Social media posts spark concerns for dog's safety

Julie Reeder

Publisher

Danny Franger, a man who lived in his motorhome in Fallbrook, passed away in the hospital from a heart attack in May.

Franger's motorhome would be seen in different places around town, including on Alvarado Street near the library and in various parking lots. He also owned a blue Toyota truck and would have his German Shepherd, Rockette, with him.

There was concern communicated on several Facebook groups that possibly Rockette, his dog, was trapped inside his motorhome without food and water. These concerns were from posts made on several sites from a woman named Savine. Franger's motorhome had most recently been spotted in the Albertson's parking lot.

Christine, a concerned citizen, read Savine's posts and located the motorhome on Ammunition early last Tuesday morning, May 23. There were two men trying to jump the RV and move it. What seemed suspicious to Christine, also seemed suspicious to the men, who wondered why she was concerned about Franger's motorhome.

During the conversation between Christine and Jose Luis, one of the men trying to move the RV, Christine learned that the dog was not in the motorhome and was, in fact, at Jose Luis's house with his family.

Christine had a conversation with Jose Luis, who said they had the dog and it was "Danny's last wish for them to take care of his stuff and his dog." Christine said, "So he told you it was ok for you to take his RV?" She said that they responded, "Yes."

Before Franger passed away, he had recently gotten his motorhome back from being impounded and his dog from the shelter.

Sheriff deputies arrived quickly and began questioning the men. After remembering Jose Luis from a previous encounter with Franger, it was reported that the deputies were able to connect Jose Luis with Franger's brother, who was flying in from out of state to handle his affairs the next morning.

Franger's brother was contacted and came into Fallbrook on Wednesday, May 24, to take care of his affairs, including the motorhome, his blue truck, and the German Shepherd that so many people in town had become accustomed to seeing.

Christine was able to talk to Savine, the family friend who originally alerted the community through several Facebook sites with concerns about the dog.

Savine also let Christine know that Franger's brother was flying into town from out of state and would handle his affairs on Wednesday. Savine wrote, "My sister, who was Danny's friend for over a decade, is grieving the loss of her friend, so to have to worry about his beloved dog, who he cherished, was weighing heavily on her. So we are eternally grateful for all of you amazing people who jumped into action to help find Rockette."

Franger had recently sold his home, according to Savine, and had chosen to invest in the motorhome, rather than another house.

Savine posted on her Facebook page, "I spoke with an SD County Sheriff's Deputy who was incredibly kind and helpful. He confirmed that everything is being worked out between Danny's family (who we've also spoken with) and the person who has Rockette."

Village News had a conversation with Brittany, who is the wife of Jose, one of the men who was working on moving the motorhome. She said they have the dog and Rockette was safe and well fed and there was no concern for the dog. She said they met with Danny Franger's brother and were working directly with him.

She also said, "My husband Jose Luis was friends with Daniel Franger and my husband offered for him to visit and stay every once in a while [with them]. He would come every now and then to take a shower and he would open up to us about his family and certain situations that had gone on in his life and we would give him meals and feed his dog. When Albertsons called the police because they didn't want him in the Albertson's parking lot with his motorhome and car and dog, he asked Jose to take it because he had just recently paid to get his car [out of impound] and his dog out of the shelter. And he knew the dog would be ok because he saw how he loved our children. When the ambulance took him, he told the police officer for my husband to take it and we gave the police officer our information."

She continued, "All of a sudden when we went to Albertsons this morning, the lady that worked there said, 'Hey some girl claiming to be Daniels's girlfriend said she was looking for the dog and was scared he was in the motorhome by himself.'"

"When his supposed girlfriend called the police, the 2nd officer that came out to talk to my husband just so happened to be the same officer that was there the night the ambulance took him and put him on a 5150 hold; he remembered and gave us the information of his brother. We have been in contact with the brother," Brittany said.

"We brought the dog home and he smelled like gasoline and was starving. We gave the dog love, a bath, and food but the dog took to our place pretty easily."

Since Daniel had been over to our house before, we kept his car and motorhome safe, so when he got out he would still have them and so he didn't have to pay again to get them out."

Brittany also communicated her disappointment that people who knew Danny didn't care about him until they knew he died. She just said, "May Daniel rest in peace."

There were old friends and new friends and people who didn't know Danny at all, who were concerned about him, his dog and his possessions.

Brittany said, "There's always two sides to every story. We don't need any praíse for what we've done because God knows and that's all that matters."