The fire broke out at the Worldwide Aquarium and Pet store, along the 6800 block of Frankford Avenue.
The fire apparently started in the electrical system of an aquarium at around 4:30 a.m. but was contained by the store's sprinklers.
Firefighters had their hands full getting the dogs, cats, birds and other animals out of the smoky building.
Ordinarily, Mark Brook would not be up at 4 a.m. except that his pet dog, Misty, wanted to go out for a walk.
"She wanted to go out, which was unusual…but she wanted to go out," Brook said.
Strangely, it was as if Misty knew or sensed something because Brook says moments later, he saw smoke rising from the pet store where many puppies, kittens, birds, and other pets were in danger.
"I didn't have my cell phone on me," Brook said.
Brook was able to flag down a bus driver who quickly called 911 and the fire department.
"We found a small fire in the rear and we had smoke throughout the building," Chief John Grillone of the Philadelphia Fire Department said.
The owner says the fire department was able to respond quickly to contain the fire.
"Everything was contained to the fish room; I guess, one of the wires sparked the fire," pet shop owner Stan Mazur said.
Fortunately, all of the pets will be all right.
The pet shop was being cleaned up soon after, in hopes of being reopened Monday.
With the way the fire turned out, a lot of people are thankful that Misty woke her owner up early to go for that walk.
