MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Several rescue animals were killed, and several others are recovering after a fire destroyed a home in Marked Tree, Arkansas, on Monday.
The home on Nathan belonged to volunteers with the Marked Tree Animals Rescue. Rhonda Davis and her husband, Tommy Walker, were returning from a shelter when they found out their house was on fire.
Davis said at the time, nearly 30 cats and two puppies were inside their house and back porch, and she immediately went to Facebook asking for help.
“We asked people to bring kennels, and you cannot imagine how many people came to Marked Tree,” said Davis. “We had kennels from all over. People brought leashes, set our dogs free that we had outside, everybody was trying to track down cats, and they had opened up the back porch and let them.”
Two dogs and five cats were killed in the fire, and sixteen cats are still unaccounted for. The Wynne Animal Rescue Veterinary Clinic is now caring for the cats hurt in the fire and taking care of other rescue dogs housed on the property.
“Wynne Animal Rescue Vet Clinic was closed Monday. We messaged and called them, and the vet techs contacted the vet and the clinic owner, and they opened up and saw all the animals for us. They stayed through the night,” Davis said.
Davis is asking people to be on the lookout for their cats and said they found two more Tuesday.
“They are coming back. We have set traps all around the house,” she said.
The Marked Tree Animal is also looking for foster families for their dogs and donations to help with the mounting vet bills. Davis said they plan to hold a candlelight vigil Thursday night, and she can never begin to thank everyone who came to their rescue.
“People who had donated to us, supported us, or had adopted or fostered an animal were here,” said Davis. “On Monday, all of those people stayed to help and constantly searched, and then all our volunteers and people from other rescue groups took off work to come help.”
Davis’s husband is a retired band director for the Marked Tree School District. The school district is already organizing fundraisers to assist the rescue group.
For more information on how you can help the Marked Tree Rescue click here.
Davis said they do not know what started the fire.