Two dogs, cat escape house fire

Two dogs and a cat escaped a Saturday night house fire while the owners were away for the holiday weekend.

Firefighters rescued the dogs. The cat found its own way out of the house.

But a second cat remained missing Sunday evening.

The fire severely damaged the home of former WhiteWings manager Al Gallagher.

Late Sunday, the interior of the home appeared to have been ravaged by the fire, with a gaping hole in the roof and charred furniture and floors.

Gallagher and his wife, Nancy, were in San Antonio for the Labor Day weekend when the fire broke out about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. A family friend who was “pet sitting” arrived at the house late that night to find flames shooting out of the roof.

“I turned the corner and I saw a cop and then I saw smoke. I just got out of the car and ran to the house,” family friend Nancy McManus said.

Firefighters were already there with hoses aimed at the roof of the home at 1810 North Parkwood Drive.

Firefighters first found McManus’ pit bull, Sammy, behind a wooden gate on the side of the house as black smoke was still billowing from the roof. But the Gallaghers’ dog, a 2-year-old boxer named Sassy, remained in the house until after the fire was extinguished around 11:30 p.m., McManus said.

“The fire captain saved the dog,” McManus said.

“After the fire was out, they were going in to see if they could find the dog (Sassy) and both the cats. The fire captain’s the one that came out with the dog. He said she jumped into his arms.”

The Gallaghers’ cat, Tabor, emerged from under bushes on the side of the front yard about 2:30 a.m., after all the commotion had settled down. But McManus’s cat, Lucky, remained missing.

The Gallaghers arrived home early Sunday evening.

Al Gallagher, who played for the San Francisco Giants and other major league teams, served as field manager of what was then called the Harlingen WhiteWings from January to July 2008. He is currently manager of the Coastal Bend Thunder in Robstown.

“The baseball season ended so we went up to San Antonio for a three-day holiday. It didn’t end up that way,” Gallagher said.

As Nancy Gallagher surveyed the damage from the front door, she said, “Oh my God. Oh.”

“It’s pretty much gone.”

Later she said, “Sassy and Tabor, they’re our kids. We love them so much. I would rather lose everything in this house than lose them.”

Fire Marshal Danny Warner said Sunday that the fire was contained to one home. He did not immediately know how many units responded.

He said some firefighters sustained minor injuries, but he did not know the details.

“One or two were treated at the scene. As far as I know, no firefighter was transported to the hospital.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

“I have several hypotheses. We’re in the process of eliminating those one by one so we can determine, if possible, what started the fire,” Warner said.

“At this time, I can say with some certainty that the fire started in the attic space. But we’re still in the process of elimination.”

Warner said he could not immediately estimate the extent of the damage.