The heartbroken owners of dogs who drowned at the District Dogs doggy day care during flooding in Northeast D.C. on Monday want to know more about the response by the business and first responders.
Ten dogs died as water rushed in. Their owners cried and comforted each other on Wednesday. Some said they believe their pets were inside cages during the flooding.
“It 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 cried.
Nearly 50 dogs were being cared for at the facility on Rhode Island Avenue NE, where flooding occurred a year earlier. Heavy rain flooded the street and rose along huge glass windows until they gave way. Firefighters and staff rescued as many dogs as they could, but 10 dogs lost their lives.
Dog owner Jonathan Garrow, who lost his dog, called what happened “an entirely preventable tragedy.” He said he called the Humane Rescue Alliance but was not allowed 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, fighting tears.
District Dogs’ owner Jacob Hensley said through tears a day earlier that the staff did all they could, calling them heroes.
Reporters tried to get answers from the city. Mayor Muriel Bowser said officials would go “line by line or minute by minute” later.
District Dogs said in a statement that they were working to gather more information from the staff. They did not comment on whether dogs were in cages as the flooding began. They issued this statement:
“Monday was a terrible tragedy. The entire District Dogs family is grieving for those who lost their beloved dogs. We spent much of yesterday talking with staff, who themselves were processing the trauma and pain of the day. We are committed to supporting them in this difficult time while also learning from their experience to understand what happened.
Within minutes of observing high water in the area, staff began to take appropriate actions to move dogs in our care to the highest location in our facility. Within a few minutes the water had risen to approximately 6 feet outside our location. Staff were following emergency procedures as the glass gave way and the building flooded. Our staff rushed to continue to rescue dogs to the best of their ability despite the water rising above their heads.
On Monday, District Dogs ownership spoke with each of the owners who lost dogs or their on-site representatives. Today, we are once again reaching out to the owners to share the additional information that we have gathered since Monday and to reaffirm our commitment to communicate during this difficult time.
We appreciate the thoughts and support from our clients and community. We again want to thank our staff for their incredible efforts and dedication.”
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
