Dogs Set Fire To Mobile Home
Take one gas stove, three dogs, and food left on the stove top and what do you get? If you guessed a house fire, you are correct.
According to the Mercury News, the owner was out of the home when his dogs inadvertently turned on the gas stove’s burners as they tried to get at the items left on top.
The three dogs inside all escaped unharmed. However, one cat was killed and eight others are still missing.
It is not clear which of the dogs started the fire, none are talking. It also seems odd to me that eight cats are still missing, I’m starting to suspect these dogs were in some kind of conspiracy to get their house back. I do hope all the cats are found safe and sound.
This incident should remind folks how important fire safety is, having smoke detectors and putting stickers on the window to let fire fighters know you have pets inside. Here’s an article I posted lasted year, Pet Fire Safety Tips, that every pet owner should read. You’ll also want to make sure you have a fire evacuation plan.
This happened to me when I was a young pup. There was nothing left on the stove, I was just being nosy. When Mommy came home, she could here me barking my head off from far away, so she was wary when she came into the house. Immediately, the smell of gas was overpowering. It’s a good thing she quick smoking years ago, othewise a lit cigarette in her hand would have blown us all sky high. Pretty scary situation.
After that, Mommy removed all the handles from the stove so it couldn’t happen again.
We got very lucky that day.
I’m glad the dogs are ok but I feel bad about the lost cats and the one that did not make it.
For child safety, and for dog safety, on most gas stoves, the knobs can be easily taken off, and then just put the knob needed back on when the stove is actually in use. On our old gas stove I did this and it just became a complete routine, I always kept the knobs in a dish on the countertop near the stove: so they don’t accidentally melt! It became a habit to put the knob on the correct spot as needed, and remove it when I was done cooking. I haven’t done this at my new house, but now I will begin again, as I KNOW Pennie gets on the countertops when I am gone, as things mysteriously end up in other parts of the house.
I am SOOOO glad that the dogs are okay. I feel SOOOO sorry for the cat that did not make it. The owner(s) must be SO sad and in A LOT of S-T-R-E-S-S!!! Again I’m really sorry for them…
One Sad Woof,
Dodger Bucky Johnson
I guess I am in the minority here but why would you leave anything on the stove when you are not home animals or no animals? because anything can happen and they may catch fire regardless if anyone touched the stove however since they have so many cats and dogs who we all know get into everything and try to jump on counters they should have expected that they would get on the stove too! I’m sure that was’nt the first time they tried and also why are there 9 cats (8 now because one died) and 3 dogs in a mobile home?
Who said anything about it being a mobile home?
Hi Jane,
It’s from the Mercury News…
RENO, Nev.—Investigators say pet dogs are to blame for a fire that caused major damage today to a Reno-area mobile home.
this is a shame… although i’m sure the owner is very upset over the fire of his home, he must realize its his fault and could’ve been prevented. like i said, our dogs r our “kids” to most of us anyway… (i know mine is) but they r also “dogs” if u leave food out & especially if u r not around, they r going to do whats natural to them, take it… plain & simple… i’m so glad the dogs r safe, very upset about the cats…hopefully they will b found o.k. except for the one, very sad… i hope the owner & his pets are able to find a new home(if this one is not liveable) & this will not separate him from his pets… i always take my stove knobs off…only put them on when i’m using stove. soon as i’m done, they r off… i know how nosey my droopy is… LOL i’m not lettin anything happen to her..if i can help it… i just hope the owner realizes how lucky he is to have his dogs & hope he loves them & cares for them furever… god bless them & my prayers r with them(although the owner should b more careful now).its not just him who lost his home, so did his pets… and possibly his poor cats lost there lives, one we know of so far. time to wake up & think about more than yourself when u have pets that count on u to protect them… i’d do whatever i had to do to protect my droopy… sorry guys, i’m done… take care…
This is not uncommon for pets to cause fires. My owner used to be a firefighter and saw it a few times. Cats and dogs alike are both to blame.
Please be sure to check out the fire safety tips link posted in the original story, as it has lots of good information.
I haven’t had the stove turned on by my dog, but I did have the water turned on.
I was out running errands, for about 2 hours and when I opened the front door I could smell water (kind of like an indoor pool smell). Like serious moisture. I walked in the kitchen to find the faucet running full blast into the sink.
He jumped up to get something behind the sink and his paw must have hit the handle up.
Luckily I had moved the faucet over to the side of the sink w/o the disposal. If it were the other way, I would have walked into water at my feet.
After that, I not only put a rubber band around the handle and faucet, I take all of the knobs off of my stove for that “just in case” moment. Not worth taking any chances and I keep the stove clear of any dirty pots and I keep the sink clear of anything yummy.
It is also a good idea to make sure all electrical cords are tied with those zip ties so us dogs can not chew on them. Mommy made the mistake of leaving a battery charger on a shelf low enough for me to reach so I chewed the end of the cord off. Now she blocks all electrical cords so I do not have access to them. Yep even though I agree that the dogs needed to reclaim their home I do hope those poor kitties are found safe and sound. To make it more fair when they do come home the owner needs 5 morw dogs so it is even again. No food should ever be left near a stove and to keep it safe the knobs can be removed when the stove is not in use. When we were at a friends home in St Louis Missouri they had a major gas leak and it made mommy really sick. She had no energy and a really bad headache so she told a guy who was doing some repairs at the house that she smelled gas and he checked it out and turned the gas off. Since mommy has asthma she could not be around anyone who was smoking so all the smokers in the house had to go outside while we were there so I know how scarry that can be as well.
Adam chewbacca
It is a shame; a very dangerous situation, indeed. I’m glad the dog’s safely made it out, but I feel badly for those poor Eight cats, and of course the ninth cat whom lost it’s life. I hope the other’s are alright. Hopefully, the owner can get his pet’s back and properly remove the knobs as many have said, etc, and know better fire safety, even? I must say, I think that the owner should’ve been far more carefuly. Dogs are just as curious as cats, and both get themselves into some pretty risky situations and often accidents, which can lead to loss of their lives, even humans and children around them or living with them.
Well, I hope the cats are safe and soon to be found, the dogs stay out of trouble and are healthy, and the owner get’s his babies back and realizes things that could make this safer for himself and his pets, even his family if he has a wife or kids.