COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — The owner of a Columbia County kennel where 12 dogs died of heart stroke Sunday was gone for nearly eight hours that day, a new police report shows. The breaker for the kennel's air-conditioning shut off sometime between 11 a.m. and 6:50 p.m. while she was gone.
The building had fans and an AC unit, as well as food and water in dog kennels, the report states. There was no backup power source, the report states. Kennel owner Nicole Wirth told officials that she did not know when the outage had happened, only that it was sometime while she was away.
Jacksonville veterinarian Katie Green says its common at boarding and training facilities to not have staff on site 24/7.
"In Florida there are no standard laws or rules that dictate the type of facility or what kinds of safeguards facilities have in place," Jacksonville veterinarian Katie Green said.
Green also says a business license is required to operate a facility. First Coast News was not able to find an active license under Wirth's name or her business Tuesday. Wirth did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
The heat index was in the 100s for several hours Sunday, according to First Coast News Chief Meteorologist Tim Deegan.
The owner of one of the dogs who died, Sofia Salvatore, told First Coast News, “I feel kennel owners should always have someone, an employee, there with the amount of dogs that were there, and a back up stand alone generator. A lot of dogs died that day because of this.” (Her dog Elios is pictured here.)
Salvatore's daughter said he was her mom's "life" and she had rescued him from Greece.
Officers responded to Nicole's Natural Dog Training, a dog training and boarding facility on Amiel Court in Fort White at 7:20 p.m. Sunday after a call from owner Nicole Wirth. When they arrived, they discovered 12 dogs dead inside of the kennel building, according to the report.
Wirth had removed three dogs from the kennel and was attempting to cool them down outside. First responders found one that was unresponsive, but alive.
Officer William Fannin and firefighters from the Columbia County Fire Department worked to free the dog from its kennel with wire cutters, according to his incident report.
Fannin and firefighters assisted Wirth in taking care of the dogs, giving the dogs IV fluids and cool water to bring their temperatures down.
Once the temperatures of the dog were brought down, Wirth took three of the dogs to the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital.
The owners of the other dogs came to the kennel and brought their animals to the hospital, the report states. The condition of the other four dogs is unknown at this time.
Wirth posted an emotional video to her Facebook Monday about the incident. Through tears, Wirth said that the dogs died in a "horrific tragedy" after a power surge caused her air conditioning to fail.
"Most of you have heard about the horrific tragedy that occurred at my facility yesterday (Sunday) afternoon when an unforeseen power surge caused my AC to fail in my boarding kennel resulting in the loss of 12 souls,” Wirth said in the video. She said the police were called and there is a police report. “I was alone and terrified,” she continued adding that the local fire department responded to the kennel, and “they were able to intubate and save as many pets as possible."
She listed the dogs who died by name and breed in her video. One was a brand new puppy, another in training and almost ready to be adopted, and another a client of nine years.
"There is nothing that can be said or done to change any of this. But rest assured, even if I am late addressing the public, the affected owners and their families and their pets have been my utmost concern," she said.
In a video posted Sunday, Wirth was on a jet ski with a dog, captioned "A Lil Mommy & Ma'am Time," which she deleted Monday afternoon.
Green says before dropping your pet off at a kennel or training facility, do a tour and look out for safety measures.
"It's never a bad idea to get a look at where they are going to be housed, ask all those questions that will be important, don't make assumptions about staffing or facilities there is just so much variability that's happening behind the scenes without taking those extra steps," Green says. "Our hearts go out to the families that have lost pets but really trust your gut when you go places and meet people."
The police report does not note any charges or citations against Wirth.
