FELLSMERE — Three months after fire tore through the For the Love of Paws sanctuary, founder Ted Pankiewicz Jr. is directing a rebuild that will replace the destroyed wooden structures with a larger, steel-and-concrete cottage designed with multiple escape routes and modern safety features.
The March 9 blaze, which broke out around 5:40 a.m. in the 14000 block of 109th Street, killed 11 cats and a tortoise. Investigators could not pinpoint the exact cause, but an Indian River County Fire Rescue report and security camera footage point to a window air conditioning unit as the most likely source.
Pankiewicz, who started the nonprofit in 2013 to honor his late wife, Jessica, said community donations poured in immediately. Nearly $100,000 arrived within four days, enough to fund the reconstruction on the same site in Fellsmere.
The original setup consisted of two wooden sheds, each 26 feet by 14 feet, that could house up to 18 cats. The new single structure will measure 44 feet by 14 feet and include doors on all four walls, each fitted with cat doors, along with mini-split air conditioners and a maintained outdoor catio. Once finished — expected by August — it will have capacity for up to 30 cats.
Four cats survived the fire: Bob, a tuxedo; Millie, a tabby; Odie; and Socks. Pankiewicz described how his son lifted a burning kennel to pull cats out as flames roared overhead. He said his son escaped serious injury and credited his late wife with protecting him during the rescue. Pankiewicz himself suffered burn marks on his arms while trying to smother flames around Socks.
The four survivors now live inside the Pankiewicz home with the family’s dogs, parrots and a bearded dragon. They have grown noticeably more affectionate and clingy since the fire, he said.
The animals that died were buried in a peaceful butterfly garden on the property that doubles as the sanctuary’s pet cemetery.
While construction continues, the sanctuary is not accepting new pets. The increased attention from the fire has also boosted the organization’s long-running pet food pantry program, which distributes 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of food each month to 16 food banks across Indian River County.
Linn Stewart, who manages the pantry, said many donors had not known about the sanctuary before the fire. The organization also supplies every fire station in Indian River County with two animal oxygen masks and provides robotic cats to nursing homes and memory care facilities to comfort residents with dementia.
Pankiewicz said the fire has left him with lingering effects, including being startled awake by the sound of the home air conditioner or by rocket launches. He said he has PTSD from it.
The new cottage addresses one of the problems exposed by the fire: the cats in one building could not escape because the fire started on the wall where the only cat door was located.
Beyond the immediate rebuild, Pankiewicz has launched plans for further expansion. A second fundraising campaign will support a roughly 6,000-square-foot building nearby that would include about 2,000 square feet for the food pantry — lowering operating costs — and the rest for additional animal housing.
He is also exploring the idea of a “rainbow bridge” mausoleum across a pond on the property where families could scatter pet ashes. The concept includes the possibility of an underwater movie screen for personalized memorials that visitors could access with a code.
Volunteers are being invited to help paint the interior and exterior of the new cottage in themes inspired by Tim Burton and “Alice in Wonderland,” a nod to Pankiewicz’s late wife.
The sanctuary’s core mission remains helping seniors, veterans and people with disabilities who can no longer care for their pets, along with a legacy program that lets older adults pre-arrange surrenders in emergencies.
