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Last dog rescued after BioLab fire adopted from PAWS Atlanta

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Published  January 6, 2026 11:06am EST
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta
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SMIDGEN has officially busted out of PAWS Atlanta after 461 days in our program! (PAWS Atlanta)

The Brief

    • Smidgen, a dog rescued from the 2024 BioLab fire zone, was adopted after 461 days.
    • She was the longest-remaining rescue at PAWS Atlanta from the Rockdale County incident.
    • Now named Frankie, the dog was a volunteer favorite and was adopted by a local family Monday.

ATLANTA - After nearly 500 days at PAWS Atlanta, a dog rescued following the BioLab fire in September 2024 has "busted out" of the shelter.

What we know:

According to PAWS officials, Smidgen found her forever home after 461 days in the shelter. Crews rescued the dog after the plant fire in Rockdale County; she had been the longest-tenured resident among the dogs rescued following the fire.

The shelter said Smidgen was a volunteer favorite known for being very playful, but she had gone unnoticed by potential adopters until this weekend. A family finally adopted her on Monday.

Smidgen has been renamed Frankie and is settling in well at her new home.

Dig deeper:

According to PAWS, Smidgen was one of a large number of dogs rescued after the fire. At the time, most of the area surrounding the lab was under a shelter-in-place order due to chlorine in the air. Approximately 17,000 people were also evacuated from the area.

The Source: Information in this article was posted on PAWS Atlanta's Facebook page. FOX 5 partners with PAWS for its daily "Pet of the Day" segment on Good Day Atlanta. 

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