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After a fire broke out at a doggy daycare, all the animals made it out safe and sound — thanks not just to the firefighters but to neighbors who rushed over to help.
At 11 am on February 1, a fire broke out at The Dog Resort daycare facility for dogs in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle. More than 100 dogs were trapped inside, their lives in danger.
When news of the fire spread to neighboring businesses, people didn’t hesitate to step up to help.
“I thought, ‘I can sit here and watch, or I can go over and see if I can be of help,’” Kenny Robinson, who works at an office next door, told the Washington Post. “I knew there could be fire on the other side of that wall, next to the dog run.”
Robinson added that he had a personal reason to want to help the dogs — he suffered the loss of his own dog to cancer last year: “There was no way I could save Cody, but maybe I could help these dogs.”
He and other neighbors joined the daycare employees in an urgent effort to get the dogs out in time.
“We literally had to grab them all out the door. I’m not going to say throw them, but we had to get them out quickly,” Dog Resort employee Isaac Walker told KIRO. “There was no time to play around. It was scary, it was definitely scary, but we got them all out.”
It took a great deal of effort, but in the end all 115 dogs were rescued from the fire.
“It was really chaotic and traumatic — firefighters arrived and some of the dogs were struggling from the smoke and needed oxygen,” Robinson said. “Another dog got away from me and I had to chase him down. But we got them all out.”
According to a release from the Seattle Fire Department, the fire was determined to be accidental following an investigation, caused by a dryer in the back of the building.
The fire caused $300,000 in property damage for The Dog Resort, and a GoFundMe page has been set up to help them rebuild. But they are counting their blessings that everyone made it out alive, thanks to this inspiring team effort.
“With the help of first responders and our wonderful community, we were able to complete a full evacuation safely with no losses,” the GoFundMe reads.
“People really stepped up — this was a community effort to save these dogs,” David Cuerpo spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department, told the Washington Post. “It’s incredible that everybody jumped into action.”
We’re so glad all 115 dogs made it out safe and sound! What an inspiring rescue effort — it goes to show the amazing things that can happen when communities work together.
Please share this inspiring news! 🐾
