Since the Overbrook apartment building burned down, Chantal Wade is offering a reward for the return of two cats
A person who lived in an apartment building that burned down last week in Ottawa’s Overbrook neighborhood is desperate to find two cats that have been missing since the fire.
Before the fire on February 21, Chantal Wade had five cats and a few other pets. She has been reunited with one of her cats, but two others, her five leopard geckos, and two snakes died in the fire.
Wade wasn’t home when the fire started, but he said that firefighters had other things to do.
“They don’t look for animals unless you’re in the unit,” she said. “Since I wasn’t in the unit, they didn’t clear it for animals, and I couldn’t get them out.”
After the fire was put out, Wade’s grey tabby cat, Wolf, was found alive and mostly well in a closet.
She said, “I was afraid they wouldn’t hear him and would give up.” Since then, Wolf has been to the vet and gotten the care he needs.
Two of Wade’s other four cats, Ashabelle, Moo, Charlie, and Tag, were found dead, but it’s not clear which ones they were because their bodies were in such bad shape. She thinks Tag and one of the others may have gotten out of the fire, and she’s willing to pay $500 for each of them if they can be found.
No one died or got badly hurt in the fire.
Tracker helping the hun
Wade has put up signs around the neighborhood asking anyone who has seen her cats to contact her.
She is also working with Jackie Gauthier, an animal tracker who goes by the name Jackie to the Rescue, to find her lost pets.
Gauthier had firefighters set up baited traps with cameras that turned on when the cats moved inside the building to try to catch the missing cats.
“We had to ask the firemen for help so that they could go up there,” Gauthier, who is helping out for free, said.
“We’re down here trying to tell the firefighters up there where to put the traps, the food, and the camera, which is kind of hard.”
A spokesperson for Ottawa Fire Services said that firefighters do everything they can to save pets from dangerous situations, but they can’t always do so.
Ottawa Bylaw Services said that the building on Presland Road is too dangerous for its officers to go inside. However, one dog and one cat were rescued from the building, which was confirmed by the service.
On Monday, bylaw officers went back to the scene, but they said no animals were saved at that time.
Gauthier thinks that her cameras caught a quick glimpse of one of Wade’s cats, but the missing animals are still out there.
Wade said, “I just want them back.” “Everyone tells me I should be happy I have one, but I want my other cats back.”