[News] Northampton Co. Kennel Fire Kills Show Dogs
 

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. Police tell CBS 3 that Thursday evening's fire at Edgewood Kennel in Washington Township killed 66 dogs.

The fire broke out just before 11 p.m. Thursday at Edgewood Kennels located in the 900 block of Richmond Road in Washington Township, Pennsylvania.

The kennel, which has been in business for 30 years, raises, breeds, and sell Yorkshire Terriers and Maltese. They have a K-5 license, the state's largest dog kennel license, meaning they can house up to 250 dogs or more at one time.

Authorities say there were 150 dogs at the kennel at the time of the fire.

CBS 3 spoke with the owner of the kennel, Cindy Hill, by phone Friday. She told CBS 3 that no puppies were killed and that they were able to save a lot of the dogs including what she described as a nationally recognized champion show dog.

This is not the first time that fire has struck Edgewood Kennel. A published report says that in December of 1988, 30 dogs died after an oil tank valve leaked to a nearby stove. That fire was ruled accidental. And 18 years later, a stove may have caused this fire.

Washington Township police believe that Thursday night's fire was caused by a stove used to heat the kennels and was accidental. The fire is still under investigation though.

[Video at link below]

http://cbs3.com/topstories/local_story_307132838.html

I found out about this just this morning and couldn't even speak about it I was so upset.:( :( :( :(

a Fire in a Kennel ONCE is bad - but 2 times ? :thumbdown Those poor poor dogs....I hope they take away her license because that is one fire too many in my opinion - I don't care if she is in the 'show' world.

there should have been foolproof safeguards for those poor yorkies or she should have NOT HAD SO MANY in one place....

looks like her house is pretty nice though - wonder why the kennel didn't have better fire protection and wonder how much her insurance company is going to pay out ???? she should be VERY ASHAMED that this happened a 2nd time - One fire is a tragedy & forgivable ..... but not twice.

Those poor dogs must have been so so scared and suffered horribly....to be in a CAGE a HUMAN locked you in and watching a fire come towards you is unimaginable.

I agree :thumbup:

OMG those poor little dogs who in their right mind would have so many dogs ?

poor babies.:(

I found their web site and the also had Chihuahuas plus the Maltese and Yorkies. Poor, poor dogs!!:cry:

From what I understand, Cindy stated that it was an ember/hot ash that accidently fell out of the coal stove that the pet sitters were attending. The stove is vented through a chimney. She also stated that there is a lot of mis reporting going on right now. This is a tragic accident for her, her family, and their dogs. Our sympathy goes out to them during this time of loss.
T.

Poor babies!!! :( 250 dogs???? Too many, anyway!!! What makes this person different than a puppy mill????

Poor babies!!! :( 250 dogs???? Too many, anyway!!! What makes this person different than a puppy mill????

Poor babies!!! :( 250 dogs???? Too many, anyway!!! What makes this person different than a puppy mill????

Can we say smoke detector?
or how about
SPRINKLER SYSTEM!!!
or
central heat!
Why on earth are they using an unattended coal burning heat source?

I don't even want to imagine what those poor dogs went through!
Geez, I hate reading these things!

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

It's Easy To Talk About Someone's Tragedy
 

You all should be ashamed of yourselves. You should know that the papers write STORIES TO SELL PAPERS.

First of all yes, she has a K-5 license but that doesn't in any way mean she has 250 dogs.

Second - The kennel help started the fire - accidentally - and saved 10-15 dogs by herself but when the fire men got there they wouldn't let her go in because of the heavy smoke.

Third - Define PUPPY MILL - Dogs that live in filth, their own feces, never see the light of day or live out in the weather year round without protection. Never see a Vet when sick, are KILLED when they can no longer produce babies, are bred each and every time they come into season.

Now define Cindy's setup and kennel - NONE OF YOU CAN BECAUSE YOU WERE NEVER THERE. I HAVE BEEN THERE, WILL BE THERE AND WILL ALWAYS STICK BY HER. YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT YOU ARE SAYING.

This fire was started by a coal falling from the stove and the kennel help was in PJ's and Flip Flops and could not stomp it out. By the time she realized what was happening it was spreading. This unfortunately was an older building on her property and NO 66 DOGS DID NOT DIE IN THIS FIRE.

Why do you all pray on someones misfortune. She LOVES her dogs and does everything she can for them. She doesn't kill old dogs because they can no longer be bred. She keeps them and takes them to the vets when they are sick. She has one dog now at 14 that she gives SubQ fluids to, twice daily to help her as per her vets instructions. She spends enough at the vets office yearly I think she could pay 2 vet technicians salaries yearly.

What gives any of you the right to speak of her so badly and without proof?

I am not a mean and vicious person but one day if any of you have a situation that is devastating I hope there is someone there who understands what you are going through and doesn't pass judgement by what reporters tell you in the papers and on TV.

One thing I remember George her husband telling the press the next day was, Where were you when we had the Number One Male Yorkshire Terrier in the Country? Where were you when my Granddaughter Graduated College and then Married? Why don't you report some GOOD NEWS sometimes. That is why some of them picked up on Jag and ran the story about her Yorkie.

As for the smoke detectors, they did no good - the kennel help was right there when it happened. Maybe sprinklers could have helped but being an old building and how fast the fire traveled through the walls - I truly don't know how much they would have helped either. We don't all have state of the art buildings with sprinkler systems etc. How many of you have sprinkler systems in your homes? I know I don't and I actually don't know of anyone who does.

