A Saskatoon homeowner has lost his German shepherd puppy after a house fire early Tuesday morning.
“He was the smartest of the bunch,” Siddhartha Chouthury said of the three-week-old dog, named Buddy.
Fire crews responded to Chouthury’s home on the 200 block of Dickey Crescent at about 6 a.m. Flames were shooting through the roof when crews arrived.
Chouthury tells CTV News the fire started in a dog house in the backyard before spreading to the backside of the house and up through the roof. He believes the fire started as a result of a new lightbulb installed too close to the roof of the doghouse the day prior.
“It started last night when I decided to put a small lamp in the doghouse,” he said. “What happened is the lightbulb touched the roof of the doghouse and the moisture got the heat going and burned the doghouse, and then from there it started to touch the base of the backroom and it spiralled out to the patio.”
Chouthury says he and his wife were sleeping at the time of the fire when they were suddenly woken up by a loud noise.
“I made the 911 call immediately and then I took the puppies out of the doghouses, but one of the dogs, my three-week-old German shepherd, was too scared and went back into the doghouse, and that’s where he died,” he said. "I was trying to save him but the flares on the top were coming onto my body and I was just without my shirt. I only had my pants on and the fire was getting onto my body, so I was even scared to double check inside. Before I could do anything, it just got out of my control completely."
Chouthury and his wife were the only ones inside of the home. They managed to save two of their three dogs.
A fire investigator has ruled the fire accidental. Initial estimates pegged damages at $50,000, but an update Tuesday upped the number to $120,000.
Chouthury says his home will be covered by insurance, but nothing can replace his lost dog.
“He was very close to me, even just being that young,” he said.
