A red-eared slider turtle is reported to be doing fine after it spent nearly ten minutes in the belly of a golden retriever. The incident happened last week when Bella the dog, mistakenly or mischievously, gulped down Pepper the turtle from the bathtub it was placed in by 12-year-old Shelby Terihay.

The mischief was discovered by Shelby's father, Todd Terihay, when he saw Bella standing inside the bathtub in which Pepper was placed along with its four fellows. At the sight of Todd, the dog hopped out of the tub smacking her lips. A quick count of turtles revealed that Pepper was missing.

Shelby, an aspiring veterinarian and apparently a passionate pet lover, insistently implored her parents to take the animal to the vet and on the advice of a vet, her parents made Bella vomit, according to the Brandon news.

Pepper came out alive, but a part of its shell got shattered for the reptile churned up for an estimated 10 minutes in Bella's belly.

"This was definitely a first for me," David Thomassy, a veterinarian at Valrico Animal Hospital, who later patched the shell with dental acrylic, told the Brandon news.

Thomassy said that Shelby's quick thinking and insistence to take Pepper out not only saved the turtle but the dog also for it might have eventually killed the dog.