San Bernardino County firefighters came to the rescue of two puppies that got trapped in an underground tortoise den for hours on Sunday, June 19.

The two five-month-old puppies had found themselves blocked in the den by a 100 lb tortoise camped at the exit, San Bernardino County Fire (SBCF) said. Residents had told the firefighters the dogs had been in the den for hours and were silent.

In footage posted by the fire department, firefighters can be seen unsuccessfully trying to coax the tortoise, named Oscar, out of the den with some watermelon. Eventually, a decision was made to dig an access hole to rescue the pups.

After an hour of digging crews pulled the puppies out of the den, SBCF said.

“Peo and Finn were unharmed and happy to reunite with their dog mom Kathleen," SBCF said. Credit: San Bernadino County Fire via Storyful