Dog locks holidaymakers out of motorhome

A couple had to call out vehicle recovery services after their dog locked them out of their motorhome in south-west Scotland.

Kevin and Lisa Noon, from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, were in Castle Douglas when they hit trouble at the weekend.

They were forced to make an AA recovery call after their Spanish Terrier called Lau managed to lock all the doors with the keys still inside the vehicle.

James Cairns - from Parkdale Garage in Dumfries - said it was one of his more unusual rescue operations.

"We received the call to help AA members locked out of their car in Castle Douglas, and didn't find out until we were en route that there was a dog involved," he said.

"We got there and discovered the dog had indeed locked the vehicle and was sitting in the passenger seat with a big smile, with the owners outside frustrated.

"I've dealt with kids in cars and adults locked out, but this was the first time in 17 years that I'd had a dog locking its owners out."

However, he said that Lau turned out to be "quite helpful".

"There's a rod that goes in to access the door latch and he gave it a little bump towards the door to help me," said James.

"When it was close he decided to sit back and leave me to it, thankfully, and I was able to pop it open.

"I actually think he knew exactly what was going on and was wanting to stay on holiday, and didn't want to go home.

"I think that's what he was up to."

Lau's owner admitted they did have a little panic after their own efforts to unlock the motorhome, and persuade their dog to help, came to nothing.

"Lau was loose in the van as we were packing," explained Kevin, "and then my wife went to go back in and couldn't get the door open.

"We couldn't get through the cab doors, and it was very unusual for both sets of keys to be in the van because we usually both carry a set.

"We were in a panic for a bit, but we rung the AA and the garage and James were very good."

He said it took James about 15 minutes to open the car and they would still be keen to return to the region despite the incident and some extremely wet weather.

"Lau was fine," he said. "He's quite a clever dog so I wouldn't be surprised at all if he didn't want to leave.

"He really enjoys the walks around Castle Douglas because where we live it's quite urban."

"We'll definitely be back with Lau because it's a beautiful area and the people are lovely - my wife and I have just said that we'll just make sure we have the keys outside the van at all times!"

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