Adams County family mourns loss of dogs, home in burglary turned house fire

An Adams County family is feeling heartbroken this week following an attempted burglary that ended in a fire, killing their two dogs.  

"[Most scared] I've ever been in my life," said Zaide Taul.  

On Thursday, 13-year-old Zaide Taul showed CBS News Colorado a look inside what was left of their home on W. 80th Avenue near Federal Boulevard.  

"Literally the basement just melted into itself, I don't know how it got so hot, so fast," said Jennifer Jensen, Taul's mother. "Everything kind of kicked in like... this is real. We could've almost died honestly."  

It was just after 2 a.m. on Jan. 3, when Taul and Jense were wrapping presents for a belated Christmas celebration with the rest of the family later that day. They were the only ones inside the home at the time Taul noticed a man in the backyard while he was in the kitchen.  

"I saw his back. He had long hair with no shirt. He had [blood] on his back and then I went downstairs a bit to the platform and then I told mom, 'hey you need to come upstairs, there's someone in our backyard,'" said Taul. "Then I look up and there's a rock flying through the window and glass everywhere." 

Taul ran downstairs to where Jensen was, took her phone and called 911.  

"When he came through the door and I heard how quickly he was coming down the stairs, literally coming towards us, I knew that he was coming at us," said Jensen. "I thought, 'we have to get out of here. We can't fight this off.'" 

The mother and son raced out of the house through a stairwell that led out of their basement. They hid in their neighbor's backyard until the police arrived.  

"It was when we were in the car that we saw smoke coming from the building," said Jensen. "Then we saw more smoke, a lot of smoke, and a fire truck pulls up and then we realize the house is on fire." 

Still trapped inside their burning home with the burglary suspect, were their two dogs: Roxy and Marseilles.  

Authorities performed CPR on Roxy after pulling her out.  

"They carried her out. She was limp. They did CPR on her for 15 minutes, and put oxygen on her, and they tried so hard," said Jensen. "There was four of them working on her and they were crying as they were working on her too." 

Marseilles also died after finding her hiding in the basement. 

"Even though we have lost so much, and there are so many things that are not replaceable, we're OK. We're OK right now, and this could've been so much worse," said Jensen.  

Jensen said it is an outcome that would not have been possible without her son's bravery.  

"If he had not seen him, and the guy had gotten in the house without giving us a head start to get out, I don't know how it would've ended," said Jensen.  

Jensen says she's grateful to everyone who has reached out and is crowdfunding to help her family. 

"Thank you so much, just thank you to everyone who has shown up, who's commented, who's shared our story," she said.  

While they continue to wait and see what will happen to their home, she is also thinking about the suspect's family as he recovers in the hospital. 

"I've been worried about how he's doing, because at the end of the day he's a human being," said Jensen. "I don't have hate for him, I really don't. It doesn't do any good. It doesn't bring our dogs back. It doesn't bring our stuff back. It doesn't change anything." 

On Thursday, just as Jensen and Taul were getting ready to share their story, a family member of the burglary suspect showed up at their house with a small donation and to express condolences for what happened.  

"I'm still processing a little bit. That takes a lot. That takes a lot for them to come here and say our family member is responsible for this and has caused this for you," said Jensen. "There's no ill will towards any of them whatsoever."