This miracle mutt survived a very far-fetched journey.
A 4-month-old dog managed to climb its way into a car’s engine compartment and ended up taking a 30-mile ride with its driver, who had no idea she had a furry stowaway.
Carrie Gillaspie, a digital reporter and host for the Kansas City Royals, arrived at Kauffman Stadium Thursday and heard whimpering coming from a vehicle a few rows away in the parking lot.
Car owner Ashley Newman rushed “to unlock the car, pop the hood. We look for a few seconds and, sure enough, there are two little eyeballs just looking up at us,” she told KCTV.
Newman, a community coordinator at the Royals, had driven from Kansas to Missouri with the canine, named BonBon, tucked inside her car.
At first, Newman and Gillaspie did not know how to proceed.
“She looked so happy to see us, but we still had no idea way to get her out,” Gillaspie said in a TikTok post describing the ordeal.
They enlisted a team of their Royals coworkers, including lead mechanical technician Dennis Miller, to free BonBon.
“We were able to take the under trim off and get her free,” Miller told the outlet. “It was huge relief. I have a dog of my own. I was thinking how I would feel if she went missing.”
BonBon was then brought to the Kansas City Pet Project, a nonprofit specializing in animal care, while Newman scoured Facebook to see if anyone who lived near her was missing a dog.
She soon found a post about a missing pup that matched BonBon’s description and helped a Johnson County, Kansas, resident reunite with her pet.
“I scrolled a little bit and there was that picture with the owners looking for a couple of days,” Newman explained. “I reached out to the owner. She was emotional but very grateful. The little puppy is back home with mom.”
Sadly, BonBon may need to have her tail amputated and could require surgery on her toes.
A GoFundMe was created by her 18-year-old owner, Thatiana Chavez, to assist with the cost of the injured pet’s medical procedures.
“It’s one of those stories that, unless you have a video, I don’t know if anyone would ever believe it,” Newman said.