After dogs die in Moab boarding business fire, community rallying
Oct 29, 2024, 11:02 PM | Updated: 11:07 pm
MOAB — The owners of a Moab dog boarding business are devastated after a late-night fire tore through their facility Saturday, killing two dogs trapped inside and injuring another.
A family friend is now rallying community support for the business, as well as the families impacted and left heartbroken by the loss.
Walking inside his scorched business Tuesday, Dave Borza could see nothing inside was salveable.
“I’m still at a loss for words,” he said. “It’s still really hard.”
Normally, Moab National Bark would be open and offering doggy daycare and overnight boarding.
Borza explained the facility, owned and operated by Borza and his wife Katie Hack, includes a main building, smaller dog cabin outbuildings, and separate yards for big dogs, small dogs, and dogs with special needs.
Last Saturday, Borza said he had checked on the three dogs around 8:30 pm. Three hours later, he received a call that the building was on fire.
“This was our worst nightmare come true,” he said.
Immediately thinking of the dogs, Borza rushed over to Moab National Bark to find fire crews and police on scene.
He said firefighters rescued one of the dogs, and that the pup was unconscious, so firefighters “gave her oxygen, and then took her right to the hospital.”
Firefighters responding to Moab National Bark rescued three dogs from the fire, but only one could be revived. (Shawnell Covington)
Moab Valley Fire pulled the other two dogs from the fire, and Borza said they didn’t survive.
“The passing of the other two was unfathomable… it was just so devastating,” he said, getting choked up. “Really hit home, you know, hit our hearts hard.”
Borza said one of the dogs belonged to a local customer, and they’ve been taking care of her since they bought the business four years ago. The other, he said, was a tourist’s pet.
The fire’s cause is so far unclear. Moab Valley Fire told KSL TV that it’s under investigation.
Borza, his wife, and the families of those two fur babies are now left grieving.
One family is still hoping for the best for their pup, with Borza saying the rescued dog is currently hospitalized at the vet clinic and has not been released.
The main building of the business is a complete loss.
The Moab National Bark main building is a total loss. (Shawnell Covington)
“This isn’t just like a doggy daycare. It’s really a service for all of Moab,” said family friend Shawnell Covington.
Covington, who said she’s known Borza and Hack for years, is fundraising support through a GoFundMe campaign.
She explained she is gathering donations to go toward vet bills for the dog that survived, toward pet memorials for the two that passed away, and toward helping Moab National Bark find a way forward.
“The end goal for me is just to help make things easier on the three families, and Dave and Katie,” Covington said.
She expressed hope the community can bring comfort, especially when what this fire took left everyone crushed.
“You know, everything can be rebuilt or redone, but I can’t bring them back,” Borza said, his eyes welling with tears. “And I wish I could. I wish I could.”
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