Terrible Animal Tragedy

[blueblood]

A small fire of some sort started while the owners were away from their motor home here at Outdoor Resort Hilton Head, SC. The fire was minor, the vehicle has some damage,  but the smoke was apparently so bad that 5 dogs in the motor home died. Not sure what could have been done to prevent this. It's the kind of thing that concerns me when leaving my dog.

 

[Ron]

That is tragic but I personally feel it was already a tragedy that someone would leave FIVE dogs in a motorhome.  In some areas that may be considered animal cruelity.

 

[KodiakRV]

.... Not sure what could have been done to prevent this...

I suspect not leaving five dogs alone in a motorhome could have prevented this...

 

[papahog]

I have a 5 lb yorkie named Willie and he is my constant companion.  Life saver after I lost my wife.  He has not spent one min in my TT without me.  Never have left him and never will.  If Willie cant go then I don't need to go there.

 

[Tim Lassen]

It would be good to follow up on what the nature of the fire was for us people who travel with our pets.  We have two indoor cats that never leave the MH and one dog who normally goes wherever we go, but sometimes it is better (cooler) for hiom to stay indoors.  A fire in the MH is always something we worry about..tim

 

[hleap]

First, Let me say that this is a terrible tragedy. Not knowing  more about  the situation I cannot comment as to whether it was preventable. Could this same thing happen in a house, apartment, condo, kennel, Vet, etc.? Absolutely! Fires, even small ones, can be deadly. In just a few minutes they can totally engulf a motorhome. If the flames don’t kill the fumes (from burning materials) certainly will.

It’s just my personal observation that a large percentage of RVers travel with pets. How many NEVER leave them alone in a trailer or motorhome? My guess would be very few. Even the ones that start out with good intentions become complacent ….”I’m just going to take a shower. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.”  Or  “I just going to get a quick bite to eat.” IMHO, it is up to each of us, individually, to decide the level of protection we provide. This is much akin to “How old is old enough to leave my children home alone?” As we have seen time and time again even 16 year olds can and do make bad decisions and burn the house down.

We all have our demons. As you probably can tell, this is one of mine.  Our dogs go with us in our motor home. In fact, it is one of the reasons we bought a motorhome, so we wouldn’t have to leave them in someone else’s care. I realize the potential dangers of leaving a pet in motorhome and I probably worry excessively about it. All that said, I doubt there is anybody RVing that has more protection in their motorhome in the event of a power failure or AC failure. Most motorhomes have 2 AC units, that provides a level of redundancy. I also have auto generator start, which I test frequently.  Lastly I have a alert system that I have designed myself (I am a control systems engineer) that text messages my cellphone and my DW’s cellphone in certain situations. There are two(2) levels of temperature alerts, an AC power failure alert, there is even a daily test alert, and more.  Even with all this we still plan our vacations around the cooler climates (i.e. Florida in the winter, Colorado in the fall, etc). We also take the dogs with us whenever possible as we do our sightseeing in the towed.
 
So please, don’t be so judgmental. I worry enough about our dogs that I should also have to be concerned about what some uninformed people think is animal cruelty.

OK, fire away!  I have my FRCs on. (Flame Retardant Clothes)  ;D

 

[islandmomma]

I'm with you Papahog...unless someone I know is around and has access to my unit, I would never leave my dogs unattended in an RV. Most parks where I live prohibit that. What a terrible loss for the owners though who, I am sure, loved their pets well...as do we all...  Terribly, terribly sad....

jan

 

[Carl L]

Pets are left alone in homes.  Homes burn down and, on occasion, pets are immolated in them.  So should one never leave pets alone in a house?

There are risks in every precaution one takes.  Take the pet with you in a motorvehicle and you could be caught in a fatal traffic accident.  One has eliminate obvious hazards, like leaving a pet in a parked car to bake in the heat, and then accept the small chances left, like a spontanous parked RV fire, as part of the risks of life.

 

[islandmomma]

I know most of you have more experience than I but perhaps my inexperience affords me a little more anxiety and that that in turn sparks my additional vigilance. To my mind, animals left in an RV have a much greater risk from any sort of fire mishap than those left unattended in a house. Because they are powerless and sometimes unable even to signal distress, we pet owners have additional reponsibilities, in the same way that we would if we travelled with anyone else unable to protect themselves, for example young children or the elderly or disabled individuals.That is because the coaches, to all intents and purchases, are like fairly airtight tin cans. Houses tend to have many more areas for hiding or even escaping, certainly for discovery and assistance from others before the animals have already expired. For that matter, while houses have their own fire risks, they do not have some of the more unique risks attached to travelling with propane and other items on board. Maybe pet-sitting exchanges or available fee-for-service providers of pet care in RV parks are possible arrangements to set up if people travel in groups...

jan

 

[Wendy]

We leave the hairy kid alone in the motorhome often. He can't go out to eat with us. If it's hot out, he'll be a lot more comfortable in the air-conditioned motorhome. But I like the idea of having something that calls my cell phone if the A/C shuts off in the motorhome. It's something I worry about and because of that, I always leave some windows open.

I've often had people in RV parks and at rallies offer to check on the dog.

Wendy

 

[Ron]

We leave the hairy kid alone in the motorhome often. He can't go out to eat with us. If it's hot out, he'll be a lot more comfortable in the air-conditioned motorhome. But I like the idea of having something that calls my cell phone if the A/C shuts off in the motorhome. It's something I worry about and because of that, I always leave some windows open.

I've often had people in RV parks and at rallies offer to check on the dog.

Wendy

But you only have Gordon not five dogs total in such a small area as a MH ot TT.

 

[Wendy]

But you only have Gordon not five dogs total in such a small area as a MH ot TT.

Weight and size-wise, one Gordon = 5 Sashas (or some other small dog)  ;D

 

[Betty Brewer]

An advantage of traveling with a formal caravan comapany  is that  over the course of our 46 days in Mexico  from time to time there were folks who opted not to attend the daily tour, so they  volunteered to care for the animals left behind.  It takes a village.

Betty

 

[Wendy]

One of the great thing about RVers is their willingness to help each other.

 

[Ron]

Weight and size-wise, one Gordon = 5 Sashas (or some other small dog)  ;D

I Gordon does not equal 5 smaller dogs 5 dogs in even the largest RV = trouble sooner or later and maybe a lot of noise.

 

[Marsha/CA]

We keep telling ourselves to put a note of some kind on the window nearest the door that tells people we have 2 cats and a dog incase of an emergency.  I still think it's a good idea; just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Does anyone have any more info on how the fire started and what actually happened?

Like Wendy, we leave our animals in the motorhome.  Lots of time we take the dog with us; but on occasion he stays home.  My biggest fear is that the campground looses power and the A/C goes out.  So, I too, would like to have a way the info could be sent to my cellphone.

Marsha~

 

[Ron]

We keep telling ourselves to put a note of some kind on the window nearest the door that tells people we have 2 cats and a dog incase of an emergency.  I still think it's a good idea; just haven't gotten around to it yet.

But Marsha I gave everybody around toit back in May, see post AROUND TOIT.  ;D ;D ;D 

 

[islandmomma]

A posted sign makes sense to me Marsha...

jan

 

[Newt & Jan]

These folks offer a decent looking sticker for alerting fire/rescue teams that you have animals in the RV and they look to be easy to spot day or night.

http://www.preparedness.com/petresfirsaf.html

 

[Wendy]

We got this a few years ago from our vet for free. I think I may see if I can make something similar for the RV, maybe with the cell phone number on it. Of course, then any crazy walking by has my cell phone number but I think that's a small price to pay for Gordon's safety.

Wendy