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Owner tries to save pet; both perishBy LEANORA MINAI, Times Staff Writer© St. Petersburg Times published August 21, 2002 PINELLAS PARK -- When firefighters found Michael Hoyle, he was holding Bonnie in his arms. Amid thick smoke in the burning mobile home, Hoyle tried to rescue the dog he had for seven years. They never made it. Firefighters found him lying on the floor clutching the dead dog. "He was very dedicated to his pet," said James Gitsas, 58, who manages Gator Lake Mobile Home Park. "It was just him and his dog." Hoyle, 44, was a maintenance worker for Ramada Inn on Clearwater Beach, repairing everything from toilets to air conditioners. But after 15 years, he was laid off several months ago and was awaiting word on applications, said his mother, Beverly Hoyle, 64. "He lived by himself with his dog and stayed pretty much to himself," she said. He liked to take Bonnie, a mixed breed, to Gandy Beach and fed her everything, even sliced cucumbers. Deputy Fire Chief Sandy Sullivan said the fire was an accident. It started about 1:53 p.m. Monday in an overstuffed chair in the living room, where a Zippo lighter was recovered in the open position. Hoyle was a heavy smoker. "We're assuming he went to sleep or dropped the lighter," Sullivan said. Hoyle's mother was leaving her job at the Days Inn across from her son's mobile home park when she saw fire engines roaring into the park at 9100 46th St. N. "I said, 'I'm going over to see what's going on,' " Mrs. Hoyle said. She drove to her son's lot and saw him lying on the ground. Hoyle was pronounced dead at Tampa General Hospital. Mrs. Hoyle said her son cooked (his specialty was pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving), read science fiction, and, of course, had Bonnie. The oldest of six children, Hoyle was a bachelor and fished from the Skyway piers. He had nieces and nephews but never married or had kids himself. He had Bonnie. His mother said, "That was his child."
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Editorial Letters |
