Missing moon rocks from apollo 11 found in black lab’s stomach

Wilbur, a black labrador, has a history of eating rocks.

Houston, we have moon rocks. In dog poop.

The Minnesota National Guard reported last Monday that a veterinarian found small fragments of the moon’s surface in the stool of a Labrador Retriever in St. Paul. They’ll be turned over to the state Historical Society on Wednesday, after they are properly sanitized.

Video: NASA JSC Lunar Curation Lab

The moon rocks came from the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. Some of the rocks they collected went missing after each state was given tiny samples encased in plastic. Authentic moon rocks are considered national treasures and can’t legally be sold in the U.S., and it has yet to be determined exactly how the rocks ended up passing through the intestines of a black lab.

Minnesota’s moon rocks disappeared sometime after then-President Richard Nixon gave them to the state, along with a state flag that was carried on the mission. It’s assumed that Wilbur, the 9-year-old black labrador – who has a history of eating river rocks – must’ve discovered the moon chunks and thought they’d make a tasty snack.

Lunar samples from the first moon landing command high sums on the black market, and some have been stolen or otherwise migrated away from the public domain. How they ended up in a St. Paul riverbank is yet unknown.

“To a collector, moon rocks are invaluable,” said a former NASA investigator, who has been looking for the missing moon rocks since 2002.

He added, “We got a tip that they had been dropped by the river by a thief who was evading police. But when we searched the area and couldn’t find them, the case went cold.”

That is, until a local vet performed a fecal exam on Wilbur and found the lunar rocks in the dog’s poop. The vet who performed the surgery is an aspiring geologist, and knew the rocks were not of this world.

Video: Chapter Zero - The Case of the Missing Moon Rocks by Joe Kloc

Wilbur’s owner told Dogington Post, “I always check my dog’s poop to make sure he’s healthy. As soon as I saw those chunks come out, we went straight to the vet!” And we’re glad he did. Not many dogs can claim to have eaten, and subsequently pooped out, a national treasure!

The Dogington Post is serious about dogs, but we like to have a little fun, too! This article has been fabricated by the editors of this site. Happy April Fool’s Day!

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