Tuesday, December 02, 2008

A Horrible Start to the Christmas Season

T is one of our teenaged students. He's a recent brown belt, also bright, conscientious to a fault, and generally a great kid.

His house burned down yesterday - with his dog in it.

Leastwise, we believe the dog was in the house. T was at school and his parents were out looking for a Christmas tree when the house went up. A neighbor called 911 and their cell phone, but it was way too late for the house. The roof is in the basement, though the garage is apparently water-damaged but intact, and the (brand-new) deck is in reasonable condition. Their dog hasn't been seen, though it has been posited with more hope than anything that he may have escaped and run off in fright.

The loss of the dog is the worst of it, but besides that, they've lost pretty much everything - clothes, pictures, toiletries, the works. T is supposed to be back in class Thursday (he wasn't there tonight for obvious reasons), Sensei has a new gi and belt waiting for him - fortunately he had spares in his stash.

Poor kid - poor family. What an incredibly awful way to start the holidays.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Seriously bad way to start the holidays. It's especially hard to see it happen to good people. Hopefully their beloved dog will be found safe and sound.

Nicole Maki said...

I hope they find their dog. That is so sad.

We lost everything in a house fire in 1997 and we are still looking for things we thought we misplaced and then remember they were burnt.

It's the strangest feeling waking up the next morning and not having a toothbrush or a pair of clean underwear to change into. It's very life changing.

They'll be in my prayers.