Neighbors caring for dogs at pet sanctuary, food donations needed
THIS DAY DOG NEWS
OAKLAND – Perry Boore sat on the tailgate of a SUV shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday, his face blistered and covered in black soot as his home burned to the ground.
Anybody that knows the 82-year-old animal lover, who operates Perry's Orphans Sanctuary, can imagine his first concern was not for himself, but for the dozens of stray dogs he rescues and cares for.
It's been his labor of love for more than 20 years.
"I lost some of my puppies, my puppy dogs," Boore sobbed. "I lost so many."
Wendy Maher and Mike Dunn are neighbors who help care for the many dogs that call the rescue operation home. Maher was tending to some of the dogs when she saw Boore come out of his Marion County Road 144 residence.
"He came out and smoke was just pouring out of the house," a distraught Maher said, surrounded by dogs seeking attention. "I had to stop him from trying to go back in and rescue more of them."
The pair ran to the back door of the home and let more dogs out. Maher then raced up the road to the home she shares with Dunn and called 911, sending the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Marion County Office of Emergency Services and the Oakland-Promise Land Volunteer Fire Department to the scene.
As firefighters contained the fire to prevent it from spreading to nearby dog kennels, emergency personnel tended to Boore as they awaited the arrival of a Baxter Regional Medical Center ambulance at the remote location.
Boore was loaded into the ambulance and transported to a nearby farmer's field for transfer to the helicopter. Firefighters said Boore was being taken to a Springfield, Mo., hospital for treatment. The Bulletin on Thursday, though, learned he had been flown to, and remains a patient at, Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. When contacted, a family member said Boore is listed in stable condition in the hospital's ICU burn unit, but is heavily sedated.
Meanwhile, Dunn and Maher were helping emergency personnel with contact information for Boore's family. The pair said they will care for the dozens of animals that call the sanctuary home.
"We have pretty much everything we need to maintain the dogs and the kennels," Dunn said. "The place has water, so we're good there."
"There's about three bags of food here right now," Maher said. "Those dogs blink and that food will be gone."
For people who want to help, Boore gets his food at Gregg Farm Services, located in Midway at 6135 AR Highway 126. The store's phone number is 481-5165. Employees there are aware of the fire at the sanctuary and will collect donations to pay for dog food.
The fire apparently was started by a heating device. Boore is suffering from periods of confusion, and has been for the past two years. A neighbor said she found him at a nearby home late at night, confused about where he was and where his home was. In 2013, Boore was diagnosed with the onset of Alzheimer's.
It's unclear if the fire started due to a propane heater or a wood stove. Maher says there was a wood stove in Boore's home.
Soltysik said Boore told her a propane heater exploded. However the fire started, the home was a total loss.
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