A barking mad dog owner is so besotted with his pet that he gives the pampered pooch £5 a week pocket money and its own wallet to keep the cash in.
Grant Ellis, 42, started giving Bracken the sprocker spaniel a weekly allowance last December after the mischievous mutt pinched his wallet.
Now, Bracken is allowed to use his cash savings to buy cuddly toys and contribute to the cost of his swimming lessons.
Grant started the weekly allowance after he jokingly bribed Bracken with a five-pound note to get his wallet back.
But from that moment onward, Grant, who works as a dog walker, vowed to give his three-year-old pooch a fresh note every Friday without fail.
Bracken received his most recent cash injection today (Fri) – for the 31st consecutive week.
Grant has even gone so far as to give his pet the wallet which he first stole so that Bracken can keep all his money in one place.
At one point, Bracken had £75 saved and every now and then when he’s got enough cash Grant and his wife Cheryl, 42, will take him to the shops.
Once inside, they give the animal free-reign to pick what he wants – which often means new cuddly toys and doggy treats – by putting it in his mouth and running up to the counter.
Bracken’s savings also go towards weekly swimming lessons at a pool in Barnsley, South Yorks, close to Grant and Cheryl’s home in Sheffield.
Grant said: “All spaniels just have to have something in their mouth whether it’s a sock or a pair of pants and Bracken is just the same.
“One day I was lying on the sofa and he came over, stuck his nose into my pocket and came out with my wallet in his mouth.
“Usually if he’s pinched something then we bribe him to give it back with a cocktail sausage but we had run out of them that day.
“So just for a joke I pulled out a five-pound note and said, ‘right I’ll give you this fiver if you drop the wallet’, and he did.
“My wife started laughing and then said, ‘go on, you’ve got to give it to him now’. Ever since then it’s become a bit of a tradition to give him five pounds every Friday.”
Grant, whose had dogs all his life, has raised Bracken ever since he was a puppy.
He did discuss having a child with Cheryl but said they decided to opt for a dog instead.
The couple spoils Bracken rotten buy buying him all the toys he could ever wish for, a paddling pool and a sprinkler for him to play in.
“We’re always buying him things anyway, he’s such a spoilt dog, so I thought why not just give him pocket money so he can buy things himself,” added Grant.
“When I got a wallet I gave him my old one so he has one of his own now.
“Every now and then we’ll take him to the shops to get toys, he especially likes puzzle-type games where you have to solve something in order to get a treat.
“And he absolutely loves water so we take him swimming as well, which is great fun.
“Our niece absolutely adores Bracken so when we go on holiday we buy her a stick of rock out his pocket money for him to give to her.”
Grant said they spent £4,000 on making their garden dog-friendly.
He added: “I wanted to give Bracken £20 a week but the wife won’t have it.”