Like many people last weekend, newlyweds Kalvyn and Morgan (Leback) Scott hunted early Sunday morning, but as they returned to their Grayland home, they received a call with devastating news: their house was on fire.

Eight years ago, Kalvyn posted a meme on Facebook that stated: “My dog is as important to me as any other member of my family.”

So when they arrived, Kalvyn tried desperately to enter the inferno to rescue the couple’s two dogs — Diesel and Cosmo — who were inside when the blaze broke out. Flames burned his face and hands while smoke clogged his throat.

Eight rigs and 10 firefighters from the South Beach Regional Fire Authority responded to the 10:40 a.m. blaze in the 2100 block of state Route 105. Their rental home was a total loss, and their two pets perished.

Kalvyn Scott was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, and a firefighter who suffered musculoskeletal injuries was taken to the hospital for evaluation, the South Beach Regional Fire Authority reported.

Kalvyn’s wife, Morgan, graduated with my daughter from Toledo High School in 2019. They were friends in school, and after Nora left for Washington State University in Pullman, Morgan sent her neat care packages.

Only six weeks ago, Nora and her husband, Chase, returned to Lewis County to attend the Sept. 7 wedding of Morgan and Kalvyn Scott at the Mason Jar Gathering Barn in Onalaska.

Morgan said her husband is responsive and “getting restless.”

“He has a breathing tube in due to the swelling and burning from his throat and lungs,” she said. “We don’t know when they will take it out. And he has burns all over his face and hands, but he won’t need surgery or anything for his burns.”

Morgan teaches physical education at Pacific Beach Elementary School in Pacific Beach, Washington, and Kalvyn works for the city of Westport Wastewater Treatment Department. They were preparing to move into a new home, so half their wedding gifts were near the front of the house when flames destroyed it. They didn’t have renters’ insurance.

“We don’t know how the fire started or anything,” Morgan said.

Kalvyn’s cousin Kendal Wilson set up a Go Fund Me account at https://tinyurl.com/5e2a2w5k to help the couple who “endured a horrible loss.”

“This morning while out hunting, their house and everything they own burnt down with it,” she wrote. “Kalvyn and Morgan recently got married, and everything they have worked so hard for was lost in the fire, including their beloved two dogs, Diesel and Cosmo.”

By early Monday morning, 106 donors had given $14,025 toward the $25,000 goal. Morgan said they appreciate all the support they’ve received from people in Grays Harbor County.

But they’ll miss their dogs.

“Our dogs were just the sweetest, happiest boys — the biggest cuddle bugs ever,” she said. “They were always happy about everything. Diesel, the little black one, always would be right by your side and always energetic, chasing a ball or frisbee or a rabbit or two. He was Kalvyn’s baby and never left his side.”

The couple adopted Cosmo, a short-nosed border collie mix, from an animal shelter in September 2022. Diesel was a lab-pit bull terrier mix.

“Cosmo, the big black-and-white one, was basically a 100-pound lap dog,” Morgan said. “Every night, he would make sure he was sleeping right between us or at the end of the bed, guarding the front door. He always would tell you what he wanted, either knocking things off the table or dragging his food bowl across the house. They were very good dogs.”

Morgan still owns a horse, Mickey, who stays at her grandparents’ place in Vader.

My heart goes out to this young couple as they grieve the loss of their precious pets and start to rebuild their lives, which I’m sure they have the resilience to do together with help from family and friends. And I pray for a complete recovery for Kalvyn and the injured firefighter.

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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.