A fire west of Rimbey on Tuesday night left a house gutted and seven dogs dead.
Nobody was home at the time. Neighbours noticed the blaze and called out Rimbey Fire and Rescue at about 9:30 p.m., fire chief John Weisgerber said.
Homeowner Kyle Job declined comment, except to say that he lost house dogs, but none of the sled dogs kept outside in kennels.
“House burnt down. Lost seven of my dogs. It’s a pretty tragic day,” Job said on Wednesday. “I wasn’t there. I showed up and my house was gone.”
Weisgerber said the house about 22 km outside of Rimbey was completely destroyed in the fire and that the volunteer firefighters didn’t return to town until about 3 a.m.
He said victim services staff were called out to help the young couple deal with the loss of their pets and “to help get them reorganized again.”
“When you lose absolutely everything, you need some help to get you started again,” Weisgerber said.
He added that no cause was known but that a fire investigation is planned.
mgauk@www.reddeeradvocate.com