SALISBURY, N.C. - Rowan Animal Clinic in Salisbury has been around for decades, but now, a burned out shell of a building is all that's left.  The business started to burn around 1:30 Sunday morning.  "My parents have been bringing their animals here for 20 years," says Mt. Ulla resident Laura Hutchison.  She came to the clinic on behalf of her father, whose pet was one of nine that died in the fire.  She says, "His name was Freckles, he was an English setter, my dad's pride and joy."

Hutchison says to say her dad is devastated would be an understatement.  She wonders, "Were there sprinklers? I guess the animals are left unattended at night and there's nobody here, I just have several questions."

"At this point, we know that the fire started in the attic and further investigation is ongoing," says Rowan County Fire Investigator Deborah Horne.  She says it took hours to get the blaze under control.  "Firefighters and officers did try to get into the animals but couldn't with the way the door was and the debris that was in the way," she says.

The owners of the dead animals that died, all dogs, have been notified.  We're told one woman was boarding all of her three pets here; they all died.  The owners were able to retrieve their animals' bodies because they died of smoke inhalation and not burns.

"I wouldn't know what to do if it was me, it would be a difficult situation," says Cleveland resident George Gozelski.  He drove to the clinic with his wife and two dogs to see what was left. They are neighbors of the vet, Dr. Rhod Lowe.  He says, "It's pretty horrible, just to be  a business owner and see your business go up in flames, especially when you have clients that have pets that depend on you."

The nine dogs were the only animals in the building.  They were there for medical treatment or they were being boarded.  The investigation into how the fire started will probably run a couple more days.