Terry Haley could only cry Tuesday afternoon as he stared at the charred ruins of his Lansing pet shop.
“Our whole lives were in that store, and the people who worked with us,” he said.
For 20 years, local pet lovers stopped at Terry’s Aquarium and Pet Store at 3642 Ridge Rd. to buy a puppy, a bird or a fish–or to simply gawk and wonder at the variety of animals.
But a fire that started about 10 p.m. Monday and quickly engulfed the store turned those years into wistful memories.
Haley had no estimate of how many animals died, but about 30 survived, including a brilliant scarlet macaw named Fido.
Firefighters, police officers and bystanders pulled the macaw, eight puppies and several birds and guinea pigs to safety after the fire broke out.
“Bystanders and police were doing everything they could to get the animals out,” Haley said.
But many creatures, including birds, reptiles, fish, mice and hamsters, could not be saved.
“We didn’t have time, for safety purposes, to get them all,” said Lansing Fire Capt. Jim Baird. “It basically was just grabbing cages and carrying them out.”
No people were injured in the blaze, which destroyed the building. Fire officials were still investigating the cause late Tuesday.
Firefighters from Calumet City, South Holland, Dolton, Riverdale, Chicago Heights and Munster and Dyer, Ind., extinguished the fire about 3 a.m. Tuesday, Baird said.
The nearby Ridge Animal Clinic took in the surviving animals. The puppies included a Labrador retriever, a golden retriever, a poodle and a boxer.
“Everybody’s fine,” said clinic employee Michelle Wardian. “It worked out real well. The owner opened the clinic for them to take all the animals in and make sure they were OK.”
The animals will be transferred to Haley’s pet store in Hammond.
