WA pet owners have been warned about a hidden household hazard after a Perth family’s dog suffered “horrific”, fatal burns.
Ollie the 13-year-old poodle was outside his Hamersley home when the solar hot water system released, with water from a small pipe on the side of the house spraying the dog with boiling water.
The poodle suffered third-degree burns to 80 per cent of his body.
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His owner’s raced him to the vet but he could not be saved.
Christa Hauck’s mum was Ollie’s owner. She told 7NEWS the incident was “horrific”.
“There was not much fur left on him,” she said.
“(Ollie was) her (Christa’s mum’s) companion.
“Mum rescued Ollie two years ago and lives on her own now and Ollie was her everything.”
Ben Van Der Kooy from Perth business Beautiful Plumbing said it was common for solar hot water systems to release water to maintain the correct temperature, especially on hot days.
“On super hot days if you get up to 40 degrees and your not using the hot water, that’s when it can get too hot and it just has to dump that water so it doesn’t turn into steam and explode,” he explained.
Ollie’s owner has been left traumatised by what happened, and wants to save others from the same painful experience.
“(It) could be a toddler,” Hauck said.
“This was a dog, (which is) bad enough but it could be a toddler.”
The pipe from the solar hot water system can release water at any time.
After locating where it is on the property, Van Der Kooy said residents should put something large in front of it as a form of protection.
“I would get something like a big pot plant or something and shove it up against the side,” he said.
– With reporting by Rachel Tassicker