Dog hides under Phoenix police officer's car

PHOENIX, March 11 (UPI) -- A small dog attempted to hitch a ride with an Arizona police officer by climbing into the undercarriage of his patrol car.

The city of Phoenix police department shared a photo of the dog, which was discovered by Lt. Tom Van Dorn.

Van Dorn encountered a pack of small dogs while driving down a local street and honked his horn, which sent three of them running away. The fourth dog instead decided it would much rather take a ride underneath his police car.

Noticing one of the dogs was unaccounted for, Van Dorn stopped the vehicle and got out to find the small dog lodged under the car.

The dog was not hurt, but firmly held to its position before being rescued by Maricopa County Animal Care & Control.

"The pup was stuck under the car for about twenty minutes and refused to come out," Phoenix police wrote. "Even when coaxed with a hot dog (no pun intended)."

Maricopa County Animal Care & Control were able to identify the dog as a female chihuahua mix and named her "Tahoe" after the model of Van Dorn's patrol car.