Dogs at pet spa die in DeKalb strip mall fire

Nearly 20 dogs were rescued Friday from an early morning fire that damaged several businesses – including a pet spa – in a DeKalb County shopping center, but two dogs died.

The blaze was reported just after midnight at a restaurant in the Westgate Plaza on North Main Street in Stone Mountain.

Channel 2 Action News reported that firefighters were able to contain the flames to the restaurant, but the Paws in Paradise pet salon and several other businesses in the strip shopping center sustained smoke and water damage.

Lamarr Mitchell, the owner of Pets in Paradise, had stayed late working on renovations to his shop, and helped firefighters get most of the dogs out of the building.

“We immediately started grabbing dogs and taking them to the back and took them out of the shop,” Mitchell told Channel 2.

Channel 2 reported that there were 19 dogs being boarded at the shop. Seventeen survived, but a Cocker Spaniel and a Shih Tzu died from smoke inhalation.