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.
When a tornado with 120 mile-per-hour winds tore through northwestern Wisconsin Tuesday, it took two lives and destroyed dozens of homes.
One of the destroyed mobile homes belonged to Ron Belcher of Prairie Lake Estates. He was home with the two dogs he considers his children, Cocoa the Husky and Taz the Pomeranian, when the EF2 tornado struck.
“It came up all of a sudden and then it was so loud, and it got so dark,” he told WQOW. “Your windows are already busted, and … the roof came off. And then things were just flying, refrigerators flying, it was just unbelievable.”
Belcher was knocked unconscious by a collapsing wall. When he woke up, his home was in shambles and, most importantly, Cocoa and Taz were nowhere to be found. He feared the worst.
Emergency responders found Belcher and took him to a hospital, where he was treated for several broken bones, cuts and a head injury.
As Belcher recovered, a wonderful Marshfield Clinic nurse named Ciara Rockow took it upon herself to go looking for Cocoa and Taz. Her kind efforts quickly paid off. She found both of them, alive and well, at the Animal Hospital of Chetek.
Two days after Belcher thought he’d lost his dogs forever, hospital staff brought Cocoa and Taz to his bed.
“This is God’s gift, that’s what keeps me moving no matter how many bad things happen,” Belcher, whose recovery is expected to take six to eight weeks, told WQOW.
Their happy reunion was caught on video — grab a tissue or 10!
If Marshfield Clinic has a Nurse of the Year award, here’s hoping it’s bestowed upon Rockow.
Also deserving plenty of accolades are all the people who generously donated much-needed supplies to the Animal Hospital of Chetek. The hospital is caring for displaced pets free of charge.
“We’ve had an outpouring of people asking to help with the pets affected by the tornado,” the hospital stated on its Facebook page Thursday. “We have all the supplies we need and the Humane Society of Barron County is going to help us make arrangements to foster some of the pets that have been found.”
If you want to help, according to the hospital the best way is to make a donation to the Humane Society of Barron County or to the Veterinary Care Foundation (select Wisconsin and Animal Hospital of Chetek).
The devastating EF3 tornado that ripped through Texas Saturday killed at least 11 people and destroyed scores of houses, but two dogs were very lucky to survive.
Gina Berkshier rescued her cousin and her cousin’s husband after they became trapped under their house in Rowlett Saturday. She searched everywhere, but couldn’t find her cousin’s two dogs.
As her cousin and family recovered from their injuries, Berkshier returned to their demolished house today to try to salvage what she could of their belongings.
As she sorted through the debris, Berkshier heard barking and crying. She and family members spent 20 minutes digging through the rubble to reach Sawyer, one of her cousin’s dogs.
A friend rushed Sawyer, who appears to be a yellow Lab mix, to the vet. Amazingly, Sawyer suffered no broken bones or serious injuries.
A few hours later, Berkshier and her helpers were able to free her cousin’s other dog, a Chihuahua named Lucy. Like Sawyer, the little dog did not suffer any major injuries.
“Oh my gosh, I have not been able to sleep these last few nights,” Berkshier told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. “I was just praying.”
NBC 5 reports that both Sawyer and Lucy are expected to make full recoveries.
MAY 19, 2015 UPDATE: The Tapleys’ surviving dog, an 8-year-old Great Pyrenees, has been adopted by Michelle Shockley.
“My mom and I agreed that we would set her birthday at her survival date. That is the day her life changed. It helps us honor the lives of her owners that perished in the tornado,” Shockley told the Huffington Post.
Cindy Nash of Nicholas’ Pet Haven said the dog, who has been named Emma, was the most traumatized of all the pets her non-profit group has been taking care of since the tornado.
“She has the saddest face and is absolutely traumatized,” Nash told the Huffington Post. “You can’t help but cry when you look at her, and just want to sit and hold and love her.”
Veterinarian Gary Spence said that despite her horrific ordeal, Emma will recover.
“Emma’s going to be okay,” he told the Huffington Post.
