Couple, both nurses, lose dog, home to devastating fire

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. – Two nurses, working long and tough hours during COVID-19, left their Southwest Miami-Dade house for a half hour and came home to a devastating scene.

“We were just out about to have dinner at his family’s house. So we were only gone a half hour,” Ayleen Apathy said.

The married couple’s home went up in flames Wednesday. Ryan and Ayleen Apathy and their two sons lost everything including their beloved 10-year-old dog, Mack.

They said they received an alert around 5 p.m. that something wasn’t right at their home. When they got back, they found their house on fire.

In the front yard of their SW 173rd Street home, someone was performing CPR on their dog.

“We wanted our dog to get out. We knew he was inside. The dog. That’s all we wanted,” Ryan said.

Mack didn’t make it. The family is devastated. The inside of their home is destroyed.

“The whole house. It’s everything, upstairs, downstairs,” Ayleen said.

For the last five years, the Apathy family has called this spot their home. Now pictures and memories are the only thing they have to hold on to.

“It’s been a rough year . . . and it just got worse,” Ryan said.

The investigation is still underway as to what started the fire.

To make things more difficult, it is one of their sons’ birthdays today.

The couple works at Mercy Hospital, where they met at the hospital’s nursing school.

For now, they are staying with family.

A fellow nurse has set up a GoFundMe page for the family. Click here.


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