Kent pup who turned on gas burner a good reminder to pet-proof your kitchen
A Kent homeowner came home to find their stove’s gas burner on and the house filled with dangerous fumes.
They got home in time and turned it off, but the Kent Police Department said in a Facebook post, it could have been a lot worse. They also said it happens more often than most people think.
Close to a dozen people commented on the post to say they, or someone they knew had a similar experience, Lauren Johnson was one of them.
“My thought was oh my gosh our dog has done exactly the same thing,” said Lauren.
About a year ago she said her incident started when there was some leftover pizza on her stove.
“It was on a plastic cutting board. I was in the bedroom, and I started smelling something and I didn’t know what it was and then suddenly it was really starting to smell, and I opened the door and the whole kitchen here was full of smoke,” said Lauren.
She then ran to the burner, turned it off, and aired out the kitchen. It didn’t take long to figure out just who turned on the stove.
“He does the guilty face, so we knew. He goes to a certain spot kind of right over here by the door and he was laying down and kind of turning onto his back, so we figured out pretty quick and I’m pretty sure there was pizza on the floor,” said Lauren about her lab Cooper.
On Kent PD’s post alone, nine other people said their dogs did the same thing too. The American Red Cross says 1000 house fires a year are started accidentally by pets, and the stove is the number one place they start.
“[I’m] definitely not surprised. I think, obviously good training and things like that but sometimes it doesn’t matter how much training they have if you’re not right there and there’s a snack that they want they’re going to try and get it,” said Lauren.
She said they don’t leave food out on the stove anymore, even for a minute.
A good idea per the Red Cross. They also say to pet-proof your kitchen and home and keep them away from open flames.
If there are knobs to turn on the stove pets can reach, remove them altogether when you’re gone, or put covers on them.
If candles are a necessity, look into flameless ones. They also suggest putting up a gate to separate pets and kitchens.
