WINNIPEG – Animals at a pet store in Transcona have died after the business went without running water for 32 days because its pipes were frozen.
Tanya Morgan, owner of Pet Peripherals on Regent Avenue, said she struggled to keep her rodents, birds, fish and reptiles alive with no hot or pressurized water.
And while water service was restored on Sunday, she said it’s too late for her business, which she has been winding down with plans to close.
Morgan is waiting to hear if her dog groomer will come back.
“If he is willing to come back to work we will try to pick up the pieces and move forward,” Morgan told Global News on Monday.
Without hot running water, cages, tanks and water bowls couldn’t be cleaned properly, which led to bacteria growth that sickened animals, she said.
“My first and foremost priority is find homes for the animals so that no more die and no more get sick,” Morgan said on Sunday.
Morgan had been waiting for the city to thaw her pipes since she lost water service more than a month ago.
“We waited for three weeks before the city finally came to thaw. They got here to thaw them and they attempted for 30 hours with no success,” she said.
Morgan was told there was nothing else the city could do and she’d have to wait at least four more weeks to have the pipe excavated and repaired.
The pet store had a temporary hose line hooked up but it froze after just four days. Morgan called the city to get it repaired, but she said the city refused to hook it back up because it ran across the back lane and posed a danger to pedestrians and vehicles.
After Global News left the store Sunday, Morgan received a phone call from the city, telling her a steamer was on its way, an option she was never given before. After an hour, the steamer got water flowing to the store.
It’s too late, though, she said. Her dog groomer left for another job, animals died, and the city denied her claim for losses, so as she nears bankruptcy, she plans to close the store next week.
“This is the letter. They said right here that section 485, the city is not liable for any damages caused by the breakage, malfunction or failure of any pipes,” said Morgan.
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