Family loses mother dog to fire - WSMV Channel 4
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A Clarksville family whose home was severely damaged in a fire, also lost a beloved pet.
According to fire officials, a grease fire that started in the kitchen spread in the Marla Circle home of 27-year Army veteran Victor Rodriguez.
"This has been my home base for since I can remember," said Rodriguez.
The home base where Rodriguez's family and five Chihuahuas all lived has black soot covering the ceiling and a fire detector melted to the wall.
"We went to Wal-Mart, and when we came back, there was this big black cloud of smoke," said Rodriguez.
"We stopped because there were police officers and firemen," said neighborhood kid Brian Janks.
"The policemen asked if we could pull over for the fire trucks to go through," added his brother, Matthew Janks.
The Rodriguez family was able to save one of their full grown dogs along with the three puppies born just days ago. The mother dog was trapped in the smoke for too long.
"The ambulance was trying to help the white dog," said Brian Janks.
"We started with oxygen on the dog and tried to get chest compressions going," added Officer Melissa Spielhagen of the Clarksville Police Department.
"They tried for a good 15 minutes, and it didn't, it didn't help," said Rodriguez. "She was already passed on."
A serious loss for his family, Rodriguez said his Fort Campbell training is now giving him strength.
"We supercede our tragic little moment where we have fear, and then we excel," said Rodriguez. "We move on, and we push a little harder, and we sweat a little more, and we push ourselves a little more. When we fail, we get back up and try again. We will survive this tragic mess here, and we'll get everything back together, hopefully."
According to Rodriguez, the Red Cross has put his family in a hotel for a few days.
They have already put in a claim to their insurance and are still deciding what to do next.
The puppies are staying with neighbors.
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