'They were our family': Topeka woman grieves after 'soul-shattering' loss of 9 pets in house fire

TOPEKA (KSNT) - A Topeka woman is asking for help after a house fire in the Montara neighborhood killed all of her pets last month.

KSNT 27 News spoke with Augusta (Gussi) Bonecutter who is currently staying in a hotel after a fire damaged the rental home she was staying at with her son and grandson. She said the family was in Kansas City on Sunday, June 30 attending a Royals baseball game when, upon returning home, they discovered a fire had occurred.

Describing the interior of her home as being hot and dark, Bonecutter said her first thought was that a firework had gone off. However, her thoughts quickly turned to the well-being of her pets: three dogs, three cats, two turtle-doves and a guinea pig.

One-by-one, Bonecutter found the pets lying dead throughout the home.

"When I turned to go into the kitchen I found our 11-month-old doodle puppy, then I found my grandson's emotional support cat," Bonecutter said. "Then I was running looking for my golden retriever-lab mix, then I saw my kitten..."

The source of the fire was found to be the family's oven which, after some digging done by Bonecutter's son, she said was known to have defects. She went on to say a fire investigator with the Shawnee Heights Fire District listed the cause as undetermined.

In the aftermath, it was found smoke from the oven was contained within the home with the windows cracking in some places but not breaking. Bonecutter said, "that house is uninhabitable" currently due to the smoke damage which forced her family to throw many things away, including her grandson's Legos and Nerf guns.

However, the biggest loss out of the grim situation was the family's many pets which Bonecutter said can't be replaced. She is still grieving their deaths today.

"It's soul-shattering to lose one pet but to lose them all at the exact same time for no good reason," Bonecutter said. "Talking about them helps heal... grief shows they were loved."

Heavenly Pets Memorials in Topeka helped Bonecutter following the fire by taking care of the deceased pets.

The sudden loss of all nine pets was softened somewhat through the kindness offered by the local memorial service.

"Heavenly Pets did me a huge favor and gave me a discounted rate, taking care of my babies for me," Bonecutter said. "They went above and beyond, they came and collected them all."

"I can't imagine, I really just cannot imagine losing all of my pets in such a tragic way," Heavenly Pets Memorials Owner Jolayne Greer said. "Again, just trying to help her out with that, no one expects to have to cremate all their animals at once. My heart definitely goes out to her, there's no other way to describe it other than tragic."

One of Bonecutter's friends, Michelle Caleb, set up a GoFundMe for her online to help her recover from the damage done by the fire. So far, the fundraiser has generated more than $2,000 for Bonecutter with the goal set at $5,000. You can find the GoFundMe by clicking here.

"They were our family," Bonecutter said when talking about her pets.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. 

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf