We’ve learned that at least one dog was killed in a fire at a SoDo dog daycare Monday night.
The dog’s owner, who is currently out of the country, told KIRO 7 she was notified by the Washington State Department of Transportation that her dog’s remains were found near Interstate 5. She says a second dog of hers that was also at the day care is still missing.
On Tuesday morning, people showed up to drop off their dog only to find the business was closed, saying they had no idea there was a fire.
“I’m showing up at the fire trucks… I live in the Bothell area and there are some facilities up there and I’m going to reach out and see if they can board him temporarily,” said Laurie Truscott.
The Seattle Fire Department first reported the fire in the SoDo neighborhood at 8:38 p.m. Monday. Officials say all six workers were able to evacuate.
“The workers actively evacuated many of the dogs along with themselves as our firefighters worked to gain access to the fire,” said Seattle Fire spokesman David Cuerpo.
They believe there were about 60 dogs in the facility.
“Our firefighters were able to free several dogs that were still in their kennels,” Cuerpo said.
Some of the dogs took off running. At this time, it’s unclear how many dogs have been accounted for.
“My concern is for the animals that were here and the employees, they have a really wonderful staff,” Truscott said.
This is the second fire for the franchise in less than a year. The Dog Resort in Lake City also burned in February. In that incident, employees told us the fire started because of a dryer.
Several nearby businesses helped shelter all 115 dogs. Truscott says she used to take her dog there.
“As soon as the Lake City fire happened, I brought him here as an alternative… It’ll be interesting to see what the cause was. I hope it was accidental, I hope it wasn’t something international,” Truscott said.
KIRO 7 reached out to the owner of The Dog Resort. She would not answer direct questions, saying she was focused on dealing with the situation.
Investigators said the cause of the fire is “undetermined” and the estimated loss is $150,000.
