SHELBY CO., Ala. (WBRC) – A dog boarding service serving Shelby County needs your help after going up in flames on Monday night.
What used to be known as Adneyhaus Kennels run by Donna Adney for over 30 years is now Dansby Den owned by the Dansby family.
They live on the same property off of Highway 46 in Shelby County, only yards from the kennel. Fortunately, the fire didn’t spread to their home.
The family says they noticed the first fire around 6:30pm Monday and ran outside. Celeste Dansby was the first person to run into the burning building to save the five dogs inside.
“Initially, all I saw was flames leaking out of the ceiling and I thought that meant everything was already gone and I was absolutely terrified but when I walked in, it was just smoke,” she shared. “I didn’t even think. The first thing I started doing was letting the dogs out.”
“My wife Becky had gone in from one end and Celeste had come in from the other and they were trying to get the dogs out of the kennels and shoo them outside,” said Bruce Dansby. “I went in behind Becky. The smoke was bad, it just about overcame me and I was trying to pull her out and she refused to budge until she had all the dogs.”
Every single one of the dogs made it out safely, including a customer’s pet, some fosters, and their own dogs.
“This is where he grew up so when everything I saw of his was getting destroyed, I thought, ‘Is my puppy okay?’” shared Celeste Dansby. “He’s like my child. If something had happened to him, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
The building reignited three more times after the initial fire.
“My dog Boo was freaking out at my bedroom door,” said Zahara Dansby. “She was barking and barking and barking and I came out and I heard something, and I saw just flames burst out of the office.”
Bruce Dansby believes the fire was electrical: “Appeared to start in the ceiling right above Kennel number three near one of the light fixtures.”
Now, everything inside is completely scorched. Co-owner Becky Dansby gave WBRC a tour through the destruction.
“It’s a complete destruction of the inside,” said Zahara. “The only thing that’s still standing is the walls and the floors. We thought this was the end for us and the community support we’ve received is essential in continuing this.”
“I went to school today,” said Analise Dansby. “I hadn’t told anybody, but everybody was coming up to me and being like, ‘How can I help you?’”
“Just the amount of support that people have reached out and offered us is overwhelming,” said Bruce.
They hope to re-open in stages: partially in March/April and fully by summer.
Because of the extensive damage, the Dansby family is going to have to completely start over so if you feel led to help, there are a few different ways.
The community is also hosting a few fundraisers.
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