Because I know you'd understand....

[aStarSeeker]

I haven't posted in ages, although COD remains the smile in my mornings.

I needed to post this here because I'm not getting over this and I know it's just OK here. Here goes:

On December 2 we had a house fire. In the walls and floor of the living room, evidently.

My husband Rich came home and found the house blocked with smoke. He crawled around on the floor, unable to see, to locate our 6 cats and 3 dogs. Two of our kitty babies, Laddy and Hank, were already dead of smoke inhalation in the hall way.

He found everyone else, too, got them out of the house, gave them all mouth-to-mouth and CP to get them to breathe again. Laddy and Hank were gone.

He threw General, our 125 Golden Retriever up over his shoulder to get him out of the house, again to get him into the car once he was breathing, and again to get him into the emergency vet. Rich separated his shoulder and cracked a rib doing this.

Pauley, another snuggling kitty, passed that night because he had too much carbon monoxide in his system and his liver failed. Kharma and Bentley, who were on the other side of the house, fared the best of the kitties, because they were near a leaky door. They were able to come home after 2 days of oxygen. Thank GOD.

Rich sat with General for 16 hours, holding his head up and mouth open so General could breathe. In the end, however, it seemed that General wasn't oxygenating. His lungs were too damaged from heat to work, and they kept filling with fluid. We had to let him go.

The other two dogs, Shelby and Morgan, were near that leaky door and he was able to get them outside. They did the best of the dogs, with just a day of oxygen and observation.

Tosha, my last kitty, wouldn't come to Rich from under the bed at the far end of the house. Evidently the bed saved him, because after 10 days in oxygen, being intubated (?), and with a little feeding tube into his tummy, he began to respond well.

So we lost 3 of our 6 kitties, and 1 of our 3 dogs.

Today we're in a very nice temporary home, where we'll be for 6 months or so. I can't say enough about Erie Insurance, because they didn't blink at finding us a place that would take all our pets. We're all together. I took Tosha in to the vet today to have his feeding tube removed. Once he started eating orally, we knew it was safe. I was feeding him via the tube when he looked at me, leaned over and starting eating the other cats' food at the same time. What a relief! It was touch and go for that little one.

We're devastated and walking in a daze. Please keep our babies in your prayers. We know the universe will organize itself to let us honor them by adopting more kitties and dogs, but "normal" will never be the same. Hank, Laddy and Pauley won't be vying for space on my lap and General won't be following me around the yard or greeting us at the door.

I can't say enough good things about Highway Vet in Bowie, MD, or Anne Arundel Emergency Clinic in Annapolis. They when above and beyond to help our babies and to make certain we were involved, able to touch, hold and feed them, etc. They're worth every penny of the 18K we had to mortgage to get. A vet and vet tech at AAEC took Shelby and Morgan home with them for 2 days each to help us, and Highway Vet even boarded them free for about a week until we moved out of the hotel and into the temporary house. Again, talk about going above and beyond again!

This fire has shown me the absolute best in human hearts, and sadly, I keep wondering how much lower one person can continue to go to show me the worst -- and she keeps showing me. Nonetheless, I try to find blessings in all of this. We already have someone who has contacted us about a DLH girl named Emmy, who needs a home. She's orange, which means she could be adopted in Hank's honor. I'm not sure we're ready, but are we ever?

In the meanwhile, check your homeowners' insurance. Hug your babies every day and let them sit in your lap until they're ready to get down, because they're with us for such a short time we need to treasure every moment's purr and kiss.

Thank you for listening. I'm sorry to share bad news, but thank you, too, for understanding.

Christine

[orangemm]

Oh Christine, I am shocked and saddened to read about the loss of your babies and your home. What a tragedy for you and your husband. I am relieved that neither you nor your husband were injured or killed, but how very awful about General, Laddy, Hank and Pauley. My heart goes out to you and Rich.

Thank you for reminding me about showing love to those I care about.

I know everyone here at PT will share my sadness and concern.

Let us know if we can help.

[Logan]

Oh Christine, what a heart breaking experience. I am so sorry about the loss of so many of your pets. I am glad that the others have survived and that you and your husband are ok, too. I know his injuries must be very painful, though.

Please take care of yourself.

Logan

[jenluckenbach]

{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}} Too mych LES (leaky eye syndrome) to say much more.

I am sorry for your losses.

[catnapper]

Wow, what a devastating event. Your husband is a hero, and I know the animals you lost will meet him again someday. You'll know when its the right time to welcome more pets into your home, hearts, and life. They'll come to you, so don't worry about feeling if its time or not. (((hugs)))

[Laura's Babies]

Having just buried a nephew yesterday, and almost loosing my own son this year, it has shown me that anything can be taken away at a moments notice, and without warning. GOD BLESS your husband for saving the family members that he could! Not many would have done that.

