Fire broke out at a doggy day care in Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood Monday night, and some dogs remain on the loose more than 14 hours later.
Firefighters responded around 8:30 p.m. to The Dog Resort’s two-story boarding facility at 629 S. Industrial Way after receiving 911 calls from employees there. When crews arrived, smoke and flames were visible on the second floor of the building.
Additional crews were brought in to help corral the loose dogs, the Seattle Fire Department said. Shortly after 9 p.m., the fire was under control and a primary search showed the building was clear.
About 20 people gathered that night to help transport displaced dogs and search for those who remained on the loose, said Elise Vincentini, owner of Downtown Dog Lounge, who stayed at the scene until 3 a.m. Tuesday.
People helped take 43 dogs to Vincentini’s South Lake Union day care, which is unaffiliated with The Dog Resort. The dozens of dogs remained there Tuesday morning.
As of 10:30 a.m., one or two dogs are still missing, Vincentini said.
One dog died after being struck by a car on Interstate 5, and several dogs have minor injuries from the fire, Vincentini said.
The Seattle Fire Department initially had said no dogs or people were hurt.
Workers from both day care facilities are still working to reunite pets with their owners, “but a lot of people are traveling out of the country right now,” requiring staff to navigate different time zones to contact owners, Vincentini said.
Downtown Dog Lounge is preparing to move the displaced dogs to an empty facility until they can be reunited with their owners. In the meantime, workers are keeping the dogs from the two facilities separate, so the displaced pets continue to work “with people who work with them and know their behavior,” Vincentini said.
“We’re all dog people, so everybody wants to help,” she said.
The fire is under investigation.
In February, The Dog Resort’s location on Lake City Way caught fire. The building was evacuated without any people hurt or dogs dying. That fire caused more than $300,000 in damage. The facility was under construction as of August, and all reservations were being taken at the Sodo location.
The Washington Post reported that firefighters found that fire was accidental and broke out in a dryer at the facility, probably due to excessive lint.
The Dog Resort provides boarding, day care and bathing. The business’ mission, according to its website, is to “provide high quality care to dogs of all kinds.”
