HELENA, Montana (AP) - A man whose dog ate US$500 (S$619) says he's going to find a better place to stash his cash when he travels.

Mr Wayne Klinkel tells the Independent Record he doesn't carry a wallet on his chiropractor's advice.

Sundance, his 12-year-old golden retriever, ate the bills during a visit to the Klinkels' daughter in Denver last Christmas.

Sundance was left alone in the car with five US$100 bills and a US$1 bill when they stopped for dinner.

The dog dined on the US$100 bills, but left the dollar.

Mr Klinkel says he collected fragments from the dog's droppings. His daughter found more when the snow melted.

He says he washed the remnants of the bills and sent them taped together to the Treasury Department in hopes of having them replaced.