Dog Daycare Owner Warned About Flooding Before 10 Dogs Drowned

The owner of a dog daycare in Washington, D.C., warned about flooding prior to flash flooding that resulted in the deaths of 10 dogs at the daycare.

In April, Jacob Hensley, the owner of District Dogs in Washington D.C. posted a tweet on X, formerly Twitter, tagging the city’s mayor, the Department of Public Works and D.C. Water saying, “After three dangerous floods last year, we are noticing flooding already on Rhode Island Ave with minimal rainfall so far. Can this stormwater drain please get inspected? There is no reason why this should already be backing up and causing significant concern if we get heavier storms.”

Roughly four months after the tweet, flash floods hit Washington, D.C., caused by heavy rainfall and resulted in the death of 10 dogs at the District Dogs daycare. According to the Washington Post, Samantha Miller, a spokesperson for the Humane Rescue Alliance confirmed on Tuesday that 10 dogs had died due to flooding.

“Our hearts go out to the families who lost beloved pets in yesterday’s tragic flooding in Northeast,” the vice president of field services at the Humane Rescue Alliance, Chris Schindler, said in a statement, according to the Washington Post.

In a statement posted on Facebook, District Dogs said, “We are heartbroken and want to express our profound sadness to our clients who are dealing with the loss of beloved members of their families. As animal lovers and strong advocates for animal welfare ourselves, this is deeply and personally painful. This is an absolute tragedy and we are all devastated.”

“Yesterday, within just a few minutes, the flooding went from blocking our front doors to breaking through the glass wall, sending 6 feet of water into our business. As that wall of water came upon them, our staff worked heroically to save as many animals as possible despite real danger to their own lives…we are forever grateful for the heroic actions of our staff and first responders whose efforts resulted in saving dozens of dogs,” the statement added.

While speaking with reporters on Monday, D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly spoke about the flooding and the loss of dogs saying, “It’s unbearable. This is losing a member of your family or being scared that you did.”

In one video posted to X, flood waters can be seen throughout the streets near District Dogs with one video showing a car partially underwater.

“This is what it looked like outside of District Dogs on Rhode Island Ave NE at the height of the flash flood. Texted to me by Amanda F,” X user Spencer Allan Brooks of WUSA9 news wrote.

Newsweek reached out to the Washington D.C. Fire and EMS via email for comment.