Masters 2012: Dog Eats Masters Tickets But Ticket Office Comes Through

Spectators leave Augusta National Golf Course after play was suspended because of inclement weather during the par 3 competition at the Masters golf tournament Wednesday, April 4, 2012.

By Ryan Ballengee, Golf Channel

A Masters ticket is one of the most highly valued in sports. Potential patrons are willing to pay a steep fee to get inside the gates of Augusta National – usually in the form of money.

For one Seattle man, however, it was a different price.

Russ Berkman won an online lottery for four tickets for the Wednesday practice round at Augusta National. Imagine his shock when he had returned home from a shopping trip on Saturday night to find his Swiss Mountain dog, Sierra, had devoured the four tickets.

“When I walked in the house, I noticed there was a few strings on my hard wood floors that appeared to be the strings on my Masters tickets,” Berkman said in an interview on radio station KJR.

Desperate to avoid canceling a trip and disappointing his friends, Berkman called his girlfriend, who was in Hawaii for triathlon. She suggested Berkman force the dog to vomit. He did by feeding Sierra some hydrogen peroxide – an approach he knew would be safe and work in about 10 minutes.

When Sierra threw up, she coughed up some of the remains of the four tickets, which Berkman collected by sifting through the vomit. He bagged the approximately 80 pieces representing 70 percent of the actual ticket paper, and then tried to connect them as best he could.

On Monday morning, Berkman contacted Augusta National from Myrtle Beach – where he had intended to play a few rounds as a precursor to the Masters.

“First, they said, 'Are you serious?!,'” Berkman explained.

After some explanation and a little empathy from an incredulous Masters ticket office, Berkman had four new tickets re-issued.

"Dog eats Masters tickets, owner will still be at Augusta" by Ryan Ballengee appears courtesy of Golf Channel.

Further Reading From Golf Channel:
Donald practicing off-green putting with driver
Garcia playing with infected fingernail
Anticipation builds for Masters

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Comments

[WebVet]

09:10 AM on 04/06/2012

are you sure the hydrogen peroxide thing is safe?? http://www.webvet.com/main/2012/01/25/top-10-dog-emergencies

[justmemarys]

08:30 AM on 04/06/2012

shows you these Masters people are NOT SNOBS at all...as some like to think and say. What a story lol....and I for one am thrilled they came through for him and re issued some tickets...Next time be oh so careful where you place your mail....

[firestallion]

07:03 AM on 04/06/2012

People of Georgia are great people!!!

[hman570]

07:27 PM on 04/05/2012

that is what Oboma says about our tax dollars.

[kapalabhati]

08:21 AM on 04/06/2012

Ohgoodgod.

[garganto]

06:13 PM on 04/05/2012

Well...this is the most outrageous case of 'the dog ate my homework" Feel bad for the dog, but for sure, every dog owner should be aware of this hydrogen peroxide trick. May come in handy if you ever come home and found that your dog ate your entire box of Valentine's Day chocolates....of course..better still...take responsibility for your pets!

[pab08]

02:31 PM on 04/05/2012

Never has there been a better example of how the word "fan" is derived from the word "fanatic."

[Lori Woodman Storer]

08:26 AM on 04/05/2012

Yup... its a "Dog eat dog" world.....