No matter what this is devastating to her, her family, her help, and of course we all feel so sorry for the animals that did loose their lives.

Toybox Yorkies

I am very sorry for the loss of so many dogs. I think people here are just concerned that a second tragedy like this at the same kennel sort of raises red flags. I can imagine it was horrifying for the owners and helpers. I hope they do look into a less dangerous way to heat their kennels in the future. I do not jump to conclusions that they are at fault -- but when we cage that many animals in one place the responsibility is very, very high. They should be held to a very high standard and if there is any way to prevent the loss of life again, they need to do that. I hope they are doing a lot of soul-searching and evaluating all that they can do in the future to ensure their charges safety. I am not their judge and do not know their hearts. I just feel extremely sad that so many caged animals perished.

Pauline,
I do not have a sprinkler system in my home but I don't run a business from my home and there are only 3 dogs inside it.

Isn't it obvious to you that a coal burning stove should not be used in a large wooden building? And isn't it obvious that a business as well as it's products need to be protected from fire? If it is just one large building a sprinkler system wouldn't cost that much. Probably the profits from one litter of puppies.

I am not down on this woman, but I certainly hope that she had the foresight to purchase insurance and spends the money on the necessary items in a new building.

God bless you for defending a friend.
Lou

I can't believe it that really sucks. I feel just awful for the all the dogs. I hope if she rebuilds this she builds it with all the high tech things that should be.I feel sorry for her and her family as for the paper I would only believe 1/4 of what they wrote anyway. I know they exagerate to get the ratings.

I was sitting on my tailgate at a show when I heard of this terrible tragedy. I remember my heart just sinking. My prayers are with the family as they cope with this terrible loss.

I feel so sad for the dogs and the family who kept these precious babies..please send your friend my condolences...

Dawn

Such a tragic story. A fire is something that could happen to any of us.... we don't know what is in our futures. Bad luck falls on everyone occasionally.... no matter if they are a caring responsible Yorkie owners or not. We just need to hope that it doesn't! I think that the owners of the kennel need us to wish them well.... and a quick recovery from their great loss.... You know how much we all LOVE our Furbabies! :ghug:

Just about a month ago we purchased our precious JoJo from Cindy Hill at Edgewood Kennnels. This news was particularly shocking to me. I did a lot of research before choosing Edgewood Kennels and her facility was clean and well cared for as were her dogs. She had been up all night feeding puppies the first day we went to visit. She shared all the same concerns for this tiny breed that we do and was careful to place the puppy in a proper home. I am sure this devasting occurence has hurt her and her staff deeply. She certainly is a caring and dedicated breeder and I hope in time she and her staff can recover. So sad. :(

Another horror story! Buddy lost two of his friends to a house fire 6wks ago.
The complex where I live had a horrific fire down the hill from me caused by a gas leak it is thought. Both dogs perished. I cry evey time I think about them and to read this only brought back the tears. Animals are so helpless when locked inside with no one to help them. It tears your heart out. In a cage or in a house running loose it still happens and it's no ones fault.

They have stickers that can be put on the front door and windows to alert the firefighters that there are pets inside.

Wow Pretty Harsh for someone who doesn't know Cynthia or how she keeps her home and Kennels. We have 2 beautiful Yorkies from Cynthia with the sweetest temperments. We have seen her at the shows as well as her home and she is nothing less than a very loving, caring person who had a very unfortunate incident happen, Yes twice in her life time. SO please cut her a break, as I am sure she is suffering enough without people bad mouthing her .

Wow! I sure hope no one confuses our board names. V...that wasn't me!

We purchased four beautiful dogs from Cynthia. She is a great, responsible breeder who truly cares about her dogs.

Terrible
 

O.K. so I deffinately do not know this lady, and will deffinately not talk out of turn of purpose, so correct me if I do.I live in a house, and I have 4 dogs , several birds, and an assortment of other pets.....if an accidental fire broke out, first of all, I would have no possible way to get every single one out, but would certainly try.I would have to of course face the facts of when it was no longer safe to get them out, as a dead me does the surviving pets and my husband no good. There was a fire here in England recently, the lady had done everything right, surge protector, turn electrics off at the wall and had smoke detectors.Still her Christmas tree went up do to faulty electrics....is she a bad person for having a christmas tree in her home with no sprinklers? Things happen, lifes full of things we can only describe as tragic.I don't think this lady meant any dogs harm, as it takes tons of dedication and a hell of allot of yourself to get to the level of pedigree she was producing.....someone who don't care don't produce that level of animal......it's a complete way of life, morning noon and night..why would she want to invest so much of herself into this to watch it go up in smoke...and murder her family of dogs, that she has spent all of that time and effort rearing, caring for ect? I get angry too when I see things that could have been prevented, and yes I personally think an unattended coal fire in a old wooden building was a bit un thought out, as coals are always falling from them, I know Englands full of coal fires.The proper fire safety should have been put in place for a coal fire, deffinately, but even with the best fore thought, some accidents are un avoidable.I wish her and hers the best and hope the remainder of her stock are well.Don't be so quick to hop on the band wagon of bitching and moaning, as its so easy to tare people down, what this world needs is a few more people willing to build folks up.

I agree people judge way to quickly now...

:thumbup:

I know this is an old thread but I think someone mentioned that she has or had 150 dogs, regardless if they are in immaculate crates, fed the best food, bathed every week, or if the breeding pair is health tested to me that is just way to many dogs to own, because it's to many dogs to give love and attention to, even with "kennel help"
Sounds like an upscale breeding farm:(:(