Very early Monday morning someone tried to burn the Stoughton pet grooming business. This is the same grooming business we talked about last week where someone broke in stole a dog and allowed other to be set free running around busy highway where one was killed and one still missing.
The Fire Department responded to the fire alarm. Fire Capt. Douglas Campbell said a roll of toilet paper that had been doused with accelerant was found on the second floor of the business. The paper was smoldering and was removed from the building before it could ignite, he said. When police arrived on the scene they found another break in had occurred and an attempt had been made to set fire to the building. “Some accelerant was used but did not ignite the way it was intended,” said Campbell
Holyoke the owner of the Grooming and Boarding facility told The Enterprise the intruder removed an air-conditioning unit from the rear wall and climbed through that opening into the building. The person filled a dog dish with gasoline, placed a roll of toilet paper in it and attempted to light it. The “Die, Rat” message was found on the wall afterward, she said.
The latest attack on the business is being taken very seriously by both state and local arson investigators as there were dogs and possibly cats in the building at the time of the arson attempt. It was not clear yet if this arson attempt had anything to do with the previous break in or if this is a separate incident.
To make matters even more bizarre Holyoke the owner of the facility testified against a former vice chairman and treasurer of the state Republican Committee. After papers were filed last week seeking a new trial in the case, a News Service reporter interviewed Holyoke on Tuesday. After the interview he called his lawyer, who suggested he leave town for a few days with his staff in charge at the Grooming and Boarding Facility until the media attention died down.
Holyoke took his lawyers advice and went to Maine for a few days. The first night he was away was the night of the break in by the woman who was drunk into the gated and fenced play area at his business stealing a dog and allowing the others to escape. Obviously the media attention has not died down and only gotten worse for Holyoke who has been turning his life around and making a fresh start.
oh my god this is just terrible! Shame on those people spreading hate! I feel so bad for those poor innocent creatures, and the people who are just trying to help them having to deal with all this! Maybe they should get some cameras!
-Samantha