CHENNAI: In a nightmarish incident, a five-year-old golden retriever dog 'Santiago' that won multiple international shows across the United States, Canada and India, suffered grievous burn injuries in a fire accident on Monday night.
The accident took place in Kelambakkam. According to his owner Harish Mohan, there was a short circuit at around 9.30 pm and the kennel in which Santiago was resting got gutted.
"All of this happened within a span of 5 minutes. I left him in his kennel at 9:20 pm and went up to my room.
My wife Asha and dad were watching TV and both of them could smell smoke all of a sudden. They went out and they saw the kennel completely on fire and Santiago on fire inside the kennel.
I heard both of them scream and ran down to see the most disturbing scene ever. After nearly 25 buckets of water, he stood back up and we rushed him to the hospital.
I lost my sister when I was 5 years of age and my saddest memory has been that until today. This is pretty much the same for me and this will keep flashing in my memory forever. Sant has 60% burns. As of now the vet cannot promise me anything as his kidneys are damaged.
His cornea is damaged. His face is completely shattered. I can't see his eyeballs. I'm devastated, shocked, saddened, and still in disbelief. I hate myself and my life right now," Harish Mohan said, in a detailed Facebook post.
Mohan describes Sant as the most energetic athletic dog. Only last year, Sant participated in the Canadian Grand Championship and was recognized as the best golden retriever in Canada.
"I promise that I will give it my all and ensure he gets back on his feet again...I don't care about his coat, his face, his skin, nothing... I just want him to breathe for a lot more years to come and I want him to be with me and my family.
I always said this to my wife.. Sant is my first born. I can never ever give up on him no matter what. Please excuse my absence from social media for a while. 75% of my life and my social media had Sant involved and I know I won't have anything happy to share for a while," he says.