ANN ARBOR, MI — Two cats and a bearded dragon have actually been reunited with their owners following a Memorial Day fire that destroyed 2 duplexes in the 800 block of North Maple Road.
The bearded dragon, called Sebastian, was found in among the systems and has actually been reunited with its owners, a young Ann Arbor couple, according to an Ann Arbor Fire Department Facebook post on Tuesday, May 30.
“Sebastian was in an aquarium and the theory is that…the aquarium had rubber material holding the glass in, and (the fire department) thinks the heat melted the glass so he could get out,” said Jared Ledvina, a friend of the bearded dragon’s owners.
“He was hiding behind this china cabinet that they had against the wall…and the theory is that he was low and he’s a reptile, so he clearly handled the heat, and out of sheer luck the fire didn’t really burn that specific corner of the room.”
The couple’s 2 cats, Rowdy and Mumford, lay and received emergency situation vet services the night of the fire. They’re still looking for their 3rd cat, an orange tabby kitten called Lovebug.
Ann Arbor fire teams reacted to calls quickly prior to 6 p.m. on Monday, May 29 for a three-alarm structure fire. Upon arrival, they discovered a well-involved duplex with fire infecting 4 automobiles and the duplex next door. The blaze destroyed both duplexes, hurting a single person and displacing 7.
The reason for the fire has actually been connected to a duplex resident burning cardboard in a fire pit near the duplex. Campfires should be made a minimum of 25 feet from any structure, according to fire authorities. City guidelines restrict the burning of garbage or anything aside from natural wood.
The family pet owners needed to abandon the 2 felines and the lizard in the mayhem of Monday’s fire, according to a GoFundMe page Ledvina introduced on their behalf. He established the page the day after the fire to help cover the cats’ emergency situation veterinarian costs and make it simpler for the couple to accept contributions.
“There were already people wanting to donate money…and (the pet owners) are way overwhelmed because they just lost everything but the phones in their pockets and the clothes on their back.”
The GoFundMe has actually presently collected over $8,400 in contributions, going beyond the preliminary ask of $6,000 to cover veterinarian expenditures.
“Every dollar is a dollar that’s going to go either to a cat toy, a short-term lease…a place that they can call home again, or a car, or underwear or socks. I mean literally everything is gone,” Ledvina said.
The couple and their family pets are sticking with Ledvina while they figure out their next actions. The 2 cats and Sebastian are home and recuperating well, Ledvina said.
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