• Accused Wash. woman: 'dog ate my checks’

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — A woman accused of dipping into her ex-husband’s bank account without permission blames her dog.

Arlington, Wash., police spokeswoman Kristin Banfield says detectives filed court orders to follow the money trail. They learned the money disappearing from the 42-year-old Arlington man’s account was being used to pay for utility bills and other items at his ex-wife’s home.

Banfield tells The Herald that the woman’s first response was, “Her dog got into her purse and ate all her personal checks.” The 50-year-old woman reportedly told police she had no choice but to take money from her former husband’s account.

The women is under investigation for identity theft and forgery.

• Dog-eaten passport cancels Wis. boy’s trip to Peru

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin teenager using a classic excuse for evading schoolwork missed a class trip to Peru despite his tale being true: The dog ate his passport.

Officials at Chicago’s O’Hare airport told 17-year-old Jon Meier the chewed-on document was fine, but authorities in Miami rejected it and wouldn’t let him board the southbound aircraft.

His family’s 1-year-old golden retriever, Sunshine, chewed a corner of the document, obscuring some numbers. Meier couldn’t get another passport in time to join the trip with his Spanish class from Eau Claire North High School. The 12-day trip ended Monday.

Meier says he can’t blame anyone, not even Sunshine: “I love her too much.”

• Screamin’ seafaring tale wins bad writing contest

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A shambling sentence about screaming seafarers on the sturdy whaler Ellie May stood shoulders above the rest in an annual bad writing contest.