Tag: Duke

12-Year-Old Aussie Shepherd Survives Being Picked Up by Tornado

The dog’s name is Duke, not Toto, and he lives in North Carolina, not Kansas — but the tornado this 12-year-old Australian Shepherd experienced was a little like something out of “The Wizard of Oz.”

When the tornado passed through Davie County three weeks ago, Duke was “picked up in the mass of the swirling wind, picked up and tossed just like a rag doll,” his dog dad, Lewis Vannoy, told WREG.

Duke was thrown about 1,000 feet, landing in a pasture. Miraculously, the senior dog survived the ordeal. He did have major injuries, including a broken leg and damaged retina, but the lucky guy is expected to make a full recovery. (Amazingly, so is Vannoy’s horse, who was also picked up by the twister.)

Vannoy is thankful to still have Duke and his horse, although his house was pretty much destroyed in just 35 seconds, he said.

“I’ll build another house and we will make more memories,” Vannoy told WREG.

Keep Your Dog Safe During a Tornado

Vannoy urges everyone to take cover, with your pets, when there’s a tornado warning, which seems like really solid advice.

Here are more safety tips from the Humane Society of the United States:

  • Bring your dogs and other pets inside your house.
  • Keep emergency pet supplies in a tornado-proof room or basement.
  • Make sure your dog is microchipped and wearing a collar and identification tag at all times.
  • Practice getting your dog into a tornado-safe area.
  • Make sure that the area is dog friendly by removing dangerous items like tools or toxic products.
  • If you have to evacuate, take your pets and their emergency supplies with you.
  • After the tornado, take special care of your dog and other pets. Keep your dog on a leash and don’t allow him to roam.

Photo via YouTube

Days Later, Mastiff Who Rescued Baby Needed Rescuing Himself

When Duke, the English Mastiff she and her husband rescued a year ago, woke her in the middle of the night earlier this month, Lucia Catherine Piscoglio, of Swedesboro, N.J., knew something was terribly wrong.

Piscoglio checked the video baby monitor next to her bed. The face of her 9-month-old daughter, Ava Jane, was buried in the bumper pad of her crib.

“As Duke and I ran to her side, I didn’t feel her inhale or exhale,” Piscolglio wrote on the Duke & Vaccination Awareness Facebook group page. “I am not positive if she ever stopped breathing, because I scooped her up so quickly and she began to cry from being startled. Duke gave her a quick lick on the head and we sat in there all together for awhile.”

Ava Jane and Duke, who’s 20 months old, have a special bond that was formed even before the baby was born.

“Throughout pregnancy he stayed by my side,” Piscolglio wrote. “Once Ava Jane was born, he immediately became her best friend. They never leave each other’s side. He sleeps outside her door. He is there for every diaper change, every bath and whatever else we decide to do.”

Just a few days after performing his heroic deed, Duke himself needed rescuing when he suffered a severe allergic reaction to a Lyme disease vaccination.

“He was swollen all over, not eating, not drinking, not going to the bathroom or even moving,” Piscoglio wrote.

Duke was placed in critical care at a local animal hospital, where veterinarians determined he had vasculitis, which destroys blood vessels, as well as hemorrhaging in his eye.

As soon as Piscoglio posted Duke’s story on the Facebook group page Mastiffs Rule Drool is Cruel, she received offers from around the world to help with his vet bills, according to NBC10.

Nearly $1,500 for his care has been raised as of today via the crowdfunding page Dukes Vet Bills.

The Facebook group Duke & Vaccination Awareness, which Piscoglio created after her dog’s ordeal, currently has about 345 members.

Duke was released from the hospital, but he still has swelling and difficulty walking. “He is being treated with a steroid pill, antibiotic, Benadryl twice a day and Pepcid,” Piscoglio wrote. “He has also been placed on a strict diet.”

Piscoglio noted that she is not against vaccines, but urged pet parents to educate themselves. “Ask questions, because we almost lost Duke to something preventable,” she wrote.

“This is a story that can show many that the world is not so bad and that there is kindness everywhere,” Piscoglio told NBC10. “Duke is Ava Jane’s guardian Angel. Now Duke has many guardian Angels.”

Photos via Facebook

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