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Cover Stories Summer/Fall 2005 Eleven Greyhounds Die in Florida Hauling Vehicle Fire Orlando, Florida: Eleven racing dogs were killed and several others injured Sept. 14 when the trailer they were traveling in caught fire. Eight greyhounds were dead at the scene; eight survived. The vehicle was traveling west on Interstate 4 when the driver saw smoke and pulled over near an overpass. A road ranger for the Florida Department of Transportation reported the fire about 1:00 a.m. and helped in the rescue. According to firefighters, the air-conditioning unit caught fire and the flames spread to the shredded newspaper lining the floor. Seminole County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Jan Kloth, one of the first officers to arrive at the scene, said firefighters strug-gled to rescue the dogs from the 35-foot-long trailer because it had only one door. A photograph of the rig shown on WFTV 9 News clearly shows it was not a louvered dog hauler, but a horse trailer pulled by a semi cab. Firefighters cut holes in the side of the trailer to provide ventilation, but eight of the dogs were already dead. "It was hot in there," Kloth said. "Everybody did the best they could to save those animals." Special masks were used to give the dogs oxygen. The eight surviving dogs were placed in three sheriff's patrol cars and rushed to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Cassel-berry, where fire-rescue workers were waiting with more oxygen. Two of the dogs died at the emergency clinic. The owner of three of the six surviving greyhounds, two of which were injured, drove from Jacksonville to retrieve her greyhounds. According to an informed source, the three dogs were taken to the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine, where one later died. The other three survivors, who had been transferred to the McAbee Veterinary Clinic in Winter Park, were recovering. The dogs' owner, who lives in Oklahoma, authorized Seminole County authorities to find homes for the dogs. According to Seminole County Animal Services manager Mike Whittmer, adoptive homes had been found for all three. Investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office so far have been unable to determine what caused the fire, but said it was most likely accidental.
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