The Playful Paws Pet Center in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, posted on its Facebook page that a mechanical failure on a rooftop heating unit caused it to continuously push heat into one of its upstairs kennel rooms.

A “travesty of life” happened, Playful Paws said, “We love our dogs and each of our team is trying to personally cope with this terrible loss.”

The organisation also said its staff are reaching out to the dogs’ owners.

It is not immediately clear how long the heat was on before the dogs died or whether the center would compensate the owners.

– TiVi Tuan-san