SAN LUIS OBISPO,
Calif. -- Owners leave their dogs at Thousand Hills Pet Resort so they're safe
and cared for while they are away but for one couple, they didn't have a dog
when they returned.
For Mario and
Christina Esol, the fire at Thousand Hills Pet Resort forced them to wake up.
"I don't think it
really set in until we got back from our trip on Saturday night and walked in
and saw her belongings," says former dog owner Christina Esol. "We just knew at
that point there was no way we were going to wake up from a dream. It was
reality."
This is the second time the
family has lost a dog. This time,
it was their four-year-old mixed Labrador, Lilly.
"She touched our hearts," says
former dog owner Mario Esol. "I think she kind of choose us."
Lilly was one of seven dogs who died in the fire last Monday. Something that Thousand Hills Pet Resort
never wants to happen again.
The resort added heat sensors to every kennel along with
multiple alarms that alert Cal Fire immediately should another fire break out.
The sensors detect temperature
that gets to 135 degrees or if temperature increases rapidly, then the alarms
will go off.
"We ' re making any chan G e we can to make this the safest
place and take care of our animals," says Thousand Hills Pet Resort President Jack
Gould.
Which brings the Esola
Family some comfort.
"Something good is coming out of such a tragic event. Improving
the safety of the facility beyond what one would expect is kind of the silver
lining," says Mario Esola.
The pet resort plans to hold a
memorial service for the families who lost dogs in the fire. They are still
trying to figure out a date since one of the families is still out of the
country.
Electricians hired by the resort
can't pinpoint if the heating pads near the kennels were the exact cause of the
fire but the resort is looking to install heated til flooring instead of using
heaters to prevent future fires.
