I got up this morning with last night’s terrible events still fresh in my mind. Up to now, sixty dogs are reported to have died, and none of the two hundred that were inside the building were unharmed. All were suffering from smoke inhalation.
It seems that the part of the building that was targeted was where the kennels was housed. The roof had collapsed.
There were unprecedented scenes as hundreds of people arrived while the fire was still being fought, bringing things like blankets and food, baskets and leads.
When the fire started two men scaled a fence and kicked a door in to gain access. Having to abandon some of the dogs to their fate where the fire was at its most intense, they kicked open the cage doors of other dogs, led them outside on leads where they tied them to a fence and then went back to free more.
Devastated staff and fire crew battled to rescue more of the terrified animals.
Police have been inundated with calls to foster the surviving dogs, and donations have already topped the £100,000 mark.
The community response has been fantastic-this is what we must focus on, not the growing anger and demands being made against the fourteen year old that the police have arrested for starting the fire. Although I understand all of the emotion-my newsfeed last night was full of people genuinely distressed-I think we must leave the authorities to do their job, and do what we can to help with the dogs and the charity that housed them.
It’s sad how the actions of one person can cause such grief. But I’m glad the community has been roused to action. The poor dog in the photo looks so frightened. 😦
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