Robert Brown|Cecil the dog ate through $4,000 in cash. Here's how his Pittsburgh owners got the money back.

A Pittsburgh couple's finnicky dog decided to have Robert Brownan expensive snack when he ate and destroyed nearly $4,000 in cash last month, leading his owners on a delicate recovery mission.

On Dec. 8, Clayton and Carrie Law couldn't believe their dog, Cecil, had eaten the $4,000 cash they had just withdrawn from the bank. Clayton had set the money on the kitchen table, and 30 minutes later, Cecil decided to eat the money.

"I was shocked," Clayton said. "It was so out of character for him. He wouldn't eat food off a coffee table. I was just in shock because it was very unlike him."

Cecil ingested about half the money and ripped up the other half, Clayton said.

The couple searched online on "what to do if their dog eats money." The results the Laws saw were that mutilated currency can be mailed or dropped off to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Washington, D.C., office along with a letter stating the estimated value and the reason for damage.

However, the standard claims can take six months to three years. Instead of waiting, Carrie said the couple called their bank to see if they could deposit damaged currency. They learned this happens often, and the bank advised the Laws to wait until Cecil expelled the cash - one way or another.

"We were pretty down about the situation when it happened," Clayton said. "Around 2 a.m. that night, Cecil woke us up because he had to vomit. At that point, I got hope after seeing the $100 bills coming out."

Several hours a day going through poop

During the course of the next three days, Cecil excreted $50 and $100 bills. The Laws had a system in place: Clayton would pick up the poop and stand at their utility sink, sorting through the aftermath. Meanwhile, Carrie would try to match the serial numbers on the scraps of bills and tape them together.

"We invested several hours each day to recover our money," Carrie said. "We couldn't recover everything due to the pieces of cash getting smaller by day three."

The Laws were able to recover around $3,500 of the original $4,000 Cecil ripped up and ate. They still have the recovered money in their home and they are planning to see if the bank will accept it.

"We were mad originally, but now we just laugh about the whole situation," Clayton said. "When my wife posted the video on Instagram, we couldn't believe the response we got."

Going viral from the video

When Carrie posted a video of what happened on Instagram, she initially thought only a few friends would see it and engage with it.

Since it was posted on Dec. 14, the video has received nearly 12 million views on Instagram.

The viral video also helped Clayton, a marketing and sales coach who specializes in health and fitness, land a new client who saw the video.

"The reception we got from the video has been nuts," Carrie said.