A family is suffering both grief and guilt after their nine-month-old French bulldog puppy, Kobe, suffered fatal injuries from being crushed in their reclining sofa. As reported by The Mirror, unbeknownst to Claire Hilton, 53, and her daughter Kerry, 30, the pup had crawled under their newly acquired electric reclining sofa.
When Kerry tried to put down the raised leg rest, she heard a yelp. The pair tried to pull Kobe free, but his neck was tangled in the sofa’s structural bars and he was struggling to breathe. Kerry enlisted the help of a neighbor who had an angle grinder, but the frame of the sofa was too thick to cut through, so the women called the fire department for help.
By the time the rescuers cut the puppy out of the sofa, he was unconscious. Kobe was provided with oxygen and CPR, but he could not be saved.
Now the heartbroken family wants others to be aware of the dangers reclining furniture poses, and take care to prevent further tragedy. Claire said:
“We didn’t realise how dangerous these sofas are with all the mechanics underneath. “I want to make people aware of how easily they can get underneath without you realising, because a lot of people have these recliners.
“It’s dangerous for little children or cats [if they climb underneath]. The bars underneath are very thick and the mechanism is strong, it can just crush you. We wish we hadn’t bought it now.”
Reclining sofas purchased new come with safety warnings, but the family bought theirs secondhand and did not receive the paperwork.
Rest in peace Kobe.
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