You couldn't make this up. When Florida resident Bill Kelly gave one of three lottery tickets to his family pet as a joke, little did he realize what the result would be.

Bill, 58, discovered to his surprise that his pooch had won a $3 million prize for the ticket he had bought for him.

Kelly said he bought the three scratch-off tickets as Christmas stocking stuffers for his family.

It started when Bill picked up three $600 Million Gold Rush scratch-off tickets at the Publix, and put one in his dog's stocking.

"Giving Florida Lottery Scratch-Off tickets as Christmas gifts is one of my holiday traditions," Kelly, of Ocoee, Florida, said.

"I always hope to at least win my money back and I play to win, but I never expected this."

Kelly took the money as a lump sum of $2,351,433.02. No one has worked out how many doggie treats the winning sum might buy.

And the burning question everyone wants to know - since it was a scratch-off ticket, who did the scratching?