Day 1: From Spaniels to Smoke: A Rescue Run That Nearly Ended in Flames

 

It was supposed to be a short travel day while helping transport three Cocker Spaniels to their new forever home. Jodi, who does occasional work with animal rescues, had arranged to pick up the dogs, and we met just off I-75 for the handoff. It was a tough goodbye for the woman surrendering them—there were tears, hugs, and heartfelt thanks. But once the pups were loaded and settled, we headed west toward Tallahassee to meet the next leg of the transport chain.

Then, everything changed.

Just outside Lake City, only a mile from I-10, the RV suddenly lost power. I smelled burning rubber, saw smoke in the mirrors, and quickly steered us to the shoulder. We jumped out, fire extinguisher in hand, expecting the worst. Thankfully, it wasn’t a fire—but something was clearly wrong with the engine, and it was a holiday weekend. Roadside assistance options were slim, and the company we were contracted with wanted to tow us backward to Jacksonville—completely the wrong direction—and couldn’t even look at the RV for two weeks.

It felt like the trip might be over before it even started.

Jodi quickly called the rescue and made arrangements for someone to come get the dogs to continue their journey while I started making phone calls.

After nearly five hours and a mountain of phone calls, we finally connected with a mobile mechanic. He inspected the engine and didn’t see anything obvious, so we tried to limp to the next exit for a closer look. I put the RV in gear... and nothing. We weren’t moving. The tech slid back under the RV and quickly diagnosed the problem: a failed air valve had locked up the brakes. He told us that if I’d tried to push the RV another hundred yards, we likely would’ve had a brake fire. 

Miraculously, he had a spare part that would work. Twenty minutes later, the new valve was in place, the brakes were free, and we were rolling again—exhausted, grateful, and ready for dinner. We made it to Cracker Barrel in Pensacola and finally got the good night’s sleep we’d been chasing since sunrise.