Pet Guardians
Waggle Success Story: Meet Luna
Kasey M. lost her home and seven beloved pets in a tragic fire. Luna, her poodle mix, survived with severe burns, and the family turned to Waggle to help raise funds for her recovery.
The loss Kasey M. and her family experienced is unfathomable. In November 2019, her husband, Robert, a firefighter, got a department emergency alert on his phone. He was shocked to see the address of their own home East Haven, Connecticut, flash across his screen. “He called me and said, ‘You need to get home. Our house is on fire!’” Kasey tells Waggle.
She knew their children were out of the house but was worried sick about their eight animals: three dogs, four cats, and a rabbit. When she got to her street, fire engines blocked the road and she couldn’t get through. She pulled her car over, threw it into park, and started running toward her house. “I could smell the burning plastic, and I could tell it was really bad,” Kasey recalls.
The fire was out, but the scene was chaotic and surreal. Rescue crews told her they had pulled all of her pets out of the house and attempted to save them. “The firefighters worked on all the animals in my backyard and tried to resuscitate them,” Kasey said. "There were more firefighters trying to work on my animals than in my house.”
She was devastated to learn that seven of her pets—two of the dogs, all four cats, and the rabbit—were killed in the fire. “The animals were all in the backyard under a tarp. I couldn’t bring myself to go back there,” Kasey says. The only one to survive was Luna, her 7-year-old poodle mix, who was already on her way to the emergency room. A volunteer firefighter jumped in the car with the dog warden and kept the oxygen on her, while the police gave them an escort to Central Animal Hospital.
Though her outlook was grim, Luna pulled through after extensive treatment for the burns that covered about 40% of her body. Her spunky personality returned, and she became a favorite among the staff during her four-week stay at the animal hospital. She received her last treatment nine months after the day of the fire.
And then there were the vet bills, which climbed higher and higher every day. Kasey’s family had just lost their home and all but one of their beloved pets—so she turned to Waggle in this time of need. With a generous starting contribution of $4,480 by Animal Rescue Site, Luna’s Waggle campaign was fully funded at $5,000. Kasey wants to thank all of the individual donors and sponsors, including Waggle, Animal Rescue Site, and Freekibble, who helped turn a tragedy into an incredible Waggle success story.
Watch Kasey and some of the Central Animal Hospital staff recount Luna’s against-all-odds survival story—and consider becoming a FurEver Fund monthly donor to help pets in need just like her. For this month only, we will double your first 12 months of giving!
