Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, inspired by the incredible story of missing dachshund Valerie, shared a story about briefly losing their pup Lena
According to the couple, they spent “10 minutes of hell” frantically searching for their dog during a visit to Palm Springs
The pet parents eventually found the dog, who they say has no survival skills
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ dog did an unintentional disappearing act that left the couple reeling.
On the April 30 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, inspired by the incredible real-life story of Valerie, a missing dachshund who managed to survive on a rugged island for over 500 days, the couple shares the story of Lena’s recent disappearance.
“I can’t imagine you losing Lena for a minute,” Ripa, 54, told her husband after hearing about Valerie’s adventure.
“We did that the other day,” Consuelos, 54, responded before launching into the tale about how the pair misplaced Lena.
According to the couple, during a recent visit to Palm Springs, Calif., Consuelos took Lena outside to use the bathroom. After the pup’s potty break, Consuelos headed back inside and assumed the dog followed him through the front door, but several seconds later, he couldn’t find the pet.
Slightly panicked, he and Ripa stared looking for the dog and then noticed the front gate of their home was open, which made them more concerned. Still unable to find Lena, the couple checked the GPS tracker on the dog’s collar, which said the dog was next door.
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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos talking about their dog Lena’s disappearance on “Live with Kelly and Mark”
“We go next door, no Lena,” Ripa said about what happened next.
“And now the wind is picking up,” Consuelos noted, adding that, at this point, he was screaming Lena’s name into the wind in hopes of finding the dog.
According to Ripa, while her husband called for the dog, she spotted a palm frond in the middle of the road. Without her glasses on, she worried it was Lena lying in the road after getting hit by a car.
“Now tears are streaming down my face, and I’m running because there’s my dog, and she’s been hit by a car,” Ripa recalled. Thankfully, once Ripa got closer to the palm frond in the road, she realized it wasn’t her dog.
Related: Kelly Ripa Reveals How She Repurposed Her ‘Off-the-Rack’ Wedding Dress from Her 1996 Nuptials (Exclusive)
She and Consuelos, still worried Lena had disappeared or was nabbed by one of Palm Springs’ plentiful coyotes, kept frantically searching. Luckily, the mystery was soon solved, and it turns out that Lena never left the house.
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After coming inside from her bathroom break, Lena curled up in her travel carrier, a spot her pet parents forgot to check in their panic.
Ripa described the brief missing pet incident as “10 minutes of hell.” She and Consuelos are happy their beloved pooch was never in harm’s way, especially since they think Lena has no survival skills.
“She’s got no survival skills. She would walk up to a lion and be like, ‘You’re a big dog.’ She doesn’t know how to be afraid of anything,” Ripa added.
Related: Kelly Ripa Admits She’s ‘Still Not Over’ the Death of Her Dog Chewie as Mark Consuelos Assures Her ‘It’s Very Normal’
The couple is still hurting from losing their senior dog, Chewie. The pet parents announced the 17-year-old dog’s death on their show on Feb. 5, after sharing details about her deteriorating health earlier in the year.
“It takes a pet owner to understand this kind of loss. It’s grief. It really is grief,” Consuelos said at the time.
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