By Alex Vena

Kelly Ripa and her dog Lena had quite the last week, which Live with Kelly and Mark viewers heard all about on Tuesday’s episode.

Though Ripa admitted she “was debating whether or not [she] should talk about it,” she ultimately shared a story involving her and Mark Consuelos‘ beloved dog that took place while she was in Palm Springs over the weekend.

“I did something this weekend that was so well-intentioned,” she explained. “I go down to downtown Palm Springs. They have a street festival every. Thursday night. I go there because they have this great farm stand with amazing dates.”

After Ripa noted that the medjool dates that this farm stand offers are “a family favorite,” she decided to take Lena to the street festival.

Consuelos quipped, “Like Thelma and Louise.”

Ripa echoed, “Like Thelma and Louise. We’re gonna walk the street festival. We’re going to have the time of our lives.”

According to Ripa and Consuelos, Lena “was a big hit at the street festival,” as their beloved pup “made friends” and was “prancing down the street” as she embraced her “Palm Springs Lena” persona. However, the 20-minute trip took a turn as Ripa returned to the outdoor parking lot in front of the casino, where there is free parking. Ripa said she had Lena’s dog carrier “seat-belted” in the passenger seat of her car. She put Lena in her dog bag in the seat and placed her purse with the dates on the floor of the front seat.

“I shut the door. I walk around to the other side, I go to get in, it’s locked,” she recalled.

Consuelos and Ripa clarified that the car and the air conditioning were on while this took place, but panic began to set in for Ripa.

“Now I’m like, oh my God! What do I do?” she remembered feeling. “So I turn around, and I look for a car. I don’t see a car.”

Not only Lena was in the car, but Ripa’s phone and keys were, as well.

“Everything was locked in the car. And I see — now, those of you that are regular viewers of this show will understand when I say this. Some of you have never seen this show before and you’re like, ‘What is she talking about?’ I see a man in a van,” she said. “Okay? If you know, you know. I see a man in a van.”

After noting that the van had “dark tinted windows,” Ripa said she “flag[ged] him down.”

“And he looks just as afraid of me as I am of the van, and I say, ‘I’m so sorry. That is my car.’ I lied, it’s my husband’s car. ‘That is my car. I locked the keys and my human dog and my phone inside the car,'” Ripa continued.

Consuelos, who was in New York City at the time performing in Fallen Angels on Broadway, asked, “You said human dog?”

Ripa confirmed, “I said ‘my human dog.’ Because they need to understand this is more than a dog, this is a person.”

The driver of the van suggested that Ripa “call Triple A,” though Ripa reminded him that her phone was also locked in the car.

“And I go, ‘And if I’m being honest, I don’t know what Triple A is,'” she teased. “And he goes, ‘What’s your policy number?’ I go, ‘I don’t know what that means. I’m sure it’s all locked in the car.'”

The man called 911 for Ripa, but his phone was connected to Bluetooth in his car, and required Ripa to get into the van with him. Once she got on the phone, Ripa asked the police to “send someone to break into the car” for her, though they wouldn’t fulfill her request. However, they referred her to a tow company to break into the car for her.

Meanwhile, Ripa sang the praises of the van driver, whose name was Leo, who had gone to the casino to bring his wife money. Leo “sent casino security to sit with” Ripa until the tow company arrived. Ripa said the horrifying experience was likely “20 minutes” in total, even though it “felt like three years.”

“So he comes. He breaks into this car in three seconds,” she said, as she detailed the tow truck driver’s process.

After thanking and paying the tow truck driver, as well as expressing her gratitude to the casino security, Ripa finally got into the car and was reunited with Lena.

“I sit down in the car. I fasten my seatbelt, and Lena’s head pops up, and she was like, ‘You have no idea.’ She looked at me like this: ‘There were strangers trying to break into this car! I stayed hidden,'” she said.

Consuelos chimed in, “She was like, ‘Girl!'”

“‘Girl!'” Ripa echoed.

As the audience applauded Ripa’s retelling of the story, Consuelos said, “Thank God you had the air on.”

“It was so scary,” Ripa added. “And all I could think of was forget the dog, Mark is going to kill me. Mark is going to kill me!”

Once Ripa retrieved her phone, she saw “a bunch of missed calls” from Consuelos, teasing that Lena was “telepathically” communicating with Consuelos throughout the ordeal.

Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.