Inferno at 'Paradise' kills 8 puppies

PINE LEVEL -- While 70 or so dogs escaped, the flames that tore through Puppy Paradise on Wednesday claimed eight newborn pups.

The dogs - Shih Tzus, chihuahuas, Maltese - died while trapped behind chicken wire at the open-air breeding facility about a mile west of this Johnston County town.

Born a few days ago, the dead had not been named.

Investigators had not determined the cause of the fire by late Wednesday.

But the smoldering remains held a tale of neighborhood heroics - one that involved more than 100 rescuers who removed dozens of surviving animals and applied oxygen tubes to pups who took in too much smoke.

The fire happened about 8 a.m. Wednesday. A passer-by had noticed flames or smoke from the road and banged on the door of kennel owner Shauna Godwin, who lives next to the pens.

Godwin was able to free most of the dogs before she was overcome by smoke.

Soon after, reinforcements arrived. About 100 firefighters battled the blaze that destroyed the shelter that housed about 75 dogs.

Firefighters carried some puppies out by hand and herded survivors to a safer part of the kennel, Pine Level firefighter Gary Wood said.

Quick action credited

The wreckage - charred-and-shuttered kennel gates, smoke seeping from beneath a collapsed tin roof - caused firefighters to initially fear that more than half the dogs had perished. Instead, it was just the eight.

"A lot of quick action on a lot of people's part made it a successful day," Wood said.

Godwin said she was treated for smoke inhalation.

Treatment for the injured canines was more of a challenge.

"Nobody trains us how to resuscitate and treat animals," Wood said, adding that firefighters tried some of the same techniques used on humans. "A lot of it just comes naturally."

An unnamed black dog that firefighters pulled from the rubble was taken to an animal hospital, Wood said. Several more were taken by their owners to veterinary clinics.

Johnston County Animal Services Director Ernie Wilkinson secured a small school bus, which served as a temporary kennel. "Until the smoke clears," Wilkinson said.

None of the surviving dogs were taken to the county shelter. Instead, they stayed with their owners, Godwin and her mother, Jean Crocker.

Godwin said she wasn't sure when or if the business will re-open. She declined to comment further.

Complaints lodged

Wilkinson said he has received complaints about conditions at Puppy Paradise and other breeding facilities in the county. But investigators toured the kennel several months ago and found no violations.

"She's heeded our suggestions and done what she's been asked to do," he said.

Wilkinson, who could not be more specific about the complaints, said his division follows up on all complaints with a visit to the breeder. There's usually nothing illegal going on, Wilkinson said.

The North Carolina branch of the Humane Society of the United States, however, has received complaints about cleanliness at Puppy Paradise, director Kimberley Alboum said.

Johnston County has no local ordinances governing breeders. Animal Services officers will sometimes criticize kennel owners for unsanitary practices, but with no cleanliness rules on the books, the warnings have no teeth, Wilkinson said.

"To look at it, you would say, 'Oh my God, this is just terrible,'" he said, referring to breeding operations in general. "But the fact of the matter is they're complying with all the codes we have."

Staff writer Matt Ehlers and news researcher Teresa Leonard contributed to this report.