Cayuga house fire leaves animal loving couple without pets and left to sell rescued horses

A Tuesday morning fire in Cayuga that devastated a couple and killed over 30 of their animals now have to sell their horses to help pay for the damages.

Sue Shipley and Jim Partington’s house on Highway 3 was involved in the blaze that started in the early morning hours.

“I think of what I lost,” Shipley says. “The birds… I don’t care about material things but I cared about my animals.”

The couple rescued parrots and had 20 of the exotic birds in their house. Their cages are now mixed with the other debris. They also had four cats and 11 kittens that were lost and one of their dogs ran back into the burning house and has yet to be found. A total of 36 animals died.

But thankfully, their horses were spared. The couple travels across North America saving horses from slaughter houses.

“There’s no way a good horse should ever go to a dog food factory,” Partington said.

But now their beloved animals have to be sold to good homes because they can’t afford to keep them and the pair did not have home insurance.

“I ran out of money a couple of years ago and something had to go,” Partington explained. “House insurance was the most expensive on the list so I took a chance… The wrong chance.”

Shipley lost two adult sons years ago but after this fire she now only has one picture of one of her sons left.

“That’s the things you treasure most, your pets and your pictures,” Shipley said.

The couple are currently staying at their neighbour’s house until they find a mobile home to place on their land. Other nearby residents are also stepping in to help

“Well he’s a good friend of mine. Neighbours got to help neighbours around here,” said a friend.

A family friend has started a GoFundMe page but so far only $30 has been raised.

“I was born with nothing, I have nothing now,” Partington sighed.

The cleanup continues and the pair say they are so grateful for the generosity of their community. People have been dropping off clothes and shoes, even complete strangers are offering to help them clean up and rebuild.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help the family.