Puppies trapped for hours after 100-pound tortoise blocks exit to den, CA officials say
After two curious puppies ventured into an underground desert tortoise den, they couldn’t leave when the 100-pound animal blocked them in, according to firefighters in California.
Two 5-month-old puppies, Peo and Finn, wandered into the den in Yucca Valley on Sunday, June 19, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said in a June 21 Facebook post.
“Residents were worried as the dogs had been in the den for multiple hours and were silent,” the department said.
The fire crews first tried to lure the tortoise, Oscar, out of the hole by placing a piece of watermelon on a long stick, a video of the rescue posted to Facebook shows.
“OK! He’s coming towards me,” a firefighter says in the video.
When their plan didn’t take, firefighters moved to plan B: digging, the department said.
Crews dug for an hour until, “Cap, I think we got through,” a firefighter says on the video.
“You can do it! You can get around him [Oscar] now,” the owner tells the puppies.
The puppies exited the den and were reunited with their “dog mom Kathleen,” the department said. They were not injured.
This story was originally published June 27, 2022 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Puppies trapped for hours after 100-pound tortoise blocks exit to den, CA officials say."
