Puppy unharmed after 12-mile ride in car engine

SALFORD, England, March 5 (UPI) -- A British man said his 3-month-old Jack Russell puppy survived a 12-mile ride in the engine of his neighbor's car.

Gary Rose said his puppy, Betty Boop, escaped from his yard in Salford and apparently climbed into the engine of a car belonging to his neighbor, who heard her barking and stopped the car after driving about 12 miles, the BBC reported Wednesday.

"We think she spent the journey on the gearbox. She is so lucky to still be alive," Rose said. "If she had put her head a bit further in, she would have got caught by the fan, or the fan belt, the camshaft."

"The neighbor was coming down the street and he could hear the dog yapping and wondered where it was coming from," he said. "The first thing he did was open the bonnet and there she was."

Rose said Betty Boop was unscathed by the incident, but he and his family are taking care to avoid a repeat.

"The golden rule in this house is shut the gate, shut the gate, shut the gate," he said.