At least one dog was killed following a fire that broke out at a doggy daycare in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood on Monday, Nov. 13. Although the canine escaped the building, she went missing and was later found dead off Interstate 5. The animal’s owner grieves the loss of her beloved pet and continues to search for her other dog, who is still missing.
Nightmare continues for pet parents
Despite quick action from staff and first responders, several dogs remain unaccounted for after the fire broke out. While most dog owners were reunited with their pups, the nightmare continues for a few unlucky pet parents.
Allison Scarborough decided to board her two dogs at the Dog Resort while on vacation. The Seattle Times reported Scarborough was four days into her celebratory trip to Japan after defeating Melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer, when she got a devastating phone call. Although her beloved dogs escaped the boarding facility after catching fire, one of them was run over and killed. The whereabouts of her other dog, a Pomsky mix named Remi, was still unknown.
Allison Scarborough also told KIRO 7 News that the Dog Resort did not inform her that her dog was killed. Instead, Scarborough only learned of the incident when the Washington Department of Transportation contacted her to inform her they found her deceased dog on the highway. What’s more, she was unable to contact the owner of the Dog Resort for additional information.
“Now my dog is dead and they’re still missing dogs. Why? I don’t understand why,” Scarborough lamented.
The pet owner expressed frustration that the Department of Transportation informed her about her dog’s death, not the boarding facility she entrusted her dogs to when she was out of town.
“I was panicking and trying to get a hold of someone, nobody picked up,” Scarborough said. “I called them to say, ‘I just got a phone call, my dog is dead. What’s happening and where is Remi?’” She continued, “And they were unaware she had been killed, Georgie had been killed, and they had no updates on Remi.”
Although Scarborough said community members have been helpful in the search, her dog remains missing.
Dogs still missing following doggy daycare blaze
Tuesday evening, KIRO 7 confirmed two dogs remain missing. Reporters reached out to the company’s owner several times, but she refused to answer any direct questions. Instead, she stated that she was focused on dealing with the matter.
Ben Lowy, like other pet owners who boarded dogs at the facility, said they weren’t told anything about the fire.
“It’s pretty frustrating, especially considering that this is not the first time this has happened for this company,” Lowy stated.
Last February, a fire broke out at the company’s other location in Lake City. In that case, the fire was ruled an accident, as it was started by a dryer. Fortunately, all 115 dogs were safely recovered.
Lowy used to take his dog Mushu to the Lake City location. He was planning to board his dog for the upcoming holidays at the SODO location.
“I feel like two strikes is probably two, too many,” Lowy said.
While the cause of the fire in the SODO neighborhood Dog Resort is still under investigation, there are no reported injuries at this time.
