by Greg Klein | September 12, 2016

The annals of discovery contain many stories of chance, but this one’s remarkable by any standards. A dog scratching up its neighbour’s yard unearthed a gold nugget, the Ottawa Citizen reported September 12.

“I never in my f***ing life expect to find gold,” the paper quoted handyman Larry Mantha. “If I go to any bar and I told my story, everybody’s going to laugh at me. I don’t blame them. I will laugh, too.”

It happened the previous week while he was relaxing outdoors. As the mutt dropped by, Mantha assumed it was simply going to use his lawn for a neighbourly crap. Instead, the canine “kicked up some loose soil for just a few seconds then walked away,” the Citizen stated. When Mantha went over to fill in the tiny excavation, he saw it—a little dumpling of yellow metal.

A pawnshop offered him $309, saying the precious content came in between 10 and 12 carats. Other bidders offered $400 and $500. Mantha said he can’t decide whether to hang onto the piece, turn it into jewelry or hold out for more money.

Late last month a 132.5-ounce nugget turned up in Australia’s Victoria state. But that somewhat larger find was credited to a human using a metal detector in an historic gold camp. The Citizen didn’t indicate whether a rush of prospectors had descended onto Mantha’s neighbourhood.

As of yet, no mining claims have been staked for his street. Nor has the mutt with the Midas touch been reported dognapped.