On Saturday August 19th, our family arrived home to find our apartment completely engulfed in flames. Moments after calling  911, we realized our dog, Shadow, was still inside. There is nothing harder than the realization that your puppy is in danger and there is absolutely nothing that you can do but watch and pray. It felt like a lifetime before the fire department showed up, and it was another 30 minutes before they were finally able to extinguish the fire.
 
We lost absolutely everything in our apartment, but most importantly, we lost Shadow, who was not just our pet, but he was a member of our family.  This made for a very difficult conversation with our five year old son, who witnessed everything. As a family, we are asking for anything to help us get back on our feet and start our life over again.