Relentless Dog Wakes Family From Toxic Fire
By Kathy D. Bradford, Associate Editor
Bulldogs – not of the UGA game – just might have been given a bum rap, and that fact was proven last week by one local canine companion.
Church and Rebecca Thompson live in rural Toombs County along with their children, a five-year-old feist dog and a bouncing eight-month-old red-nosed pit bulldog, Otis. It was this playful puppy who may have saved the lives of all the other inhabitants of his home last week.
Chuck Thompson said it was a typical night for the family on January 20, watching TV and catching up on each other’s day. But before daybreak on Wednesday, it would be a different situation.
“I fell asleep on the carpet in the living room,” he said . “Rebecca and the children all got up and went on to bed. Around 2:30 in the morning, Otis was going frantic, running back and forth from one bedroom to the other, nudging me without stopping as I lay on the floor. When he wouldn’t give up and I finally woke up, I could smell smoke.”
Thompson said he immediately went and woke his wife.
“There’s something burning here in the house, and I can’t find it.” He said to Rebecca, and the two began looking around.
“Otis alerted to our daughters’ bedroom,” he continued. “When we opened the door the smell was almost toxic. The strong odor of plastic burning nearly took our breath away.”
Otis was the first to find the cause and led his owners to a surge protector which was smoking.
“The plastic was literally melting, and when we unplugged it and turned it over, it actually poured out,” Thompson said.
The Thompsons said the girls had decided to sleep in another room, so they were unaware of the potential danger.
“Otis is our hero,” 13-year-old Zack said. “If he hadn’t smelled the fire and got us up, we could have died.”
The Thompsons got the bulldog when he was four-weeks-old and have raised him as a member of the family.
“Sometimes he doesn’t even know he’s a dog,” his master says. “We’ve always loved him, and now we know why.”
Legislation to stop pit bull ownership was rumored to have been introduced in the Georgia General Assembly this year. House Bill 78 had its First Reading in the House on January 24 and a Second Reading on January 25. The bill reads; “A Bill to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 8 of Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to dogs, so as to define a certain term; to provide that no person shall import, sell, transport, carry, own, keep, or otherwise possess any live pit bull dog in this state; to provide that certain dogs shall be neutered and confined; to provide a penalty; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.”
Under Chapter 8 of Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia, the term “pit bull” means any dog that is an American Pit Bull Terrier, or any dog displaying the majority of physical traits of any one or more of the breeds…”
The bill allows certain provisions including any resident of the state who, on July 1, 2005, had maintained such pit bull in the state for at least six months.” However, to be exempt, the animal must be “neutered, maintained in a secure area designed to prevent the animal from coming into contact with the public, and fully leashed and muzzled and accompanied by an adult when not so confined.”
Persons found in violation of any provision of the code will be charged with a misdemeanor and fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 or incarcerated for a period not to exceed six months, or both.
State Representative Greg Morris said via telephone last week that he had heard of the Bill but to his knowledge, it didn’t have much support an he didn’t think it would go far.
Thompson said, “This dog was raised with love, and he has NEVER hurt anyone. It’s discrimination against the breed, almost like ‘dog racism.’ If it hadn’t been for Otis, we could have lost our home and our lives.
“It’s how you raise your dog,” he continued. “If you want an aggressive dog, you can make him one, but if you want a family pet like out Otis, you can make him that, too.”
The Advance, Wednesday, February 02, 2005, page 3l.
References
Toombs County, Georgia War Memorial
http://toombs.150m.com/memorial.htm
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