Zhang and her husband were puzzled recently because they often found money had mysteriously disappeared from their home.

They once suspected that a thief had sneaked into the apartment but there was no evidence of a theft as the door and windows were tightly closed.

On Monday morning when Zhang was cleaning the dog's kennel, she was surprised to find the chewed remains of a 20-yuan (US$2.46) banknote. After a further search, Zhang found a 5-yuan (25 US cents) banknote.

Hardly believing what she had found, Zhang put another banknote beside the puppy dog, who bit it and swallowed it immediately.