A phone in a pet..

A baffled British woman who lost a mobile phone dialed the number and heard it ringing inside her friend's dog.

Rachel Murray, 27, had left the cellphone under her Christmas tree as a surprise gift for her flatmate, The Sun newspaper reported on Friday.

But chum Tony Dangerfield's bloodhound Charlie crept into the room and greedily wolfed down the mobile phone, leaving only a pile of torn paper.

After a frantic search for the phone, Murray obtained the number from the telephone company, dialed and heard muffled ringing from sleeping

Charlie's stomach.

"At first I thought Charlie was lying on the phone -- then I realized where it was," she said. "I couldn't believe he'd swallowed it."

The dog was rushed to a vet, who advised Murray and Dangerfield to let nature take its course.

Twenty four hours later the phone duly emerged -- in perfect working order.