Gene Hackman’s two surviving dogs somehow managed to escape the tragic death that the actor, his wife and their dog Zinna succumbed to last week and for one reason.

All thanks to a doggy door, through which the puppies were able to get free. The Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, with their third dog Zina, were found dead in their $3.8 million home in Santa Fe. As of now, the reason for their death remains unknown, and the toxicology reports are pending. Authorities have not done a necropsy on Zinna. However, Zinnia was discovered in a bathroom closet, which was about 10 to 15 feet from Betsy’s semi-mummified body.

As per the owner of the Santa Fe pet care, Joey Padilla, the late married couple’s German shepherd Bear and their dog named Nikita were the only ones to survive.

Santa Fe Tails is the place where Betsy and Gene boarded their dogs usually. Currently, the two surviving dogs are being taken care of. As per ABC News, the doggy door helped the other two puppies to come and go from the home where Betsy and Gene were dead for almost 9 days until their bodies were discovered on Feb 28.

This is what allowed the puppies to have access to water and food outside the home and kept them alive. When their bodies were found, one of the dogs was seen near Betsy’s body, and the other was outside the couple’s home.

“[Zinna] was always attached to Betsy at the hip, and it was a beautiful relationship,” Joey told the Associated Press. “Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsy’s hand.”

It’s still not clear why Zinna was found dead in a closet. “I will be holding on to them until I get word on what Betsy’s wishes for these dogs are,” Joey told ABC News. Joey often saw the couple pre-pandemic and informed the news outlet that the dogs were “Betsy’s babies.”

However, it was after the pandemic that Joey stopped seeing Gene because Betsy prevented Gene from meeting a lot of people due to health issues.

The last time Betsy visited the boarding center was in January. Joey also noted that Betsy appeared the same as always. The couple’s tragic death seems even more mysterious as there is no evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning in the home.

The investigating officer said: “They can geolocate around the property to see what was pinging around that time, though they won’t be able to tell who without a warrant, but can tell what activity there was before and afterwards, even if they’re not suspecting foul play.” He also added one thing that he feels should be looked at closely. “There was something about the way that his wife was described in the bathroom that is worth looking into a bit more. And she was in the bathroom.

“I think there was a space heater, and there were some pills that were strewn, and I don’t know where if that space heater was turned on. That might change the way her decomposition looks. Having a heat source close to the remains really does change the decomposition rate.”