Barak Is Finally Home After Devastating Home Explosion
Last week, Barak, a very special shelter resident, was reunited with his dad after nearly four months of emergency boarding at BARCS. Back in October, Baltimore made national headlines when several neighboring houses in our city exploded. One of the homes belonged to Barak and his dad. It was by a miracle that they narrowly survived the disaster which resulted in other fatalities. Barak was transferred to BARCS and his dad to shock trauma where he was put into an induced coma for life-threatening burns. However, on his ambulance ride and at the hospital, he kept telling the EMTs and doctors that he wanted his dog. He was begging that Barak be saved and returned to him.
A few days after Barak arrived at our shelter, we learned that his dad’s expected time in the hospital was at least a month. Up until recently, guaranteeing a month-long hold or longer—even for an emergency—wasn’t always easy or even possible. BARCS is an open admission shelter and the looming threat of running out of kennel space has always plagued our organization.
However, the COVID pandemic brought a huge expansion of our foster program, opening ample space in our shelter to help more pet owners in crisis. Even though Barak’s return date to his dad was unknown, we made the pledge to care for him for as long as needed. Barak wasn’t a candidate for foster, but at the shelter, he had a daily plan of long walks, playgroup romps, in-kennel enrichment, training sessions, and cuddle time thanks to our dedicated volunteers and staff.
Barak's dad survived, but after he was released from the hospital, he faced a new challenge: where would they live? Their house was decimated in the explosion, and the first place he landed wouldn’t allow for dogs. We stayed in contact with Barak’s dad frequently as he put the pieces of his life back together, all the while facing the daily heartbreak of missing his best friend. We assured him that, no matter what, Barak would stay at BARCS until they could be reunited.
In the final days of January, Barak’s dad secured dog-friendly housing and was able to pick him up from our shelter. He hugged and kissed his very best buddy, with all those around him watching in tears. Keeping this family together was worth the resources and worth the wait. ❤️
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