Terry Richards | The Valdosta Daily TimesAndy Sheffield lost three pit bulls in a house fire in Naylor Sunday.

NAYLOR — Andy Sheffield stood beside the scorched shell of his house Wednesday, the acrid smell of smoke still lingering in the air.

“I asked the fire marshal if they suffered,” he said, his voice breaking.

“They” were the three dogs who lived with Sheffield in his house on Ga. 135, which burned Sunday. The pit bulls are now buried behind the house with their parents, their graves marked by a simple wooden cross.

Sheffield said he had been called in for extra work at his job, K&K’s Georgia Country Sausage, and had been at work for half an hour when his father, Larry Sheffield, arrived and told him his house was on fire.

 “I had time enough to debone one deer when he came in,” Andy said.

Lowndes County Fire Rescue received a call about the fire at 8:41 a.m., said Paige Dukes, county information officer. Firefighters were finished on the scene by 11 a.m., she said.

“It’s a total loss,” Larry said. “We had a little insurance on it, but not nearly enough.”

Andy said that, aside from the dogs, he lost everything he owned, including football trophies from his years as a Valdosta High School Wildcat. He said he played on two championship teams. He also said he lost a collection of fishing lures that belonged to his grandfather.

The loss of the pit bulls, though, hit hardest, he said.

“Those dogs meant everything to him,” Larry said.

“I told the fire marshal, ‘If I could just have five more minutes with those dogs …,” Andy said.

For the moment, Andy is staying with his father, but a neighbor offered to loan him a camper-trailer to stay in until he gets things sorted out.

“The Red Cross came out (Tuesday), and they were a great help,” Andy said.

A GoFundMe account has been set up under Andy Sheffield’s name, as has a bank account for donations at Guardian Bank.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.