Family says it’s a ‘miracle’ that their dog is alive after kennel fire

MOAB — A family is sharing about their dog’s fight to stay alive after firefighters rescued her from a dog boarding business that went up in flames.

The late Saturday night fire at Moab National Bark killed two other dogs. Moab Valley Fire is investigating the cause.

Kevin Hendricks explained he was on the East Coast when he received the call in the middle of the night that Moab Valley Fire rescued their family dog, Sedona, from the burning building and took her to a local veterinary hospital.

“When the crash/fire/rescue found her, she was unconscious, and they had to revive her,” he said.

He thought of what Sedona must have gone through, “trapped in a space where she can’t get out, doesn’t understand… choking on fumes to the point of passing out.”

Hendricks and his wife had dropped the yellow Labrador retriever off at Moab National Bark on Thursday to stay while the couple traveled, with the intention of picking her up on Tuesday or Wednesday after they returned.

With the couple not able to immediately make it back into town, Hendricks said instead their oldest son and daughter, who are in college, dropped everything and drove out to Moab.

Their daughter, he said, has a special bond with Sedona. They’ve had the seven-year-old dog since she was a puppy.

After dogs die in Moab boarding business fire, community rallying

“She was distressed quite a bit, obviously,” Hendricks said, of his daughter.

Sedona suffered severe injuries that Hendricks explained damaged the dog’s eyes and vision, airway, and lungs.

The yellow Lab was not able to lift her head, eat or drink, and struggled to breathe, so she had to be on oxygen. Hendricks said the vet continued discovering new internal wounds.

“Basically, infections inside her airways from that heat of the smoke… not only the poison of the smoke itself, but the heat,” Hendricks said. “It has burned her airway to her lungs.”

The kids left and returned to college, and Hendricks said Sedona developed a fever.

The Lab’s outlook suddenly grew bleak.

“It was little things, were worse, and worse, and worse,” he said. “We thought things were not going in the right direction.”

Rushing home a second time, Hendricks said their two oldest came back as the family prepared to say their goodbyes.

Then on Wednesday, four days after the fire, Sedona’s condition stabilized.

On Thursday, Hendricks’ wife took a video that shows Sedona up and trotting around, tail wagging as she plays with a ball.

The family expressed that Sedona is a “miracle.”

“She’s fighting,” Hendricks said.

While Sedona is still hospitalized with potentially permanent injuries, the Hendricks have hope that their pup will be released by the weekend to continue her recovery at home.

Hendricks expressed how they owe much of the credit to the firefighting team who rescued and resuscitated their dog.

And they’re thankful she survived.

“I don’t know if that’s part of their normal training to revive dogs, but they did,” he remarked. “So, very fortunate for sure.”

A family friend of the owners of Moab National Bark started a GoFundMe* campaign, saying she wants to help pay for Sedona’s vet bills, as well as pet memorials for the dogs that died, and for the owners to rebuild.

On Friday, the Hendricks said that Sedona is back home after her week at the hospital. The said she still has a long road to recovery, but they are glad she is back home. 

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