A Florida man is thanking his pregnant dachshund after he won the top prize of $2 million from a scratch-off lottery ticket.

Leonard Linton, 42, said he purchased the ticket on a whim at a Stop N Shop after receiving a call that he needed to run home to his pregnant dachshund Ivy.

“I still can’t believe it,” Linton said. “This is life-changing, but I’m definitely getting Ivy a new kennel!”

Linton chose to receive the winnings in a lump-sum payment of $1,645,000 rather than an annuity, the Florida Lottery said in a news release on Monday.

Man says dog helped him win lottery
The man said he credits his pregnant pup for his win, saying he took an alternate route home when he picked up the ticket because he heard the pup was feeling ill.
James Player/iStock

The scratch-off game called 100X THE CASH cost Linton $10 and offers eight top prizes of $2 million. According to the Florida Lottery, the odds of winning a cash prize are 1-in-3.44.

To win a cash prize, the player must match their number to a winning number and win the prize shown as well as potential bonuses.

The odds of winning the $2 million jackpot is about 1 in 5,758,778, according to the lottery.

Linton credited his multi-million dollar win to his pregnant Dachshund, saying he took a different route home than normal and made a quick pit stop on his way to check on the ill pup.

According to the Florida Lottery, the retailer that the ticket was purchased from will receive a $4,000 bonus commission for selling a winning ticket.

The scratch-off game was launched in January since scratch-off games comprise approximately 75 percent of lottery ticket sales. The Florida Lottery said in the 2020 to 2021 fiscal year, lottery tickets generated more than $1.3 billion for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.

Newsweek reached out to the Florida Lottery for comment.

Back in April, a man in France won a $217 million lottery and donated most of it to his charity.

A woman in Michigan who won more than $1 million from the lottery credited her mother for suggested she buy a lottery ticket. After winning “a few bucks,” the woman bought more tickets and successfully won the jackpot prize: $1.6 million.

In Virginia, one lucky student received the ultimate surprise of winning the lottery during the holidays.

Brian Donohue, who studies mathematics at the University of Virginia, found himself the winner of $1 million after a ticket his mother placed in his Christmas stocking matched the jackpot numbers.

Donohue’s mother purchased the winning ticket from a local supermarket in Oakton, Virginia, on December 22. Little did she know the ticket would have her son winning the Virginia Lottery’s Bank a Million game.

Donohue told lottery officials that he plans on using the earnings to pay his college tuition.

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