TOWN OF CANTON, New York (WWNY) – An overnight fire at a St. Lawrence County kennel has left 44 shelter dogs dead and employees dealing with “unimaginable tragedy.”
Firefighters were called to the No Dogs Left Behind operation at Maple Ridge Kennel on State Highway 68 in the town of Canton at 1 a.m. on Thursday.
The place was a sanctuary for dogs rescued from Asia’s dogmeat industry and war-torn countries.
When firefighters arrived, they found the kennel engulfed in flames. None of the dogs made it out alive.
Other dogs belonging to the property owner were housed elsewhere on the land and were unharmed.
Devastated kennel employees called the loss an “unimaginable tragedy.”
The director of the Potsdam Humane Society says fires are one of the biggest fears of those who shelter animals.
“We have a very strict policy. We have a long list of things that we check every night before we leave the shelter, everyone who’s on duty and there’s so many fire precautions and temperatures and fire doors and making sure everything’s unplugged and it’s absolutely imperative and important that everything’s double checked,” said Victoria Murray.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
While the founder wasn’t able to go on camera, we were told he plans to rebuild. Donations are being accepted at nodogsleftbehind.com.
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