Jason Tovey has been left out of Cardiff Blues squad to face Toulon tomorrow after his pet Labrador ate his passport.
The full-back-cum-outside-half was in-line to face the French giants but has been left in the dog house after his eight month puppy Buster mauled the travel document.
"It's a bit like the old schoolboy excuse that the dog ate my homework," said Tovey.
"Buster is always chewing things but usually it's my sock and shoes.
"As soon as I saw the passport I thought I'd never get through airport security with it.
"I was dreading telling my team coach, I didn't think anyone would believe."
Wales ace Leigh Halfpenny replaces Tovey at fullback, his first start since suffering a neck injury against Australia last month.
The Blues cannot qualify for the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup, with Toulon leading Pool Six by five points
But they are determined to salvage pride and maintain their top tier seeding by claiming a shock victory at Stade Felix Mayol.
"It goes without saying that we want to stay in the top tier but we just need to keep working hard and if we can get the results to keep us up then that's fantastic," said Phil Davies
"We need to go there and make sure we front up physically."
