PERRYSBURG, Ohio — On Sunday, Bark N Lounge in Perrysburg went up in flames. The owners are still in disbelief it's gone.
Mother and daughter Jacqueline and Allison Dixon are the owners of Bark N Lounge and say they're still processing the loss.
"This was my life. I was here 24/7," Jacqueline said. "This is not a scale that I thought would happen. That wind just made a complete devastation."
Jacqueline and her husband, John Dixon, were asleep at the kennel when the fire started around 2 a.m.
"I started smelling something funny," Jacqueline said. "I said 'Hey, John, something smells weird.' He got up and looked out the window and saw the orange glow."
That was the fire. 11 dogs owned by clients, three of their own family's dogs and their cat were at the kennel at the time.
"Get them out, get them out, get them out. That was it," Jacqueline said explaining her first thoughts. "I just always thought to get everybody to the play yard to start."
They were able to get all the animals outside and no animals were hurt from the fire. But while they were putting the dogs in the car, they say an aggressive dog was accidentally put in the same car as another dog. The dog attacked and killed the other dog.
"That was a very unfortunate incident at that time," Jacqueline said.
The family's cat, Marley, also escaped during the fire and was found about two weeks later, the family said Friday.
The cat is "a little beat up" and has "possible frostbite," but finding their beloved pet is a "small win," the family said.
They aren't sure of the cause of the fire, but they think it started in the trailer next to the kennel.
They said this isn't just a physical loss for them, either. Allison had the idea to buy this business when she was 17, studying small animal care at the Penta Career Center back in 2021. She said seeing her work turned into rubble is hard.
"It's still like a nightmare, it doesn't feel real," Allison said. "It hasn't fully set in my mind. I keep just saying it's a long dream and I'll be awake soon and none of this will happen."
Jacqueline and Allison say they have gotten a lot of animal and personal supply donations and are waiting to hear what insurance will provide.
To help pay for deductibles, and possibly rebuild, they're turning to the community for help by setting up a GoFundMe, which can be found here.