Dog Bites Man’s Live Account

This is the story of a man, his dog and an Xbox Live bill.

You should probably—despite the photographic evidence—take it with a grain of salt.

Kotaku reader Greg says that while he slept his year-old Lab/Hound mix, Oscar, attacked his Xbox 360 controller managing to both turn on the console and purchase 5000 Microsoft Points as he gnawed the hard plastic controller.

“I realised it when I checked my phone to see what time it was (I had to be at work soon) and saw the e-mail from Microsoft confirming the purchase for $US62.50,” he told Kotaku via email. “At that point it was a little after 5am … not something you want to wake up to.”

Greg’s not mad about it, he’s already spent the points on a slew of download games, just bemused.

Oscar has, in the past, chewed up pillows, boxes, thongs, socks, slippers, underwear, candles, toiler paper, bottles, work IDs and the blinds in Greg’s living room, but this is the first time he’s made a purchase.

“Chances are this is the first time an animal has managed to purchase Microsoft points on an Xbox 360,” Greg writes. “What are the odds that he chews on the right buttons, in the right order and moves the stick in the right directions to navigate and purchase points. One in a billion? More?”

“Now, I can’t call Microsoft and say ‘My dog chewed my controller’. That excuse never worked in school for homework, what makes me think that a multi-billion dollar corporation is going to believe it?”

Greg does have a roommate and girlfriend that lives with him, but everyone was asleep when the purchase was made.

“Unless either me, my girlfriend or my roommate “sleep shop”, there’s no other living creature besides the dog that could have done it.”

Greg says he was initially annoyed about the late-night canine shopping spree, but he eventually got over it and spent the points.

“All in all, I’m not mad,” he said. “A bunch of new games to keep me busy and a reason to finally go buy that black controller I’ve been wanting.”

Did Oscar really pull off a one-in-a-billion, late-night gnawing shopping spree on Xbox Live? Dogs have done stranger things. What do you think?