Family dog revived after stuck in bach fire

When Girl, a six-year-old border collie huntaway cross, was cradled unresponsive from a burning bach, firefighters feared the worst. 

Fortunately once the flames were extinguished, they were able to suggest Kate Robinson consider another appropriate descriptor for her beloved pet. 

“They said I should call her ‘Lucky’,” she said, while recounting Girl’s gradual recovery from severe smoke inhalation. 

Volunteers responding to the call at Robinsons Bay, Banks Peninsula, three days after Christmas, used breathing apparatus to revive Girl, who continued along the road to full recovery in Fendalton yesterday. 

A neighbour alerted the Akaroa Volunteer Fire Brigade and Robinson’s father Lee, who along with other family members, noticed smoke rising above the jetty while enjoying a late afternoon barbecue while boating on the bay. 

Although the neighbour opened a door to the property, dense smoke prevented him from retrieving Girl from the lounge.  

“The smoke was so intense they had to close the doors again and wait for the firefighters to get her out. They had to wait seven or so minutes for someone to get in there and get her,” Kate Robinson said. 

“When I got there and saw the state she was in . . . she couldn’t walk and (was) struggling to breathe. She was pretty much out to it and not looking very good.” 

A veterinarian, who was fortuitously in the vicinity, then continued Girl’s treatment, administering antibiotics and steroids. 

“She got a couple of shots and bounced back really quickly, then she did decline a bit later,” Kate Robinson said. 

“She was really lethargic . . . coughing. We had to carry her out to the toilet. It’s only been the last couple of days that she’s fully recovered. We’re really, really lucky.” 

Although the fire – believed to be caused by an electrical fault – extensively damaged the kitchen and lounge, Lee Robinson was grateful. 

“I looked over (from the boat) and I could see the smoke pouring out of the roof. It was a bit unnerving, but never mind, we’re alive,” he said. 

“We were five minutes off losing everything; we got out of it by the skin our teeth. 

“There was a lot of damage but we could have lost a dog, a bach (built by Lee’s father Matthew in 1953), and 30 years of native planting. 

“Baches up the hillside, everything was at risk. We were so lucky, I can’t say enough about those guys. The fire brigade was magnificent.” 

Akaroa Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Mark Thomson credited his crew for finding Girl in challenging circumstances after arriving on the scene seven minutes after the alarm was sounded. 

“It was a black dog in a black smoke-filled room on a black couch so the guys did very, very well to find her and put BA (breathing apparatus) on.” 

Still, the scenario looked grim when they emerged: “Its head was limp, it didn’t look good,” he said. 

So Thomson, his firefighters, and volunteers from Little River were amazed when Girl returned from her vet visit while they were mopping up. 

“When she came back every single one of them was like ‘is this the same dog?’” Kate Robinson said. 

“She was very, very close (to death). They were all really stoked she was ok.”