That service call where the homeowner's dog ate my coax tester

Last Tuesday I got a call out to a place in Maplewood for a no signal issue, and when I walked up to the box I noticed the line had been chewed clean through. The owner comes out holding this little terrier mix, all proud, and says 'Rex here thinks cables are his chew toys.' I laughed it off until I set my tester down on the porch to run a continuity check, and within thirty seconds that dog snatched it and ran off into the bushes. Took me a solid twenty minutes to fish it out from under their deck, and the thing was covered in slobber but still worked fine somehow. Best part is the owner offered me a twenty dollar tip for the trouble, but I told him to buy a cable guard instead. Has anyone else had pets cause a problem on site, or is it just me? I'm thinking about carrying a cheap spare tester just for those calls.