A US man has offered a bizarre explanation after he was landed with a US$70 ($115) bill for pay-per-view pornography.
Thomas Barnes of North Carolina was hounded for the fee after ordering the explicit Hustler TV on the DirectTV pay-per-view platform.
But Barnes bit back, blaming Marino, his frisky bichonfrise, for ordering the porn.
Barnes claims that Marino leaped on his bed and stepped on the TV remote, selecting the lewd entertainment with his paws.
Barnes told the News Observer said he called the satellite TV company within minutes, explaining the mistake and getting assurances that the situation would be rectified.
When the channel remained activated after repeated calls to DirectTV, the 58-year-old disability beneficiary subtracted the US$70 and paid the rest.
It was then that DirectTV put him in the dog house, cutting off his service entirely.
Barnes claims Marino the bichon frise ordered the porn. Photo / Supplied
"That 70 dollars, you're taking food out of my mouth," he told the News Observer. "It's like you're stealing it. They refused to see how that was pertinent."
Barnes refused to let sleeping dogs lie, and took his complaint to the Federal Communications Commission.
After he made the complaint, DirectTV offered to refund the money but Barnes told the News Observer that he still feels wronged.
"There's a problem when there's a mistake and you expect me to pay for the mistake," he said.
Remote controls are often a target for man's best friend, with Charlie Waters, customer service director for Remotecontrols.com, telling Parade magazine last year that "my dog ate the remote" is second only to "I lost it" as the most common reason for consumers to buy a new remote.
Waters said that dogs are not the only pets reaching for the remote: "It's not unusual for us to hear about birds and even rabbits destroying a remote," he said.
"Birds love to peck at it and rabbits seem to have a special affection for the rubber keypad buttons. Surprisingly, we rarely hear from cat owners."
