Pets Drown in Flash Flood at Doggy Day Care in 'Unbearable' Tragedy

Multiple dogs died and at least 20 others were rescued after dangerous floodwaters inundated a Washington, D.C., doggy day care, according to local authorities.

The nation's capital was pummeled on Monday by powerful storms that produced torrential rainfall, leading to severe flash flooding that rose rapidly in parts of the district, according to the D.C. Fire Department. Along a stretch of Rhode Island Avenue, water levels topped 6 feet in mere minutes, D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly said.

Local media outlets aired videos of D.C. firefighters rescuing dogs from the flooded the District Dogs building.

During a Monday night press conference, Donnelly said that several dogs drowned in the flooding but he would not release the total number of deceased canines until all the owners had been notified. Daryl R. Levine, spokesperson for the Fire Department, confirmed the details in an email to Newsweek.

Newsweek reached out via email and Facebook on Monday to the officials of the Metropolitan Police Department. Newsweek also reached out via email to the owner of District Dogs and several of the chain's locations for comment.

"It's hard to watch," Donnelly said. "It's unbearable. This is losing a member of your family or being scared that you did."

Distraught and anxious pet owners waited outside District Dogs to be reunited with their dogs as firefighters carried drenched canines out of the Rhode Island Avenue facility.

In just a few minutes, the floodwaters rose to reach "roughly to the middle of the doors or above the middle of the doors on District Dogs," Donnelly said, adding that the pressure caused the wall to break, flooding the building.

"As a result of that, we've had some fatalities for the dogs," Donnelly said. It is unclear how many animals were inside at the time, but the chief confirmed that at least 20 dogs were saved.

Firefighters had to break through drywall to let water out of the building before they were able to rescue employees and dogs.

Donnelly called the District Dogs employees "heroes," saying they did everything they could to save as many dogs as possible.

The fire chief said the flooding was particularly bad under the Rhode Island Avenue Metro overpass, where several drivers had to be rescued from six vehicles that were stranded by the rushing water.

While he called Monday's flash flood a "very dangerous situation," he said no one suffered serious injuries or needed to be transported to the hospital. In total, 20 people were rescued, with nearly half of those being District Dogs staff.

Videos shared on X, formerly Twitter, show the severe flooding with several cars submerged.

"This is what it looked like outside of District Dogs on Rhode Island Ave NE at the height of the flash flood," WUSA9 reporter Spencer Allan Brooks posted just before 8 p.m. ET.

District Dogs, which has five locations in the Capital area, offers numerous services, such as doggy day care, boarding, grooming and training,

The Rhode Island Avenue location, which opened in May 2022, has had issues with flooding previously, prompting the owner to plead for the city to do something to fix the flood-prone area. The center was also damaged by floodwaters in an August 2022 storm, according to NBC4.

While the 2022 flooding was reported to cause heavy damage, it was not as severe as Monday's devastation.

Earlier this year, District Dogs owner Jacob Hensley urged the city to inspect a nearby storm drain, posting in April on X that he feared it would lead to issues.

"After three dangerous floods last year, we are noticing flooding already on Rhode Island Ave with minimal rainfall so far," Hensley said in the post directed at city leaders. "Can this stormwater drain please get inspected? There is no reason why this should already be backing up and causing significant concern if we get heavier storms."

D.C. Water said a tunnel is expected to open in a few months and should help reduce flooding in the area.

The D.C. area is under a flood watch until 2 a.m. Tuesday, DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management posted on X, advising people to stay home and off the roads.

In a statement, Hensley said the District Dogs staff's "hearts and thoughts" are with their clients. The owner praised his employees for working "heroically."

"As that wall of water came upon them, our staff worked heroically to save as many animals as possible despite real danger to their own lives. Many had to cling to shelves and counters themselves," he said in the statement.

"We are heartbroken and want to express our profound sadness to our clients who are dealing with the loss of beloved members of their families," the statement continued. "As animal lovers and strong advocates for animal welfare ourselves, this is deeply and personally painful. This is an absolute tragedy and we are all devastated."

Update 08/16/23, 11:20 p.m. ET: This article was updated with information from D.C. Fire and a statement from the owner of District Dogs.