Car wash workers just found a groundhog stuck in this woman’s car
Published on Sep 27, 2023 at 4:45 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Sep 28, 2023 at 12:47 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
From chapsticks to loose change – it’s amazing the things you lose track of in your car.
But imagine this driver’s surprise when carwash workers found a live groundhog in her front bumper.
The woman from Fort Wayne, Indiana in the US headed to the carwash to remove a dead bird that sadly got caught in her front grille.
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But according to WPTA, the bird turned out to be the least of her worries.
Heading to her local Mike’s Car Wash, she hoped to get the bird’s remains cleaned away and disposed of.
But workers were forced to call in the help of employees of the Jiffy Lube workshop next door when they found something entirely unexpected.
When help arrived, the carwash staff explained that they’d found a furry surprise in the shape of a groundhog living in the front bumper.
While a little bit startled and very stuck, the groundhog was still very much alive.
After first calling Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control (FWACC) for assistance, they were advised to take the car apart to get him out safely.
As they started to dismantle the vehicle, the groundhog made a bid to escape, making their job a bit more difficult.
Jiffy Lube manager on duty, Dalton Brenneke, described it as “definitely an odd day at work”.
“[The] last thing I expected was to be pulling apart a front bumper to remove a groundhog,” he said.
“We ended up having to take off the front skid-plate to give him room to leave the engine bay.
“After we got him out, he ran to the back of the car and hopped up in the rear suspension. Had to take off the left rear tire to get him out.”
Brenneke told media that the car owner was not charged for their services.
Despite staff waiving costs, the groundhog had chewed through some wiring, costing the driver $500 to repair.
The little guy was named “Mike” by the staff who discovered and freed him.
He was then handed over to an FWACC officer who took him to safety.
Now that’s not something you see every day.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
