FROM old bones to chair legs, puppies just love to eat things. But one cheeky little pup's appetite left him rattling like a money box and rescue shelter bosses with a lot of expense.

Corky had always had an appetite.

An apparently insatiable desire to eat anything in front of him and a curiosity to taste as many things as possible proved too much for his first family from the North-East.

In the end they left him with a rescue centre in North Yorkshire.

But what they did not know was that Corky already had a little pocket money stashed away.

It was doing what comes naturally that gave him away.

A 2p coin was big enough to cause enough discomfort for a member of staff from the Jay Gee Sanctuary, at Catton, near Thirsk, to notice something was amiss.

Further investigation revealed the sudden appearance of 15p - and the decision was taken to take Corky to a vet.

"He was like a little money box. I was even looking for the slot in his back on the way to the surgery," said sanctuary owner Hilary Milnes.

An x-ray taken at the vets showed Corky would literally rattle if you shook him. It revealed another 36p still to come out and emergency surgery was the only answer.

"He has been incredibly lucky when you think about it," said Ms Milnes.

"A total of 51p in copper coins weighs quite a lot and it must have been very uncomfortable. The surgery staff had certainly never seen anything like it before and it's now a bit of a standing joke between us.

"But he's a lovely little dog and, although he was a little quiet, he seemed fine when he joined us, although his liking for coins has left us with a bill for £138.''

Corky's former family could offer no explanation for his unusual diet. They did have a jar for copper coins which the children sometimes played with, although no one could remember Corky tucking in.

But, at least there is a happy ending. Corky is now settled with a new family from Addingham, near Skipton, and enjoying a new lease of life after losing half a pound - both in the financial and physical sense.