ALBUQUERQUE, N.M – A couple of weeks ago, KOB 4 showed you how the search for a missing service dog came to a sad ending in the Northeast Heights.

“Ivy” went missing after a massive water main break caused a sinkhole in the middle of the street, and destroyed a garage.

For days, first responders wouldn’t go into the ruins of the garage for fear of safety hazards. It took a neighbor breaking in for Ivy to be found.

Now, Ivy’s owner is demanding answers, and AFR Chief Emily Jaramillo gave some during Monday night’s city council meeting.

The questions came from City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn. Jaramillo got the questions in advance and came prepared.  

Rose Romero’s service dog, Ivy, was inside. Ivy’s body wasn’t recovered until someone broke into the remains of the home nearly two weeks later. 

Romero felt the city didn’t do enough. 

“You didn’t care at all, it was the people from the Neighborhood app and the community who did something about it,” said Romero. 

Jaramillo shared an edited video from that day. The video included voice recordings from the firefighters who went inside the home to search for Ivy. 

The chief says before leaving, crews searched the kitchen of the home.

“So one crew went in the kitchen, and they had knee-deep water, so they didn’t see a dog. They were moving their arms around the water looking for the dog,” said Jaramillo.

An attempt to get into the garage was reportedly unsuccessful. 

“The garage had already collapsed and from the inside the walls looked like the building was breathing, which is not a good sign,” Jaramillo said.

Fire crews wound up cutting holes in the garage door and looking inside, but they said they didn’t see Ivy. 

The big message from Jaramillo is Albuquerque firefighters prioritize saving all lives, human, or animal if they can. 

“We go back in, and we search as long as it’s deemed safe for firefighters to enter that structure,” said Jaramillo.