Martha Stewart's Chow Puppy Dead in Accident

Martha Stewart fans got a kick out of learning last week that her two Frenchies, Sharkey and Francesca, had started their own blog. Called “The Daily Wag“, the blog promises to share details of the adventures of the twosome. Tessa posted a comment chastising them for referring to Martha as “the boss”, but we note it hasn’t appeared yet. Apparently Martha takes that boss title seriously.

This week, however, the news is much more grim. Martha’s new Chow puppy, Ghengis Khan, was killed in a freak propane explosion at the Pennsylvania home of her breeder. The new puppy, who was the topic of much internet discussion on sites like cuteoverload.com, was the successor to Martha’s previous Chow, Kublai Khan.

17 of the 30 dogs on site at the kennel died, and others were injured. Several emergency responders were treated for burns and smoke inhalation, including the driver of the delivery truck which sparked the blaze.

From the New York Daily News:

The driver, Timothy Kleinhagen, was critically injured in the blast, but managed to save at least one pup before evacuating the scene for his own safety.

According to the kennel’s owner Tracy, he was able to toss a Cairn terrier named Chilli to safety before fleeing the scene. “That man is a hero,” Tracy said. “My heart goes out to his family.”

Karen Tracy, who breeds Chows under the PAZZAZZ kennel prefix, also operated a boarding kennel. Some of the dead and injured dogs were boarders, while the rest were her Chows.

Martha Stewart has posted a tribute to Ghengis and the other dogs lost in the tragedy on her own blog, but took some flack for Twittering about the accident just moments before she twittered about the chinese food she was making for lunch guests.

Daily Gawker posted side by side Tweets from Martha’s twitter page, insinuating that it showed her callousness in the face of the death of her puppy.

The people I’ve spoken to are all universal in their admiration for Martha’s devotion to her dogs. Unlike many celebrity owners, she’s actively involved in the care of her pets, treating them as more than just fashion accessories (cough:EllenDegeneres:cough).

Considering that most celebrities have assistants who post their tweets for them, we shouldn’t really lay personal blame on Martha if one of her tweets seemed inappropriate.

Martha has posted updates about the tragedy on her own blog, including this  update:

In all, Karen lost twelve of her own dogs and five boarder dogs.  Three of her chows are at the veterinarian’s in intensive care. Timothy Kleinhagen, the heroic driver of the propane truck, remains in critical condition and is facing lengthy hospital time.  The cause of the blast has yet to be determined.

Karen explained that dogs are her life and despite this horrific tragedy, she remains hopeful and optimistic.  Her plan is to rebuild her kennels and continue on as a breeder of chows and a boarder of other dogs.