Remembering the District Dogs deadly flood 1 year later

WASHINGTON — Wednesday marks one year since flash floodwaters broke through the front window of District Dogs, killing 10 dogs inside. 

The deadly event began when a rainstorm turned severe in a matter of minutes on Aug. 14, 2023. Flash flooding caused a front window at District Dogs on Rhode Island Avenue to collapse – trapping several dogs and employees as the water rose inside a boarding room. It only took minutes for the floodwaters that breached District Dogs to reach a foot high. 

Not a day goes by that Jocelyn Lobos-Segura doesn’t think of her dog Mona and how helpless she must have felt as she drowned, trapped in her kennel.

“Just the overall guilt of not being there to help her with is something that I struggle with,” Lobos-Segura said.

Mona was one of 10 dogs killed while trapped in their kennels as District Dogs filled with more than six feet of water. First responders were able to evacuate six employees and 20 dogs.

Eight of the 10 families have since filed a lawsuit against District Dogs and its founder Jacob Hensley. For personal reasons, Lobos-Segura told WUSA9, she chose not to.

To this day, Lobos-Segura said there are many unanswered questions about the moments leading up to Mona’s death and why there appeared to be no emergency plan in place even though the business had flooded before.

"The only thing that would help is a play-by-play of what happened," she said. "An apology doesn’t do the situation justice.” 

Lobos-Segura said she's unhappy with the lack of response and accountability from the owner.

"The owner won’t say anything," she said. "I haven’t heard from him since last year. He still hasn’t said anything. Even now..”

Since the tragic incident, Lobos-Segura has been looking for ways to honor Mona, regularly donating to local animal rescues and recently adopting two dogs.

Paloma, a rescue from a shelter in Virginia, and Mariposa, a three-legged rescue, who was on the verge of being euthanized.

“Both of them have similar personalities to Mona. It brings back those memories of Mona, It’s hard to not be able to experience those moments with Mona, but I’m glad her memory lives on,” Lobos-Segura said.

A company spokesperson for District Dogs provided the following statement:

"August 14th will forever be a day of profound sadness and solemn remembrance for the District Dogs family. Last August’s unprecedented storm, and accompanying flood, changed so many lives that day, especially for the families who lost their beloved dogs and our staff members who heroically risked their lives to rescue as many dogs as they could."

"There are no words to convey our sorrow for the families still grieving from the loss of their dogs. We remain eternally grateful to our dedicated staff and loyal customers for their support in the immediate aftermath of the flood and throughout the past year. We are committed to healing these wounds and building deep and lasting ties with the communities we serve."