A dozen dogs died from heat stroke at a Florida kennel on Sunday afternoon after an air conditioner outage at the facility, according to First Coast News. The owner of Nicole’s Natural Dog Training in Columbia County has come under intense scrutiny as a result.
A dozen dogs dead due to AC failure at boarding facility
On Monday, the kennel’s owner, Nicole Wirth, posted a video to the business’s Facebook page. A visibly shaken Wirth explained that, on Sunday, a power surge caused the AC to fail. As a result of a heat index over 100 degrees, 12 dogs died of heat stroke. Four more dogs were receiving treatment in the ICU.
“Most of you have heard about the horrific tragedy that occurred at my facility yesterday afternoon when an unforeseen power surge caused my AC to fail in my boarding kennel resulting in the loss of 12 souls,” Wirth said in the video.
Wirth said she was “alone and terrified” at the time of the incident. However, WCJB News reports that she was away from the kennel from 11 a.m. until 6:50 p.m. A video of Wirth jet skiing with a dog during that time was posted, then deleted, from the kennel’s Facebook page.
Wirth called first responders and a local fire department sent help. Fire and rescue personnel attempted to save the animals, using intubation on some, but 12 of 16 dogs did not survive.
Deputies from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office arrived at 7:20 p.m. and found Wirth ” in the process of applying cool water to the skin of a dog that was panting heavily,” according to WCJB News.
Remembering the dogs lost to heat stroke
In the Facebook video, Wirth named the dogs that died at the kennel. They included:
- Simba, an “African village dog.”
- Gracie, an American Bulldog.
- Gizmo, Gracie’s baby sister.
- Max, a Goldendoodle.
- Trevor, a German Shepherd about to be adopted after training.
- Allie, a Goldendoodle.
- Maggie, a yellow Lab that completed a boot camp program as a baby.
- Sully, a merle Great Dane.
- Abbie, a Goldendoodle, a “regular and a favorite.”
- Lucy, a petite Lab-Pit mix, “sweet as can be.”
- Tootsie, an 8-year-old Boxer looking for a forever family after losing her parent.
- Elios, a Greek Shepherd rescue receiving behavioral training.
The following dogs were in the ICU at the time of the video:
“There is nothing that can be said or done to change any of this. But rest assured, even if I am late addressing the public, the affected owners and their families and their pets have been my utmost concern,” Wirth said in the video.
Facebook users question kennel owner’s competence
While some empathized with Wirth, not everyone on social media was understanding. In fact, many Facebook commenters claimed that this tragedy was entirely preventable and that Wirth’s conduct was grossly negligent.
“As a business, you should have bare minimum precautions in place. It’s Florida. It’s hot and storms regularly. This wasn’t an unpredictable occurrence. These dogs were in a metal building, without water. Some were more susceptible to heat stroke, such as the Frenchie. To not have a backup generator in place, or at least cameras is unacceptable. People paid hundreds of dollars to have their pet cared for while they were away. Does someone have to be on site 24/7? Not necessarily. But hourly checks and bi-hourly potty breaks should have occurred,” Facebook user Callie Smith wrote.
“From another dog trainer, this was blatant negligence. I have cameras on each kennel as well as temperature monitoring equipment that will work with or without power, and the alarms will wake me up if it is night time. That is a bare minimum requirement when you’re boarding other people’s dogs,” Lylia O’Kane added.
If you decide to board your dog at a kennel, make sure you ask the right questions before you trust anyone with your dog, including the kennel operator’s plans for emergencies like power outages.
