Missing 3-Legged Dog Story a Hoax

A report that went viral of a missing three-legged dog and a $5,000 reward from a New England Patriots tight end was all a hoax.

The fake story of a missing dog named Lucky that belonged to the brother of the Patriots' Rob Gronkowski was first posted to Hoboken's Facebook page.

The hoax was inspired by an actual dog named Lucky who went missing last week and was later found in Hoboken and by a gag from the 1940s of a lost dog posting that read: "Lost Dog—3 legs, left ear fell off, broken tail, limps all over, deaf in one ear, responds to the name Lucky," one of the pranksters told The Jersey Journal.

The prankster and four others concocted the hoax for a show that is expected to air on Comedy Central, The Jersey Journal reported. The group did, however, have Gronkowski's permission to use his name in the prank, the report said.

The photo used in the prank was real, but of a dog named Bentley that was posted in 2008 to an online forum, the report said.