‘I would love to see accountability’: Owner of dog killed in SODO dog resort fire speaks out

SEATTLE — It’s been two weeks since ‘The Dog Resort’ in SODO caught fire and three dogs escaped during the evacuation. Allison Scarborough’s dogs were boarded at ‘The Dog Resort’ when the fire happened. She was on a trip overseas when she got a call from the Washington State Department of Transportation saying they had found her dog, Georgie’s, body on I-5. Her other dog, Remi, had escaped and was missing for three days. Remi was found near Lumen Field and was taken to the vet for treatment.

“I was so helpless from overseas and to see people step up I just couldn’t have dreamed for any better help honestly,” Scarborough said. “I knew at that point at least I had one dog to come home to so I was just so happy, so happy.”

The owner of ‘The Dog Resort,’ Mona Elassiouti, said she is offering to pay for the vet bills but said Scarborough refused payments. She said she still plans to send a check. Scarborough, however, said that’s not the case.

“I have never refused payment as I explained to Mona she needs to be in contact with my lawyer Adam Karp because at this point I’ve turned it over to him for resolution and that when you have a lawyer, that’s not refusing payment,” she said.

Elassiouti did not want to go on camera but provided KIRO 7 with a statement saying:

“My heart is broken for the dog owners for Allison and North’s mom, and having two dogs of my own, I understand how they feel, it’s gut-wrenching and my soul is broken for them and I am so sorry this happened.”

Scarborough responded to that apology.

“For me more than an apology I would appreciate again her pushing for those regulation reforms and asking for help on how she could have a better facility where animals aren’t lost, injured, and killed,” Scarborough said. “I would love to see accountability and as well as driving for improvement of identifying how and why that business ended up in this place because there have been so many incidents in the last year alone.”

Elasiouti told KIRO 7 she would be meeting with insurance adjustors on Tuesday and that would determine if they can still use part of the building that didn’t burn.

For those customers trying to get in touch with the business, she is directing them to contact VIP Paws in Tukwila.

The voicemail for ‘The Dog Resort’ currently says it is temporarily closed. As for those still waiting for their deposits back, Elassiouti did not give an answer. Elassiouti also said the reason the dogs got out was because the fire department opened the gate too soon.

The Seattle Fire Department sent KIRO 7 a statement saying:

“The Seattle Fire Department’s mission is to save lives and protect property. When our firefighters responded to the fire at the dog daycare facility in the 600 block of South Industrial Way, they reported smoke and flames coming from the second floor. Primary access to the building was through a gated driveway. As crews opened the gate, additional resources were requested to help corral dogs entering the street. In this circumstance, our priority is to extinguish the fire and rescue anyone found inside the building. Uncontrolled fires can spread quickly and are a life-threatening emergency. Any delay in responding to the fire would have escalated the hazard for everyone within the gated facility. The cause of the fire is currently left as undetermined unless further evidence is presented.”

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