May the new year bring us all blessings and keep us and our babies safe from harm. (((((HUGS))))) to you and your family for your loss.

[moosmom]

Christine,

I am so SOOOO sorry to hear about the tragedy. I am also sorry about the loss of your beloved pets. My eyes teared up just reading your post as it brought back SO many memories of 32 years ago when my family had a house fire. The devastation was incomprehensible, so I know exactly where you're coming from. The smell of smoke and burnt flesh I will NEVER forget. My grandfather died from his injuries.

During our fire, our 2 Airedales suffered from smoke inhalation, but were rescued by fire personnel who gave them mouth to snout resuscitation. My Dad and I found an apartment through my aunt who allowed our 2 dogs to come with us. It was the longest 8 months of my entire life.

I send you HUGE HUGS from CT. I am thankful that everyone else got out safe.

(((((HUGS)))))))))

Donna

[catmandu]

We are horrified to Hear about General,Laddy hank and Pauley.
And you are so right that we have to treasure Our Friends as they are here for such a short time.
Your Pets will be Guests of Honor at The Hawaiin PetMas Party,and they will enjoy themselves,but not nearly as much as when they meet you again One Fine Day.

[Vela]

I am so sorry for your loss and I am so happy that you didn't lose them all. Your husband is a hero and all of the others involved are heroes too. I wish you all of my prayers and best wishes for the future and I am thankful you can still look forward to a brighter future. Good bless you all, and teh babies at thte bridge.

[kimlovescats]

I am so very sorry to hear of this tragic loss for you and your family! Your husband was a hero for your beloved pets, and I just feel so sad for the ones that didn't make it. I know he gave his all for them, and he even injured himself in the process! Thank God for all the kind insurance and vet people who went over and above the call of duty to help you out through this very difficult time. I pray that things will soon settle down for you, and you will be able to pick up and move on.

((((HUGS))))
Kim

[krazyaboutkatz]

Christine, I'm so sorry to hear about your house fire and about the losses of your furkids. I'm glad to hear that both you and your husband and the rest of your furfamily are alive and well. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time. Please take care and I hope that you're able to have a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year. (((HUGS)))

[aStarSeeker]

I appreciate all your thoughts and understanding, as awful as that can be!

I don't think we'll ever get the smell out of our noses, let alone our memory. I was stuck in the restricted zone in NYC during the 9/11 week. To this day I still wake up occasionally in a panic, thinking my house is on fire because I smell it as Donna described in my sleep. Oh, my...

I learned something about my values with this fire. When Rich and I were back from the vet and in the house, I got Tosha out from under the bed, into a carrier and out into the yard. I thought vaguely, "I should probably get my laptop out of there; it has the tax records on it."

Then when we realized there actually WAS a fire, vs. the stove backing up (we didn't remember it hadn't even been in use all day at that point), Rich said, "Get what you want out of here, I think it's in the walls and we have to get out of here."

I looked around and couldn't think of a darned thing I cared about. Antiques, artwork, jewelry, crystal, funky little things? eh. My conscious thought was that Tosha was outside, Rich was Ok, so let's get the heck out of here. I picked up a small trinket box sitting on the side table just because I thought I should pick up something and said, "Let's go!" You always wonder what you'd grab and now I know.

Luckily, we suffered primarily smoke damage on the physical/possession side of things. The living room wall is gone, and 1/2 the floor, but who cares? We had already ventilated by the time the firemen arrived, so they didn't break out the windows (darn, now!) and carried burning chunks out into the yard, where I turned the garden hose on them. The soot, however, you can take off things like you would frosting off a cake with your fingers. There is no scorching or burning visible, which is so weird. The smoke detector 35 feet away melted into a wad of plastic.

They tell me our little ones were gone before the heat hit, but Pauley must have been in an area with more air available. It breaks my heart that he and General were so terrified and struggling at the vet.

We're settling into our new, temporary house. It's really nice, but we have the feeling that we're in some vacation house for really bad reasons. It'll probably be a while before we don't feel displaced.

Thank you all for your thoughts and support. I know you know. Laura, I'm sorry for your losses, as well. How do are hearts recover from this!?!

Christine

[Barbara]

I am so very sorry for the tragic loss of your furkids.
I wish you all the best- and much energy for you and the survivors.

And I send my admiration that you can think of offering a new home for a kitty in this situation.

[prechrswife]

I'm so very sorry for your losses.

[smokey the elder]

Wow! I'm so sorry about your furkids and your house. I hope the New Year sees you back in a fine new place.