
"He was seriously mad at me, I think he knew what he was doing."
States projects manager Amanda had just celebrated tying the knot with husband Rudy [Avila], 48, and the pair were looking forward to returning to Iceland in October for a honeymoon.
As she sipped her coffee at the beginning of August destructive Dillon was happily chomping on his breakfast upstairs - and also her passport.
Amanda said: "I work from home and he was angry I'd left him behind.
"My bag was still at the foot of the bed because I'd got in at midnight the night before. I had to work that morning so I didn't do any unpacking then. I had to get straight to work.
"I came upstairs after having my morning coffee and it was all over the floor.
"I walked in to a ripped up passport, I don't know how he targeted that one. It was in the front pouch of my carry-on backpack but he sniffed that out and ripped it up."
Realising her trip was just a couple of months away, Amanda then frantically tapped up a letter to the passport office enclosing her destroyed passport and applying for a replacement.
But she was stunned when they asked for further details - before deciding to 'make a joke of it' by sending pictures of Dillon tucking into copies of her work.
Amanda said: "I had sent in my application to the passport office with the ripped up passport as evidence but they wanted an explanation as to why.
"The teeth marks weren't quite enough explanation I guess. I didn't have to do the pictures but I thought it would be fun.
"You might as well make a joke of it, there's really not any point in stressing over things you can't control.
"In the pictures, he's eating the curriculum I write. They're from a year prior when I was home all the time.
"That's how he would try to get me to stop working, he would take my books away from me.
"I would sit on the bed so he could be close to me with my laptop but he would take away the manuals I have to work on and write."
More than a week on since she sent her reply, Amanda faces a 'tense' wait - admitting they will 'wait and see' if their honeymoon can go ahead as planned.
Amanda said: "I've not heard anything back from the passport office yet. I sent it on August 31.
"I've got a little bit of a tense wait before my honeymoon.
"We actually got married four times this year. We're doing different types of weddings for different people and the honeymoon is the end of it all.
"In 2022, we bought a home, got married four times and we're supposed to go on his honeymoon - but we'll have to wait and see."
Amanda's full letter:
'As requested, this serves as a signed statement explaining the damaged and mutilated condition of my passport book.
'Upon return from an international trip to Iceland, my dog went into my luggage and retrieved the (now mutilated) passport in your possession and ate some of it as a snack before I discovered him.
'Pictured is the offending culprit demonstrating his enjoyment of snacks in the form of books.
'He is lucky he is cute. We plan to return to Iceland (without the passport eater) for our honeymoon, departing October [date redacted], 2022.
'Dillon (pictured) says he is very sorry and knows you must be busy replacing eaten passports because they are tasty.
'He promises never to do it again, mostly because his mom (me) vows to keep the passport in the safe when not in use and immediately upon return from trips.
'Thank you for your understanding.'
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
