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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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What started as a normal workday for Rose Miza ended in tragedy just 30 minutes later.
The 26‑year‑old from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had barely settled into her shift when she received a call alerting her that her house was on fire. Her three beagles, Bear, Jack and Rue, did not make it out.
“They truly were my entire world," she told Newsweek. "I don’t feel like the same person anymore."
Read More on Pets
The fire occurred at the start of January, destroying the home Miza shared with her dogs. On February 1, she shared a tear‑jerking slideshow on Instagram to an account dedicated to her pets (@bear.jack.rue) featuring photos of Bear, Jack and Rue, alongside a caption reflecting on the suddenness of their deaths and the guilt she has been left carrying.
“There was no goodbye. No last touch, no last look, no moment to prepare for this kind of loss,” she wrote, adding that the loss has left her riddled with grief.
The post continued: "The place that was supposed to protect them, didn’t. Home became the site of the trauma.”
"It’s hard to imagine having another home again without the three of them.”
In the immediate aftermath, fire marshals initially believed the blaze may have started in the attic, possibly caused by critters chewing through wiring.
But days later, Miza—who works in law enforcement—decided to review footage from a home camera positioned in her living room, facing toward the kitchen.
“A few days after the fire I looked at the footage and found that Bear broke the baby gate down and pushed the trash can (I would leave it in the sink so he wouldn’t rip trash out) over and it turned the stove on and he started pulling trash onto the burner,” she told Newsweek.
The discovery has only deepened her pain.
“Today my life is not the same,” Miza said. “This kind of death is something I never imagined. Bear, Jack, and Rue were my reason for getting up everyday. I spent every free minute I had with them.”
Miza said she deliberately chose beagles because of their high energy levels and need for constant activity, a commitment she fully embraced outside of work.
“They were definitely my best friends,” she said. “We did everything together from hiking in the woods for hours, paddle‑boarding on the lake, going on vacation to Florida and everything else in between.
“Everything I did was for them. The guilt of knowing something so simple took them from me is something I live with every day.
“So many people say it’s an accident but the thought that I could have done something different and they would still be here is something I think about everyday.”
Miza’s Instagram post has since broken thousands of hearts. At the time of writing, the slideshow has received nearly 10,000 likes, with commenters offering condolences and words of comfort.
“I want so badly to find words that could give you comfort,” one user wrote. “All that I can think of is I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine the pain and heartache you’re going through.”
Another commenter sought to reassure her, writing: “Every fire personnel I have talked to says they definitely fell asleep before. The flames got anywhere near. So sorry, I still cry almost daily for all [four] of you!!”
A third added: “I don’t even have words for this kind of sadness, just sending you so much love and every last ounce of healing energy I can muster. May your babies watch over you until it’s your time to meet again.”
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