STORY WITH KOCO’S COLBY TERRELL. THIS IS WHERE DIANE KETTERLING WAS ABLE TO SAVE MORE THAN 20 DOGS TUESDAY MORNING, WHEN FOREVER FRIENDS RESCUE BURNED DOWN. BUT OVER ON THIS SIDE, THE FLAMES WERE JUST TOO MUCH AND SHE LOST 12 DOGS THAT SHE CALLS HER FAMILY. NOW, SHE SAYS EVERY MORNING SHE HAS TO WAKE UP AND RELIVE THOSE MOMENTS. IT’S VERY HARD IN THE MORNINGS WHEN I COME OUT HERE AND SEE THIS, AND I JUST THINK OF THE ONES THAT I LOST. WHEN FLAMES ENGULFED FOREVER, FRIENDS RESCUE TUESDAY MORNING, THE OWNER WOKE UP AND SPRANG INTO ACTION. WHEN I SAW THE SMOKE COMING OUT, THE FIRST THING I THOUGHT OF WAS. FIRST THING WAS TO GET MY MOM OUT OF THE HOUSE BECAUSE SHE HAS DEMENTIA, AND I JUST THOUGHT, I GOT TO GET IN THERE AND JUST GET THEM OUT. SKY 5 CAUGHT THE DRAMATIC MOMENTS AS DIANE KETTERING SAVED 25 DOGS. GOT IN THERE AND JUST STARTED FLIPPING GATES AND AND AND THEY JUST ALL FOLLOWED ME. BUT 12 OF THE DOGS IN HER MEDICAL UNIT COULDN’T BE SAVED. BUT THE SMOKE WAS SO BAD IN THERE, I COULDN’T EVEN GET IN THERE. AND THEN THE FIRE WAS SO BAD IN THERE I COULDN’T GET IN THERE. SHE SAYS THE DOG SHE’S RESCUED OVER THE YEARS AREN’T JUST PROJECTS, THEY ARE FAMILY. THAT’S THE REASON IT WAS SO HARD. AND THE RESCUE ALSO HOLDS A LOT OF MEMORIES OF HER FAMILY, INCLUDING HER LATE HUSBAND, WHO BUILT FOREVER FRIENDS. IT’S VERY EMOTIONAL TO KNOW THAT ALL THESE YEARS THAT HE BUILT THIS, YOU KNOW, AND IT’S GONE NOW. AND SO OF DOING WHATEVER I HAVE TO DO NEXT. THEY’RE NOT FOCUSED ON REBUILDING YET, JUST HELPING THE DOGS WHO HAVE BEEN SENT OUT TO SHELTERS ACROSS OKLAHOMA WITH THINGS LIKE FOOD, BLANKETS AND FINDING THEM NEW HOMES. AND THE COMMUNITY HAS COME UP BIG FOR HER TO THE TUNE OF $70,000. IF YOU’D LIKE TO DONATE TO THEIR GOFUNDME, YOU CAN GO TO THE KOCO APP OR KOCO.COM, AND YOU’LL FIND IT UNDER THE AS SEE
Advertisement
Oklahoma animal rescue owner saves dogs as her facility burns around her
A woman who saves dogs for a living found herself tested like never before this week, saving them in a different way
Updated: 6:18 PM CST Jan 24, 2025
A woman who saves dogs for a living found herself tested like never before this week, saving them in a different way.>> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channelDiane Ketterling, the owner of Fur Ever Friends, jumped into action when her facility caught fire on Tuesday. She was able to save more than 20 dogs Tuesday morning as the facility burned down.But on one side of the building, the flames were just too much, and she lost 12 dogs that she calls family, and now she says she’s reliving those moments every day.“It’s very hard in the mornings,” Ketterling said. “When I come out here and see this, and I just think of the ones I lost.”When flames engulfed Fur Ever Friends rescue on Tuesday morning, Ketterling woke up and sprang into action.“When I saw the smoke coming out, the first thing I thought of was get my mom out of the house, ’cause she has dementia,” Ketterling said. “Then I just thought I gotta get in there and just get them out.”KOCO Sky 5 caught the dramatic moments as Ketterling saved 25 dogs.“Got in there and just started flipping gates, and they just all followed me,” Ketterling said. But a number of dogs in her medical unit couldn’t be saved.“But the smoke was so bad in there, I couldn’t even get in there, and the fire was so bad I couldn’t even get in there,” Ketterling said.>> Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.She said the dogs she’s rescued over the years aren’t just projects.“They are family; that’s the reason it was so hard,” Ketterling said.And the rescue also holds a lot of memories of her family, including her late husband who built Fur Ever Friends.“It’s very emotional to know that all these years that he built this, and it’s gone now. And so, it’s doing whatever I have to do next,” Ketterling said.Ketterling said the organization is not focused on rebuilding yet, just helping the dogs who have been sent out to shelters across Oklahoma with things like food, blankets and finding them new homes.And the community has come up big for her, to the tune of $70,000 in donations.If you would like to donate, click here. Top Headlines Ryan Walters said students will be deported if it’s what President Donald Trump orders Reality TV couple sues the city of Los Angeles after losing home in fire Dave’s Hot Chicken in Bricktown damaged after car crashes into building President Donald Trump’s new executive orders on energy could impact OklahomaTIMELINE: Light wintry mix possibly for parts of Oklahoma on Sunday
A woman who saves dogs for a living found herself tested like never before this week, saving them in a different way.
>> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channel
Advertisement
Diane Ketterling, the owner of Fur Ever Friends, jumped into action when her facility caught fire on Tuesday. She was able to save more than 20 dogs Tuesday morning as the facility burned down.
But on one side of the building, the flames were just too much, and she lost 12 dogs that she calls family, and now she says she’s reliving those moments every day.
“It’s very hard in the mornings,” Ketterling said. “When I come out here and see this, and I just think of the ones I lost.”
When flames engulfed Fur Ever Friends rescue on Tuesday morning, Ketterling woke up and sprang into action.
“When I saw the smoke coming out, the first thing I thought of was get my mom out of the house, ’cause she has dementia,” Ketterling said. “Then I just thought I gotta get in there and just get them out.”
KOCO Sky 5 caught the dramatic moments as Ketterling saved 25 dogs.
“Got in there and just started flipping gates, and they just all followed me,” Ketterling said.
But a number of dogs in her medical unit couldn’t be saved.
“But the smoke was so bad in there, I couldn’t even get in there, and the fire was so bad I couldn’t even get in there,” Ketterling said.
>> Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.
She said the dogs she’s rescued over the years aren’t just projects.
“They are family; that’s the reason it was so hard,” Ketterling said.
And the rescue also holds a lot of memories of her family, including her late husband who built Fur Ever Friends.
“It’s very emotional to know that all these years that he built this, and it’s gone now. And so, it’s doing whatever I have to do next,” Ketterling said.
Ketterling said the organization is not focused on rebuilding yet, just helping the dogs who have been sent out to shelters across Oklahoma with things like food, blankets and finding them new homes.
And the community has come up big for her, to the tune of $70,000 in donations.
If you would like to donate, click here.
Top Headlines
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
