‘JUST DEVASTATED’
A white husky was found wandering a few blocks from the smouldering ruins of the Aylmer SPCA on Tuesday. It’s not known how many animals perished in the blaze.
Grim-faced volunteers carried the bodies of dogs shrouded in tarps Tuesday from the pile of rubble that was all that remained of an SPCA shelter in Aylmer.
Charred and twisted cages lay among the debris of the Western Quebec SPCA, surrounded by a moat of water from firefighters’ hoses.
The building was destroyed by fire overnight, and though Gatineau firefighters braved intense flames to rescue a dozen dogs before the building collapsed, an unknown number of animals were killed.
“To see it like this is just heartbreaking,” said Vanessa Weaver.
Weaver has a dog and five cats she had adopted from the no-kill shelter and was once a volunteer dog walker there.
Staff and volunteers at the shelter worked tirelessly to nurture animals and find them loving homes, she said.
“We’re all just devastated. It was like a family. It was a staple in the community.”
Martin Arsenault of Aylmer arrived at the destroyed shelter on his motorcycle, trying to find out the fate of Buster, the little redcoated dog he’d arranged to adopt but hadn’t yet picked up.
He was still waiting Tuesday to find out if Buster was one of the dogs who survived the fire.
Arsenault is also a former volunteer at the shelter. He adopted his last dog there and had the pet for 12 years. The dog died a few months ago, and Arsenault said he had finally felt ready to adopt a new animal. He had chosen Buster.
“We were bonded together, me and the little dog,” Arsenault said.
The dogs rescued from the fire were taken to safety at another Gatineau shelter, the SPCA de l’Outaouais on rue Varennes. Staff there are sad and shaken at the loss of animals, assistant director Maxime Daigle said.
“It’s really tragic. I thought about the animals first. I was in shock.”
Daigle said the rescued dogs were “doing well, obviously a bit shaken but nothing major.”
The SPCA de l’Outaouais has been fielding inquiries from the public, from offers to foster pets to questions about reimbursement for those who had reserved but not picked up animals for adoption.
At this point, the shelter is waiting to receive more information from the Western Quebec SPCA, Daigle said.
“We don’t know which were for adoption and which were not, we’re still trying to know who they are, what their names are, where they come from. We don’t have much at the moment,” Daigle said.
For now, the SPCA de l’Outaouais is taking down names of willing foster families and explaining that it cannot take donations for the fire-ravaged other shelter.
“Obviously we’re going to keep them as long as is needed,” Daigle said of the dogs.
The fire began Monday night. Multiple people driving in the area called 911 at 10:48 p.m. after spotting flames leaping from the building at 659 rue Auguste Mondoux, near the intersection of chemin Pink and chemin Vanier.
When the first fire crews arrived, the roof was already fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters raced inside and did a “primary search” for animals, said Division Chief Gary Barnes. They saved 12 dogs but had to flee as the flames spread rapidly and the building began to collapse.
The flames were under control at about 3:45 a.m.
Crews called in heavy equipment to dismantle the building “piece by piece” in a hunt for hot spots.
Damage was estimated at $580,000. The cause is under investigation but is not believed to be criminal in nature, Barnes said.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Western Quebec has 24 animals listed online as being available for adoption, including 17 cats, but it’s not known how many were in the building.
The 30-year-old agency describes itself as a volunteer-run shelter unaffiliated with other SPCAs. It relies on donations and adoption fees and works with other rescue organizations and shelters, transferring dogs and cats to its shelter as space permits.
A neighbour arrived at the fire scene Tuesday with a all-white husky mix he had found wandering a few blocks from the shelter on Monday night.
Alex Gomez said he was trying to find out whether the dog might have escaped the flames.
Nicknamed Blanco, the animal was skittish but gentle, and appeared freshly bathed. Gomez connected with a volunteer from the destroyed shelter, but said that if Blanco isn’t claimed his family hopes to adopt the sweet dog.
“I’m sad,” Gomez said. “I got goosebumps thinking of the innocent animals.”