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It has been a tough month for Tobi-Dawne Smith and her family.
On Feb. 7, the family home on the 1200 block of Avenue D North was destroyed by a fire in the early-morning hours. It also claimed the lives of four family dogs, two parrots, brown-lipped grove snails, various slugs and a variety of isopods.
Smith said her now-destroyed home has been the site of at least four thefts since the blaze. The last theft included the thieves stealing her child’s adaptive bike.
“None of this should have happened. Our property should have been secured. It’s hard enough dealing with the impact of the fire … but having these kinds of violations heaped one on top of the other over and over again … I just … I really don’t have anything left,” she told 650 CKOM over Facebook Messenger on Monday.
The adaptive bike allows her child, Red, the opportunity to get out and get active. Smith said Red is neurodivergent.
“The bike really was one of the few things we were clinging to. I was looking forward to being out with Red, trying to find spots that would be safe enough here for them to bike without me,” Smith added.
A house fire in the Mayfair neighbourhood on Feb. 7, 2021, claimed the lives of four dogs and two parrots, according to Saskatoon Fire. (Brady Lang/650 CKOM file photo)
“We worked really hard to fundraise enough to get their adaptive bike. It’s a lot more stable, and when Red … was too big for even the largest training wheels we knew we needed something to give that extra stability. Kids deserve the freedom of a bike.”
Smith said she has been “living in a fog” since the first smoke detector went off. She added it’s tough to think of the memories from the blaze in early February.
“It has made life seem both all too real yet not real at all. All of it is hazy except for small distinct moments of clarity that are all too terrifying and seared into my brain,” she said.
“I don’t know that we will ever really heal from this.”
She said Red has been helped with the trauma by turning to artwork, pouring everything into pieces they have created.
“Having to tell Red (Monday) that (the bike) was gone broke my heart even further … If I’m learning anything through this is just how shattered one heart can become. But I tried to emphasize that with it being such a unique bike, we can likely hold onto a lot more hope than others could … It’s incredibly visible and will stand out in a crowd. It’s one of the things they loved about it. It’s a super-bike,” she said.
The three other thefts that Smith knows of at her home included the loss of her own bike and other items of value, along with one instance where a neighbour chased down the suspect and had them arrested.
Anyone who sees or know anythings about the theft of Red’s adaptive bike is asked to contact Saskatoon police.
