Deputies in northern Idaho sifting through the wreckage of a deadly car accident Saturday believed they were hearing a cellphone.
Unable to find it, the mangled van was shipped off to an impound lot for the weekend, Kootenai County Sheriff's Lt. Stu Miller told NBC affiliate KHQ.
But two days later, as investigators rummaged through the inside of the car, they made an astounding discovery: a little Chihuahua still alive underneath a kennel.
Investigators said the dog's owner, identified as 85-year-old Marie-Claire Steinkamp, was killed when she ran through a stop sign in Post Falls and collided with a tractor-trailer. Among her possessions was the Chihuahua she called Uno Solo.
The plucky pooch was given to a local animal rescue group, Power of the Paw, which is taking care of him while they try to determine whether Steinkamp might have had a next-of-kin.
Autumn Jolley, founder of Power of the Paw, told KHQ that she's already getting dozens of requests from people who want to adopt Uno Solo. She wants to find him the perfect home — in honor of his owner.
"I know that he was her one and only, that's why his name is Uno Solo," Jolley said, "because he was her one and only."