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On Sunday, November 21 in Scottsdale, Arizona, chaos struck the Fortin household when their dog disappeared, much to their dismay.
Michelle Fortin was folding laundry when Kenton, her 11-year-old son, ran upstairs to ask her if their dog, Bruce, affectionately named after Batman’s citizen alter ego, Bruce Wayne, was there with her. .
Bruce is a black 1 year old French Bulldog and the newest addition to the Fortin family. In addition to Bruce, the Fortins also had a pet Sulcata Tortoise named Bianca, who was also named after a fictional character — the female lead in “The Rescuers,” a 1977 Disney film.
The entire family, consisting of Michelle, her husband Jason, and their young son Kenton and daughter Camille, began the search for Bruce by checking every facet of the house at first, but to no avail. After the failed search through the house for Bruce, the family began to panic.
They were concerned that Bruce might have been stolen from their backyard, as is known for attractive, in-demand purebred dogs.
They then took to the neighborhood streets, within an hour of realizing Bruce was missing, to distribute “Lost Dog” posters as widely as possible. They also chose to go door-to-door and speak directly to their neighbors in the hope that one of them would have seen the stray pup walking past their house, or taken him in when he found it. Unfortunately, their search turned out to be frivolous and so they quickly reported it to the police.
Michelle Fortin had walked around the neighborhood unsuccessfully and decided to search the house again for the little dog, hoping he was hiding somewhere and not answering their calls.
Searching the backyard again, Fortin noticed she heard muffled barking somewhere. However, she was unable to figure out exactly where Bruce’s screams were coming from. It was then that she saw Bianca’s lair and realized the terrifying truth. He had dropped someone or climbed into the big tortoise’s lair.
“I was approaching Bianca’s lair and I heard Bruce barking underground,” Fortin told the Washington Post.
The family later discovered that the lair Bruce had wandered into was much larger than they expected, nearly three feet wide and six feet deep. It was also dug at a 45 degree angle.
Sulcata Tortoises, Also Known As African Spurred turtles, use burrows and burrows to escape predators, and also regulate their body temperature in both hot and cold weather conditions, as the soil acts as a very effective insulator. Sulcata tortoises are also known to dig burrows that can be up to 20 feet below the ground, depending on weather conditions and the environment.
The sound of Bruce barking from the den had initially been a relief, as it at least proved he hadn’t been stolen. However, that relief soon turned to panic when they realized Bruce was trapped behind a 50-pound turtle that stubbornly refused to move.
“I had absolutely no idea how we were going to get him out,” Fortin had said. Bianca weighed about twice Bruce’s weight and was currently preventing the little dog from escaping the deep cave.
Fortin couldn’t figure out why Bianca showed no interest in leaving her den, regardless of the dog trapped behind her. “I couldn’t imagine her wanting to be down there with him,” Fortin said. According to Fortin, the two animals have not been getting along very well since Bruce arrived.
Kenton, Fortin’s son, then tried to climb into the lair to encourage Bianca to move. The tortoise, however, was adamant about staying put. Worryingly, Kenton also confirmed that Bruce had been completely trapped by Bianca and that Kenton hadn’t been able to get her aside. It was then that the fortresses decided it was best to call for help.
Unfortunately all the local turtle rescue organizations were closed and unreachable as it was a Sunday. So as a last resort, they turned to the Scottsdale Fire Department for support.
“I felt ridiculous, but I had no idea what to do or who to call,” said Fortin.
After explaining what was going on with the dispatcher, Fortin was told a fire crew would be arriving soon and that her son would have to move out of the den for his own safety. Within 10 minutes a fire crew arrived.
Daniel Espinoza, a fire chief, arrived at the scene with three fellow firefighters. However, they were all stunned by what happened and struggled to think of a way to rectify the situation.
“It was one of the most unusual animal rescues I’ve ever been called to do,” Espinoza explains.
The four firefighters tried their best to come up with a way to save the dog, but their inexperience with dens forced them to conclude that any plan they devised could risk further injury, or possibly worse. , for one or both animals. .
The pressure to save the dog mounted as his barking grew more and more panicky. “It made the little girl cry. That broke my heart,” Espinoza explained.
The fire department had considered digging into the den to free Bruce, but they fear the digging would cause the den to collapse.
“Even though we didn’t know what we were going to do, we decided not to leave until we found out,” Espinoza continued.
After much deliberation, they decided to contact a wildlife expert for help and insight.
The president of the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary, Russ Johnson, received the call for urgent help.
“I’ve never seen a dog go into a tortoise hole and the tortoise blocked him from getting out.” Said Johnson, who has a lot of experience with first nature. The whole situation had been a first for everyone involved.
Johnson expressed his greatest concern about the issue. Bianca is considerably heavier than Bruce, so there is a possibility that she will push the dog into the den. This can eventually lead to suffocation.
He quickly came up with an approach that would safely remove both animals from the den — but it wasn’t a guarantee. Johnson advised the firefighters to use a pickaxe and shovels to dig out the base soil from the entrance of the den. This would prevent the burrow from collapsing while digging.
About 40 minutes after the firefighters arrived, Bruce — who was believed to have been trapped behind Bianca for about three hours at the time — stopped barking. It was then that Fortin and her husband decided it was best for the children to stay indoors.
Fortin remembered the fire captain reassuring her that they would do anything to save Bruce. However, there was a possibility that it would not end happily. “Our dog could be buried in front of my children and scarred them for life,” Fortin recalled in response to the captain.
Fortin had stayed inside to comfort her children. They had cried and prayed for Bruce’s safe return when her husband, Jason, ran into the house and told them to come out.
The sound and vibration of the digging at the entrance to her lair had tempted Bianca to come and see what all the fuss was about. This would have allowed the firefighters to grab Bianca by her shield and get her out of the den, giving Bruce the space he needed to escape – which he did extremely quickly.
Fortin shared about the event on her Instagram account, describing how she had felt “angry and sad and happy”, fondly referring to her puppy as “BRUCE THE IDIOT.”
Everyone celebrated Bruce’s safe rescue with both animals coming out of the ordeal completely unharmed. The firefighters themselves had described the venture as both bizarre and highly rewarding.
“We were so relieved,” Espinoza explained. “We hate to disappoint people, especially children.”
After rescuing their beloved pup, the Fortins decided to bake homemade cookies for Bruce’s rescuers and take them to the station. They also made cookies for their neighbors, who were committed to helping the family locate their dog before the rescue.
“We are really so grateful to them. They saved the day,” Fortin said of the firefighters.
Johnson, the wildlife expert, echoed Fortin’s sentiment. “They are the reason the dog lives. It could have been a horrible situation. The fire service has done a fantastic job.”
Upon leaving the den, Bruce bounced back to his normal, energetic self after taking a large gulp of water to quench his thirst. After the rescue, Fortin decided to hire a dog trainer to make sure this problem never happens again.
As traumatic as the event might have been, it all ended well and made for an interesting story and a memorable afternoon. “How many people can say they had to call the fire department to rescue their dog, who was trapped by their tortoise in their backyard?” said Fortin.
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