SAPPORO -- More than 30 puppies of popular breeds such as toy poodles, believed to have been inside a dog kennel in the city of Chitose, Hokkaido, have gone missing after the facility caught on fire.

A woman passing by the area called the emergency 119 number at around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 25 to report that "there is a pillar of fire" at the facility where a breeder was raising dogs. A total of four wooden one-story buildings were burned, and the fire was extinguished about four hours later. There were no human injuries.

According to the Hokkaido Prefectural Police's Chitose Police Station and firefighters, there is information that 30 to 50 dogs, including miniature dachshunds and toy poodles, were being raised at the facility. The body of at least one dog was discovered in the ruins of the kennel.

The facility's manager was in a separate building on the premises at the time of the fire, and has reportedly explained that they had "added firewood to the stove" inside the dog kennel.

(Japanese original by Takumi Taniguchi, Hokkaido News Department)