LUBBOCK, Texas — Chelsey Sheppard and her family are days away from moving into a new home after the old one caught on fire earlier this month. Sheppard, who’s a pediatrician, was at work when her husband called and told her the house was on fire.
“I turned around and called my boss in Lamesa, and I told him, I said, my house is on fire and he said, Go,” Sheppard said.
Sheppard’s husband and mom made it out of the home with all but one of their dogs, Azle.
Sheppard said everything else she could do without, but her family and dogs are irreplaceable.
“I had friends, family, all kinds of people show up,” Sheppard said. “The Ralls Fire Department stayed and helped us bury her right over there, they dug a grave for us so that we could get her buried that day and that was the hardest thing for me the whole time.”
In the last few weeks, donations flooded in on a GoFundMe that raised over $8,000 towards helping the Sheppard’s start over.
“We’ve had donations from people that we don’t even know specifically,” Sheppard said. “One that comes to mind is I had one from a man and it’s said from one old retired paramedic to another and I thought that was just amazing.”
Sheppard said this entire event opened her eyes that even in times of tragedy, good things can happen with lots of help.
“It’s a heartbreaking experience, but also at the same time, it’s just an amazing experience just to see people come together,” Sheppard said.
The Ralls Fire Department chief reached out to Sheppard and is helping her family move into a rental home as early as next week.
Sheppard said the fire department is still not sure how the fire started.
If you would like to donate to the family, you can find their GoFundMe here.
