“I am devastated”; Weymouth woman loses pets in house fire after returning home from cancer treatment

By Mike Sullivan

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    WEYMOUTH, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A Weymouth woman came home from receiving cancer treatment only to have her home catch on fire. The flames claimed the life of her two dogs, along with nearly a dozen rescue animals that belonged to her humane society.

Jennifer Inzana Young found out she had stage four colon cancer four years ago. She has received numerous treatments since.

Her escape is helping animals.

“I have undergone countless rounds of chemotherapy. I have had a liver resection. I have had a colon resection, and a lung resection, radiation, ablations,” lists Young, “After every surgery, my favorite thing would be to come home and to snuggle up with my fur babies.”

In addition to her full-time job, she is the president of the South Shore Humane Society, and she owns a mobile spayed and neuter clinic. Her home is always full of rescue animals.

When her and her husband came home from her cancer treatment in New York, they realized their dogs weren’t in the window ready to say, “Hello.”

“Often my two boys [Bentley and Levi] would be sitting in the bay window waiting to greet us,” remembers Young, “I said the windows dont look normal. Something doesn’t look right? They looked foggy.”

“As soon as I open up the door, there was a heavy, thick, dark, gray smoke,” says Jennifer’s husband Charles Young, “I could only get in a couple feet. I would go in for a second, and hold my breath, and go back in. I started to try to search for animals.”

The house was on fire. Charles believes it started in the kitchen before making its way to the living room.

He was able to save two kittens, however two of their dogs died, along with 11 rescue animals.

“I need a house, but I would give everything in this world to have those babies back,” cries Jennifer, “My little doodle couldn’t make it. His little lungs couldn’t handle inhaling smoke after having pneumonia as a puppy. We were just calling for Levi, because he is always the stronger one, but he didn’t come.”

Since the fire, people have come by to offer donations. They have a GoFundMe page that has raised $35,000 to date.

People have come by to help take in any of the rescue animals that survived. Jennifer and the Weymouth Fire Department were able to administer CPR to some of the animals.

“It is amazing to see that there are wonderful, nice people in this world still,” says Charles, “Live every day like it is the best day in the world. Don’t worry about other issues.”

“I am devastated and will always miss those two boys,” tells Jennifer, “But, that’s being in rescue. You just have to buck up, and get ready for the next. There are always more that animals that need our help.”

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