Fire Fighter carrying frightened dog from basement of smoke filled building.
(Picture Credit: NazariyKarkhut/Getty Images)

Save A Dog: Firefighters, Police, & Animal Services Rescue All 26 Dogs From Burning Shelter In Orlando

Orange County Fire Rescue (OCFR) fought off the flames consuming the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando (PAGO) late on the night of Wednesday, September 15th, 2021. Efforts to rescue all of the trapped animals inside stretched into Thursday afternoon.

While firefighters rescued all 26 dogs housed at the shelter that night, 13 cats died the blaze, with four missing, presumed alive. However tragic, these numbers are far more optimistic than they were by Thursday morning, when it was believed that 22 cats had perished.

(Picture Credit: NazariyKarkhut/Getty Images)

Proportionally, the number of cats killed versus dogs was due to the origin point of the fire, which started very close to where the shelter housed the cats.

“They keep them separate,” an Official reported, “So, just where the fire was and where the animals were, the dogs were in an area where the fire hadn’t really reached yet.”

An Animal Lover’s Worst Nightmare

“If you run a shelter, this is literally your worst nightmare,” said an emotional Stephen Bardy, Executive Director of Pet Alliance, during a press briefing.

“To see your building on fire, and know that there are animals in there that you’re charged to care for and you can’t go in — I’m grateful that the firefighters put their lives at risk to help save as many as they could.”

A Group Effort That Saved Lives

Released body-cam footage from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and photos later posted on their Facebook page, show officers extracting animals from the building, relieved and smiling upon finding them alive.

After that, they passed them off to Animal Services for examinations and care.

You Can Help The Shelter Too!

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“We’d like to recognize and thank everyone involved for their response and their courage in rescuing as many lives as they could,” Orange County Animal Services said, in a prepared statement.

“We also want to offer condolences to our brothers and sisters at PAGO for the loss of lives, and remind them that OCAS is always here for them, as they have been for us in the past.”

If you’d like to help the shelter care for the animals who survived, you can make donations on the Pet Alliance website. You can also direct any questions regarding donations by email to crodgers@petallianceorlando.org.

Are you grateful to the amazing people who saved so many animals from the fire? Will you help spread the word about donations to Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando so they can care for the pets who survived? Let us know in the comments below!

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