Almost 60 families have lost their dogs after a devastating fire swept through a pet resort. Fire Department Crews were called to local pet resort on Saturday night. Around 20 firefighters arrived just after 11 p.m. at the facility to find heavy smoke and fire coming from the building. At least 75 dogs were killed in the fire.
Sadly the animals couldn’t be saved and it’s thought 59 families have lost their pets in the tragedy.
“We know each dog that died in this fire was a cherished member of someone’s family, so our heart goes out to all those who were affected by this tragic fire,” Fire Chief Sullivan said.
“I’ve been doing this for 29 years and this is the first incident that I’ve had where we’ve lost so many pets. And again, I hate to use that term, because to me a pet is a lot more than a pet. It is the closest friend.
“We believe the dogs at the facility likely died due to smoke inhalation, not the flames from the fire. We are working as quickly as we can to conclude the investigation, so pets can be returned to their grieving family members as soon as possible.”
Investigators in Texas are working to determine the cause of the fire, as well as whether there were any fire suppression or smoke alarms in the building.
A memorial has been set up outside the facility’s fence where pet owners have placed photos of dogs, flowers, notes and even toys.
Fire Chief Sullivan said there were no staff present overnight in the building but added this doesn’t mean the incident was any less tragic.
“It is extremely heart-wrenching for us as first responders. My heart just dropped when I got the address and knew exactly what location we were going to.”
According to Ponderosa’s website staff are not present at the facility overnight because: “We believe that pets sleep better at night when everything is dark, peaceful and quiet. We do however, have security systems and closed circuit video monitoring systems in place as added security.”
