It appears a stove was the origin of a fire on Main Street in Mount Forest on Dec. 8.
Two dogs perished in the blaze at Murray's Antiques and Accents, which also sent one woman to hospital with smoke inhalation.
Mount Forest and Arthur firefighters were called to the scene shortly after 4pm.
Wellington North fire chief Dave Guilbault said upon arrival firefighters could see "a lot of fire" coming from a residence at the rear of the building.
He said firefighters knocked down the fire within 10 to 15 minutes. They were assisted by the Harriston station, which provided an aerial truck.
Guilbault told the Advertiser one woman was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation, and released later that night.
However, two dogs trapped on the second floor perished in the fire.
"That really hits home with us," said Guilbault. "That's like losing a person to us, so we're obviously upset about that.
"The firefighters had raised ladders to go up on the roof and go through the window – but we weren't able to save them."
Firefighters remained on the scene until 9pm.
Guilbault estimated the damage to be $250,000, which was contained mostly to the residence at the rear of the antique shop.
He said the cause of the fire was accidental – likely originating from a stove top in the home.
