The woman from the small town of Stockstadt in northern Bavaria had just taken out the money from a cash machine and hid it under bank statements on the passenger's seat of her car.

When she returned from running errands, the money was gone. Her dog was in a miserable condition and had thrown up inside the car.

Believing that a thief had poisoned the animal to steal the money, the woman immediately contacted the police, who took her and the dog to a veterinary.

It didn't take the doctor very long to figure out what happened: The dog soon began to throw up six €50 notes.

"The rest of the money came out in pieces along with the bank statements," a police spokesman said, according to news reports.

Neither the dog nor his owner will have to go hungry as a result, however: The damaged notes can be exchanged for new ones at a bank.