Married for decades, David and Brenda Tapley of Van, Texas, were both animal lovers who volunteered their time to local rescue groups.
The morning after a devastating, 700-yard-wide EF-4 tornado roared through the small town Sunday night, David’s body was found near the rubble of his house. The retired police officer had one arm around one of his dogs. His other arm was reaching toward his wife, who also died.
The dog was still alive.
The Tapleys were discovered by their 14-year-old neighbor, Emmanuel Vasquez, who went looking for them with his father and brother when the couple did not appear after the disaster struck.
“Shocking… I couldn’t move at all,” Vasquez told CBS DFW. “All I did was yell.”
Chuck Allen, the fire marshal and emergency management coordinator for Van Zandt County, told the Tyler Morning Telegraph the storm developed quickly Sunday night.
“I do not know exactly how much time residents had after the sirens sounded. I do know that it saved lives,” he said.
The Tapleys were the tornado’s only fatalities. Forty-seven residents of Van were injured, and nearly 100 houses were damaged. Two of the Tapley’s three dogs did not survive.
“I still can’t believe my uncle and aunt are gone,” wrote Cristie Tapley Brawner on the Van Texas Tornado Recovery Facebook page. “Such strong-willed, big-hearted folks…just gone. As the day wears on, the shock of it lightens and the pain of the reality sets in. I just continue to remind myself that they are together, husband and wife, in the presence of our God Almighty.”
Vasquez’s dad, Aaron, told CBS DFW he will never forget what he saw Monday morning. It’s a reminder that life can slip away so quickly, he said.
How to Help
The American Red Cross has been helping Van residents as well as people in seven other states after as many as 135 possible tornadoes occurred over the past several days.
“The last week has brought unrelenting rounds of severe weather and our volunteers are working around the clock to comfort and support people,” said Richard Reed, senior vice president for Disaster Cycle Services, in a news release. “Our work is made possible by generous donors, and we need your help now.”
A $10 donation to help Van residents can be made by texting “redcross” to 90999. Donations can also be made online or by calling 1-800-733-2767.
An online fundraising account to help injured Van animals has been created by the local non-profit rescue organization Nicholas’ Pet Haven. As of Tuesday morning, more than $2,100 has been raised. The rescue also needs dog food and supplies; call 903-312-7585 for more information.
Residents of Van who are missing pets should call Nicholas’ Pet Haven at 903-312-7585. After 7 p.m., call City of Van Animal Control at 903-539-0429. Photos of lost and found pets are being posted on the Van Texas Tornado Pets and Animals Lost Facebook page.
After the deadly EF-4 tornado struck Fairdale, Ill., Thursday, Missy, a white German Shepherd belonging to one of the disaster’s two victims, Geraldine “Geri” Schultz, was nowhere to be found.
“This man has lost everything,” Sue Frazier, the daughter of Geri and her husband, Clem Schultz, told the Chicago Tribune Saturday morning. “He lost his home. He lost his wife. He needs to find his dog.”
As Geri’s grieving family was speaking to reporters, they received a phone call. A utility worker driving down a road had seen what he first thought was a white shadow in a field. Then he realized it was a dog. Could it be Missy?
It was. But she was still so traumatized from the storm that she took off running when the Schultz family approached her. Schultz’s grandson, Tyler Rowan, told NBC Chicago the family chased her for over 2 miles until they were finally able to catch her.
And ever since that moment, Clem hasn’t let go of her, Rowan said.
“We are all happy she is home! Bless you all and we are all forever grateful for your help!” read a status update Saturday on the Facebook page The Search for Missy, which was created Friday in hopes that someone would find her.
Anyone interested in fostering a found pet is asked to contact Traci Ann at the Kirkland Fire Department.
“I miss my grandma so much and I would like to thank everyone helping with finding Missy and donations for my grandpa, Clem,” wrote another of Schultz’s grandsons, Dustin Pierce, on the NDARTT Facebook page.
“His dog Missy and my grandma’s Pomeranian, Buddy, are all my grandpa has left to feel close to my grandmother.”
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