Princeton Shelter Cares for Dogs Rescued From Fire

Thirteen of the are being cared for at Princeton's SAVE Animal Rescue, but are expected to be returned over to their owner today (Wednesday, April 4). 

The dogs, mostly terrier mixes ranging in age from 3 months to 2 years old, arrived on Tuesday, said SAVE Executive Director Piper Burrows. 

"They definitely reeked of smoke and were a little dirty," Burrows said. "We bathed them and fed them and gave them lots of TLC, we really provided a safe haven for the dogs.

"As far as we can tell, they're in very good health," she said. 

It's not clear where the remaining dogs went. 

A total of 23 dogs – some tiny puppies just days old – were in the two-story house in the 2300 block of Pennington Road (Route 31) when the blaze broke out shortly before 8 p.m. Monday.

One dog died from smoke inhalation, but the other 22 were rescued. Many were revived with oxygen, thanks to volunteer firefighters from Lawrence Township. Of the 22 that were rescued, two later had to be euthanized.

On Wednesday morning, a half-dozen of the dogs were enjoying the weather in outdoor pens at the animal shelter. 

But the dogs likely won't be in Princeton for long. Burrows said the owner is expected to stop by sometime today and collect her dogs.

So far its unclear why there were so many dogs living in one house. 

"It's up to the Hopewell Health Department if they want to investigate further," Burrows said. "We're completely removed from that."

Hopewell Township Police Lt. Thomas Puskas said Tuesday the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but does not appear suspicious. 

Hopewell Township Police Chief George Meyer has said the blaze was reported by Ramona Burnett, who rents one of two apartments in the two-story house.

Burnett, 49, smelled smoke upon entering the apartment and found her son’s first-floor bedroom ablaze. Her son, who is 13, had already fled the house, while the resident of the other apartment located in the house was not home at the time.

As other firefighters battled the blaze, Lawrence Road Fire Co. volunteers stood by outside as the “rapid intervention team,” a group whose specific responsibility at a fire scene it is be to ready to act at a moment’s notice in the event that another firefighter becomes trapped in the burning building or otherwise needs rescuing.

“We began to hear yelps from the interior. Our instant reaction was to grab our canine oxygen kit,” Firefighter Chris Laird related. “We told the [other firefighters] as soon as they bring the dogs out, bring them right over to us and we’ll give them oxygen. They brought out one…two…15…20 dogs. We just kept pumping oxygen into them.”

The pet oxygen masks carried on Lawrence Road’s Rescue 22 fire engine were donated to the fire company in January by the Humane Society, which also donated masks to Ewing Township’s three volunteer fire companies. The donations were in recognition of the four fire companies’ roles in saving a dog from a house fire in Ewing on Sept. 4, 2011.

The “O2 Fur Life” masks, manufactured by Wag’N Pet Safety, come in three sizes and are specially-designed to provide life-saving oxygen to a variety of pets, including dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and birds.

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