Senior Elise Neely recalls her night at The Hound just before the downtown fire.

“It was just like any other night and then the next morning I woke up to my sister waking me up telling me that The Hound was on fire and then my initial reaction was ‘did I do something wrong?’” Neely said.

Neely had worked there for two years when it burnt down this February, one of the four businesses shut down on Sandpoint’s First Avenue.

“Honestly, I really wasn’t expecting it because the night before, I was literally the person to lock up,” Neely said.

Though Neely was able to find a new job at The View in Cocolalla, other students have yet to find replacement work.

“I’ve been looking for a lot of jobs to no avail,” said freshman and former Hound employee, Benicio Ramirez. “I thought what am I going to do now, I need money and so I can learn from the [work] experience.”

According to Neely, extensive damages are preventing the business from re-opening. “After the fire, we definitely had a few meetings and the damages were so bad that if they rebuild it probably won’t be for at least a year and a half.”

Neely feels that the Sandpoint community has been supportive of businesses affected by the fire, however.

“We did hold an auction the weekend after the fire to raise some money to rebuild and stuff, but the community has been really supportive. Sandpoint is just a really loving community,” Neely said.

Senior Cece Gedrose also feels that the city of Sandpoint has come together to offer help and goodwill to the establishment.”

“So far it seems like the community has shown immense support for The Hound during such a difficult time, which I know means the world to the Higgs family and all other team members at the restaurant,” Gedrose said. “The kindness and bigheartedness throughout Sandpoint has most definitely brought about a huge sense of determination to rebuild the restaurant even stronger than ever.”

Though The Hound is not operational right now, Neely feels that her she and her co-workers are still supportive of each other.   

“I definitely have some good job references from the people I worked with and I was really close with them so I know I can always still count on them if I need them,” Neely said. “I guess just appreciate what you have while it’s still there.”