Losing a pet is truly devastating. Pets are a part of our families. For children, they can often be treated like a sibling.
It is normal for us to grieve when we lose our pets to old age. But to lose a 5-year-old dog to a house fire is just gutwrenching.
One Utah family had to bury their beloved dog Flash after a fire ravaged their home.
On March 23, 2017, Ashley Sylvia and her family were at a party when they got the terrifying phone call that their house was on fire.
As if that wasn’t traumatic enough, Ashley realized Flash was inside the burning home. She tried to remain hopeful as the firefighters fought the blaze. But things were not in the family’s favor.
“Despite flames bursting from the house, I was hopeful that Flash would make it through. Unfortunately, just a few minutes later I saw the firemen coming out holding Flash, but in his arms was a limp and lifeless pup,” Ashley told Caters News.
“I immediately fell to my knees and began sobbing. It felt like a scene from a horror film.”
Understandably so, breaking the news to her children was tough. Flash was an irreplaceable part of their family and they spent hours crying over the heartbreaking news of his death.
But not only did they lose a loved one, their Bluffdale, Utah home had $325,000 worth of damage from the fire. Ashley says their community was amazing and supportive after the fire.
Despite the loss, Ashley’s children handled things surprisingly well over the next six months.
It took them half a year to finally move back into their home. The house had to be completely renovated after the fire. But Ashley says that things finally began to feel positive again when they moved back into the home.
But to really make the house feel like a home, Ashley and her husband Andrew had the idea to surprise their kids with a new family.
They didn’t want to replace Flash, but got a new puppy after the family had grieved and wanted to start over with a new furry bundle of joy in their lives!
They’d been looking for a new dog for a while, but once they saw an for a dog named Teddy, they knew he was the one for their family.
“It was truly so beautiful to see my kids so happy, Ashley said. “With all the pain and hurt they had been through this year, it was definitely time for some joy.”
The family picked Teddy up the day they saw the ad and drove him home. Andrew brought Teddy into the house to surprise the kids while Ashley filmed it all.
As you can see, the kids quickly fell in love with Teddy after freaking out. Isn’t this the sweetest video? Hopefully, this family has a good run of luck moving forward!
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