The sad owners of dogs who drowned at the District Dogs doggy daycare throughout flooding in Northeast D.C. on Monday wish to know more about the action by the business and very first responders.
Ten dogs passed away as water entered. Their owners wept and comforted each other on Wednesday. Some said they think their animals were inside cages throughout the flooding.
“I was supposed to be celebrating his birthday,” one owner said through sobs.
“They were so innocent. They didn’t do anything to deserve this,” another said as she wept.
Nearly 50 dogs were being looked after at the center on Rhode Island Avenue NE, where flooding took place a year previously. Heavy rain flooded the street and increased along substantial glass windows till they paved the way. Firefighters and staff rescued as numerous dogs as they could, however 10 dogs lost their lives.
Dog owner Jonathan Garrow, who lost his dog, called what took place “an entirely preventable tragedy.” He said he called the Humane Rescue Alliance however was not enabled to see his dog’s remains.
“They said no because there was a lot of blood. She was really injured and she was struggling, and so we’re convinced, because [the owner] refuses to deny it, that our dog and some of these other dogs — if not all of them — were in cages when this happened and that she died alone and drowning in a cage,” he said, battling tears.
District Dogs’ owner Jacob Hensley said through tears a day previously that the staff did all they could, calling them heroes.
Reporters attempted to get the answer from the city. Mayor Muriel Bowser said authorities would go “line by line or minute by minute” later on.
District Dogs said in a declaration that they were working to collect more info from the staff. They did not discuss whether dogs remained in cages as the flooding started. They released this declaration:
“Monday was an awful disaster. The whole District Dogs family is grieving for those who lost their precious dogs. We invested much of the other day talking with staff, who themselves were processing the injury and discomfort of the day. We are devoted to supporting them in this tough time while likewise gaining from their experience to comprehend what took place.
Within minutes of observing high water in the location, staff started to take suitable actions to move dogs in our care to the greatest area in our center. Within a couple of minutes the water had actually increased to roughly 6 feet outside our area. Staff were following emergency situation treatments as the glass paved the way and the building flooded. Our staff hurried to continue to rescue dogs to the very best of their capability in spite of the water increasing above their heads.
On Monday, District Dogs ownership talked with each of the owners who lost dogs or their on-site agents. Today, we are as soon as again connecting to the owners to share the extra info that we have actually collected because Monday and to declare our dedication to interact throughout this tough time.
We value the ideas and assistance from our customers and neighborhood. We once again wish to thank our staff for their extraordinary efforts and commitment.”
Stay with NBC Washington for more information on this establishing story.
