A British family ran into trouble entering Indonesia as one of their passports had been chewed by their dog as a puppy. File photo / Getty Images
A British family ran into trouble entering Indonesia as one of their passports had been chewed by their dog as a puppy. File photo / Getty Images
The ordeal that ruined this couple's dream honeymoon takes the old excuse of "the dog ate my homework" to a whole new, very expensive level.
A couple who had saved more than $7500 for their dream honeymoon in Bali ended up being turned away at the border, all because their dog had chewed a bit of the groom's passport.
Daniel and Tia Farthing flew 16 hours from their home in the UK to Bali on October 16 — their first wedding anniversary — only to be told they couldn't enter Indonesia.
Border officials told the couple Mr Farthing's passport wasn't in an acceptable condition and they were made to take the next flight back to the UK, leaving them devastated and well out of pocket.
They told The Mirror the passport has been bitten by their four-year-old labrador collie cross Milo when he was a puppy.
UK Border Force staff told him the passport would not be an issue for their trip to Indonesia, provided all the necessary details were in it, however Indonesian officials didn't agree.
On their way home to Suffolk, UK, the couple had a stopover in Singapore where Mr Farthing said he was detained for seven hours.
Meanwhile a panicked Mrs Farthing ran up a phone bill of more than $390 trying to contact relatives back home.
When the couple eventually landed at London's Heathrow Airport, they said a flight attendant who had been told of their ordeal looked at Mr Farthing's passport and said: "Is that what all the fuss was about?"
With the couple having lost the $7000 they spent on the trip, Mrs Farthing's sister has started a GoFundMe campaign to help them.
The ordeal was 'traumatic' for the young couple. Photo / Gofundme
"This whole experience has been absolutely traumatic for the both of them and they do not deserve this to happen to either of them," the sister said.
"So what we want to do is show Tia and Dan how much we all love and care for them and how much we all want to help.
"So we have started this page to ask our friends and family to help us raise some funds to try and give them some hope that they can and will get the honeymoon that they have always dreamt of and deserve!"
The campaign has already surpassed its $1356 goal in less than two weeks, raising $1475 for the couple.
Meanwhile Milo, whose nibble on Mr Farthing's passport caused the whole drama, seemed to be trying to make it up to the couple.
"He knows he's done wrong because he's been constantly coming to us for cuddles," Mrs Farthing said.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS AN ACCEPTABLE PASSPORT?
According to the New Zealand Passport Office, it is up to passport holders to check for damage before travelling.
"Damage to your passport may affect the photograph and the performance of the security chip that contains your personal information," passports.govt.nz advises.
"If your passport is water damaged, ripped, or it's in a generally bad condition you may be refused permission to enter a country."
