North Port house fire kills animals and raises concerns about conditions

A house fire on Koltenborn Road in North Port killed numerous animals, left neighbors upset over the care of the pets, and raised concerns about possible animal hoarding.

"There were pigs running up and down the street, chickens, dogs," said neighbor Sarah Kugel.

The aftermath of the fire revealed burnt cages with no life inside. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office reported finding dead birds, rodents, cats, fish, and rabbits at the scene.

Kurtiss Kueter said the property had been unpleasant even before the fire.

"The odor, the flies, and it is just nasty, and the fire didn’t make it nasty; it has been nasty the whole time," Kueter said.

Other neighbors expressed similar concerns.

"I’ve seen hoarding of crates upon crates, garage filled with crates. Horrible stench like every other week when I walk by," said Misty Chase.

Code enforcement had reportedly been notified multiple times about the property, dating back to 2022. Inspectors are now gathering clues for possible violations.

"We had no idea to the extreme of how many animals that had," Kugel said.

While some neighbors described the situation as animal hoarding, Wendy and Nicole Ducheney, the residents, said the animals were pets and rescues.

"All of our animals we had, we loved them, we spent a lot of time with them, we took a lot of care with them," Wendy Ducheney said.

The fire devastated the Ducheneys, who said they lost about 50 animals, including birds and parrots.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they have four dogs and ten cats in their care following the fire. The Ducheneys have relocated with the remaining animals, which include four dogs, two birds, and five rabbits.

"If we had a problem, they would have taken our animals," Wendy Ducheneys said.

The fire marshal confirms the cause of the fire was accidental.