Fire Kills 21 Dogs and Cats at In-Home Pet Boarding Business in Dousman Wisconsin

Jen Berczy was at Disney World with her family when she got the news. Her dog Tundra, a German Shepherd mix she described as having “the kindest soul,” was gone.

He had been left at a home boarding business in Dousman, Wisconsin. The owner was not there.

That is the part that stays with you.

On June 13, 2026, a fire broke out at the home of Kortney LaTour, who ran an in-home pet boarding business called Whomping Willows. 32 animals were inside. Rescue crews pulled all of them out. Only 11 survived. 21 pets died. And nobody from the business was home.

The Fire That Nobody Could Stop in Time

Around 2 p.m., a neighbor spotted smoke coming from a home near Wolf Drive and Ottawa Avenue and heard dogs barking inside. Neighbors tried to get in. The smoke and flames would not let them.

Western Lakes Fire District arrived with mutual aid from more than a dozen departments. Using pet oxygen mask kits and CPR, they saved 6 dogs and 5 cats.

The remaining 21 did not make it. The fire started in the laundry and utility room and is not considered suspicious.

The Owner Was Hours Away. Families Were Never Told.

The home was operating as Whomping Willows, and families confirmed that owner Kortney LaTour was not home when the fire broke out. She was reportedly hours away. Nobody boarding their animals was told she would be gone.

Nate Zawerschnik drove to the scene to find his rottweiler Tyson and found no one from the business there. “Mindblown. It’s hard to put into words. Angry. I feel very angry. Because there’s just a level of irresponsibility there,” he said.

Both families say LaTour has not responded to any calls, texts, or Facebook messages since the fire. LaTour released a statement saying she is cooperating with authorities and that two of her own dogs also died.

The Bigger Problem Nobody Is Talking About

Here is what every other article has quietly walked past.

In-home pet boarding in Wisconsin operates with almost no regulatory oversight. State licensing covers breeders and shelters above certain thresholds.

It does not require a private home running a boarding business to be licensed, inspected, or have someone physically present at all times.

Families trusted this business because it had a name and a Facebook page. That page is now gone.

This has a familiar pattern. It is the same thing that happened when a fire tore through Wells Beach and the tightly packed homes made everything worse, where the absence of the right safeguards turned a bad situation into a devastating one.

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Why This Matters

According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans spent $158 billion on pets in 2025, with boarding, grooming, and training alone accounting for $14.3 billion. That number keeps growing. Accountability has not kept pace.

The investigation involves Western Lakes Fire District, Summit Police, and the Wisconsin DCI Fire Marshall’s Office. The Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County is helping families with private cremations. That is grief work after the fact.

The harder question is what accountability looks like before something like this happens.

It is the same gap that showed up when two people died in a Pennsylvania house fire because their smoke alarms were not working. The fire was not the only failure. Everything that should have been in place to prevent the worst outcome was missing too.

And sometimes the risk comes from the person you trusted, the way it did when a Texas firefighter hired a stranger online to break into a woman’s home. Trust in the wrong situation can cost everything.

Key Takeaways

• Fire at Whomping Willows, Dousman, Wisconsin, killed 21 dogs and cats on June 13, 2026
• 32 animals pulled from the home; only 11 survived
• Fire started in the laundry room, not considered suspicious
• Owner Kortney LaTour was not home and reportedly hours away at the time
• Pet owners say they were never told the owner would be absent
• LaTour has not responded to affected families as of June 15, 2026
• In-home pet boarding in Wisconsin does not require a state license to operate

What do you think should change about how in-home pet boarding businesses are run? Should states require licensing and mandatory on-site supervision? Drop your take in the comments.

Wrapping Up

21 pets. Most of them had names someone is saying out loud right now, wishing they could take that weekend back.

Tundra. Tyson. And 19 others the news has not named publicly.

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. All details are based on publicly available reports at the time of publication. The investigation is ongoing and facts may change.