Two dogs locked themselves in a minivan in the Florida Keys. Then came the drama.
If two dogs lock themselves in a car, could they get out?
We now know the answer, at least when it comes to a pair of white Maltese named Bubba and Bella.
Apparently, one of the dogs hit the automatic lock button inside their pet sitter’s minivan. It took a 911 call and a towing company to come to their rescue.
Billie Nichols, of Big Pine Key, was pet-sitting the pair of pets that belong to her daughter, Cassi Scanlon, when the dogs locked themselves in and became trapped, according to Monroe County spokeswoman Kristen Livengood.
Fourteen-year-old Bubba and 12-year-old Bella were eventually saved from the air-conditioned vehicle. On Wednesday, their May 12 rescue drew cheers and gratitude on social media after Monroe County went public with the story.
Scanlon said the dogs, about 10 pounds each, were freed with the help of a towing company after they spent 30 to 40 minutes locked inside Nichols’ 2017 Chrysler Pacifica that was parked in her driveway on Big Pine Key, about 30 miles east of Key West.
“They are totally fine,” said Scanlon, a corporate recruiter who was in Miami for work when the dogs had their adventure. Her husband, commercial fisherman Jed Scanlon, was also out of town that day, so Nichols watched the dogs.
Nichols loaded the dogs into the van, with the keys inside, to take the two back to their home for dinner. Then one of the dogs hit the lock.
“They’ve done this to me before,” Cassi Scanlon said. “They’ll put their paw right on the lock button.”
Nichols, a nurse, was concerned about Bella, a diabetic who needs insulin twice daily.
“She said, ‘I called 911 and told them the dogs locked themselves in the car and one is a diabetic,’” Scanlon recounted. “They’re her granddogs.”
Who hit the locks?
Once it was clear the dogs had been released from their self-inflicted detention in fine health, some playful banter on Facebook followed along with one burning, and unanswered, question: Was it Bubba or Bella who caused the lock-in?
The dog tale also came with a message.
Leaving dogs for any length of time inside cars — which can bake at times in the South Florida sun — can lead to injuries or worse. The area’s high temperature for the day was 83 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
“It’s a great time of the year to remind people about animals in cars,” said Scanlon, who added she now owns a car lockout tool.
In this case, the A/C was on. And the Shift C crew from the Monroe County Fire Rescue Station No. 13 went to the scene to help. Anchor Towing pitched in to unlock the minivan.
“Their quick action allowed the dogs to be rescued within minutes,” Livengood said.
Exactly which dog hit the lock button remains unknown.
The dog named Bubba raised some eyebrows.
“Seems like a Bubba move,” said one Facebook comment.
Others questioned whether Bella was the button pusher, or suspected both were to blame.
“I think they worked together — one to distract and one to lock,” read one comment.
What does Scanlon think?
“Probably Bubba,” she said. “Bella is watching the clock for dinner time, and it was dinner time. She wouldn’t have done anything to slow down dinner.”
