ORLANDO, Fla. – Nineteen dogs were killed early Thursday when a fire broke out at a Labradoodle breeder’s lakefront home in Orlando, fire officials said.
The fire started around 5:15 a.m. at a home on Bay Lake Road near John Young Parkway.
“I saw these big huge flames, I mean huge, coming down the hallway and I just freaked out,” said homeowner Marcia Mobley, who’s been breeding dogs for over 20 years. “My dogs are gone. Most of them are gone.”
Officials said firefighters revived six adult dogs and rescued nine puppies. Mobley, also saved some dogs, and several others were outside at the time of the fire.
HEARTBREAKING: Firefighters are treating one puppy for smoke inhalation after this morning’s fire at the Bay Lake Doodle dog breeder. He should be ok, but firefighters say 19 others didn’t make it. https://t.co/20qKholZMV pic.twitter.com/1zESrbOBAD
— Mark Lehman (@MarkLehman6) January 23, 2020
“I am so thrilled when they said we got nine babies. I thought they were dead," Mobley said. "With the smoke inhalation, I just knew they were gone and he said, ‘We got nine babies.’ I said, ‘Oh, my God.’”
“We actually started CPR on the dogs," Orange County Fire Rescue District Fire Chief Thomas Veal said. "We gave them oxygen and kind of rubbed them to get their blood flowing again and our crews did an amazing job.”
The dogs that survived were taken to a veterinarian at John Young Animal Hospital and are expected to be OK.
The surviving dogs and puppies are being taken to a vet to be checked out. We’ve learned the owner has been breeding dogs for more than 20 years and has even bred dogs for @orlandomayor and @ChairJacobsOCPS. https://t.co/20qKholZMV pic.twitter.com/CZn8jdsDA2
— Mark Lehman (@MarkLehman6) January 23, 2020
Mobley was home when the fire started, but she was not injured.
“This was primarily a smoke event, causing significant smoke damage inside of the home,” Orange County Fire Rescue tweeted. “Fire contained to 1 room, caused by an air handler.”
Mobley has bred dogs for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyers and Orange County School Board Chair Teresa Jacobs.
“Anytime you pull out as many dogs as we did, it’s sad,” Veal said. "Especially for the homeowner.”
#BREAKING: We’re on the scene of a devastating fire in Orlando. A dog breeder’s home went up in flames early this morning. Firefighters say several dogs died, but some were able to be saved. pic.twitter.com/5LqJVMjSqL
— Mark Lehman (@MarkLehman6) January 23, 2020
Update: #HouseFire on Bay Lake Rd: While crews were able to revive approx. 6 dogs, unfortunately 19 perished in the home. This was primarily a smoke event, causing significant smoke damage inside of the home. The dogs who survived are currently being cared for. pic.twitter.com/AkOnyCyjkD
— OCFire Rescue (@OCFireRescue) January 23, 2020
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