Zebulon, left, who was in critical condition, and Bentley, who died, after a kennel fire at Christal K-9 on Nov. 29, 2014.

Zebulon, a Husky mix picture here, suffered from smoke inhalation, fluid on his lungs, corneal ulcers and tracheal burns after a fire at Lawrence pet services business, Christal K-9.

Nancy Hause was horrified when she went to pick up her dogs, Zebulon and Bentley, from their boarder, Christal K-9, after she had returned home from visiting family in Missouri for Thanksgiving.

Hause, of Lawrence, had just dropped off her dogs on the previous Wednesday. She had used the business for years.

She pulled up to the building at 3115 W. Sixth St. around 2 p.m. Saturday to find it charred, with no sign indicating where her beloved pets might be.

“I walked into the business and it was virtually gutted, black with smoke and no one around,” Hause said. “Jazzercise, next door, was closed with a note on the door that there had been a fire.”

Hause called Christal K-9’s owner, Cedric Devin, who she said told her that a fire had occurred at the pet services business and that her dogs, along with about 19 others, had been taken to emergency veterinary clinics in Lawrence and the Kansas City area. One dog died at the scene despite firefighters’ efforts to use pet oxygen masks, fire officials said Saturday. Investigators later determined the fire had caused about $60,000 in damage and was caused by an electrical malfunction in a box fan.

“(Devin) said they were fine, that they’d been taken to Kansas City vet hospitals just for observation and that Bentley might need to stay overnight since he was older,” Hause said. “I called the hospitals and got the true story.”

Devin has declined to speak with the Journal-World.

Bentley, who was 14, had experienced smoke inhalation and died Sunday night from complications from the fire. Three days later, Zebulon remains in critical condition at Blue Pearl Veterinary Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., suffering from smoke inhalation, fluid on his lungs, corneal ulcers and tracheal burns, Hause’s daughter, Lauren Leonard, said.

“Our family is absolutely devastated and hopeful that her remaining dog, Zeb, will survive this horrible situation,” Leonard said. “At the moment, he has a 50/50 chance.”

Hause said veterinarians had told her the next three days will determine Zebulon’s fate. He’s been “coasting” since the fire, not getting any better or worse, Hause said.

Hause and her family have gone to visit Zebulon at the veterinary hospital every day since the fire. They brought the husky mix his favorite stuffed animal chew toy from home to comfort him as he receives medical care.

“Dogs are just family,” Hause said.

Hause was able to see Bentley “one last time” Sunday morning before he died. The Labrador and border collie mix had been her late husband’s before he died, so the loss hit her especially hard.

“He would come and sit on your feet at the end of the day,” Hause said. “He was a very loving, caring dog.”

It is unclear how many dogs have died or are still suffering from complications from the fire. VCA Mission Animal Referral and Emergency Center in Mission confirmed that they had one animal, a Labrador mix named Jigg, in their care.

Jigg is suffering from upper airway inflammation and is being cared for in a special oxygen cage, VCA spokeswoman Micah Townsend said.

“He’s hanging in there,” Townsend said. “He’s coughing up dark material, which is indicative of smoke inhalation.”

VCA also treated Bentley before he died.

Blue Pearl spokeswoman Georgia Flood would not say how many dogs from the fire they had treated, but Hause said Blue Pearl had told her at least one dog in their care had died.

Veterinarian Marguerite Ermeling of Gentle Care Animal Hospital in Lawrence told the Journal-World Monday that her clinic treated several of the rescued dogs. She said some could have long-lasting effects from the smoke, but nothing that would prevent them from having a “normal life.”

Attempts to reach Christal K-9 for comment on Monday and Tuesday were unsuccessful.