Dixie isn’t a cat. However, her foster parents believe that she has nine lives.
Paula Rothman stated, “She’s an amazing, spirited happy puppy who is enjoying every moment of life.” In 2019, she rescued the pit-mix pup, a report said.
Rothman brought Dixie back to life after he was shot twice by a person two years ago. Dixie is partially paralyzed but has lots of spunk.
Rothman rented a Ford RV 2018 from Cruise America in June to drive Dixie across the United States and drop her off at a Washington sanctuary that cares for disabled dogs.
Rothman claims that Dixie laid on the floor between the passenger and driver seats. After a few hours, something went wrong. Rothman felt the RV’s floors hot when she went to get magazines next to Dixie. Too hot.
“The floor was so hot,” Rothman stated that “it was burning hot. We knew immediately that something was wrong. We didn’t know that the skin would blister and would burn to the third degree. She almost died.”
Photographs taken shortly after the incident show Dixie with severe burns on one leg. The skin is almost melted.
Rothman believes that the problem was caused by a malfunctioning or missing heat shield. These heat shields are typically used to protect passengers from the heat generated by the engine.
The vehicle was taken out of service by the company for inspection. However, that wasn’t done until about a month later.
Jason Lavine stated that it should have been done sooner. He is the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, which is a consumer advocacy organization.
“The people responsible for the vehicle were put on notice that that’s what’s happening, and yet, they’re just putting it back in the stream of commerce? It’s immoral, really,” Lavine explained.
Cruise America stated that it is still investigating the incident but has no comment.
