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Awww: Wisconsin Tornado Survivor Reunited with Lost Dogs

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).

Tissue (Box) Alert! Man Reunited with Dog After 2 Years Apart

In 2014, a Wisconsin man named Jose went through some tough times. After a divorce, he lost his house and was living in his car with Chaos, the dog he’d had since he was a puppy.

“Chaos helped me through so much in my life,” Jose said, according to the Winnebago County Animal Services Facebook page. “I took him everywhere with me.”

To improve his dog’s life — Chaos got his name from being big and full of energy — a friend of a friend took Chaos in until Jose could find a better living situation.

But when Jose was ready to reclaim Chaos three months later, the friend’s friend refused to give him the dog. Jose didn’t think he would ever see his beloved Chaos again.

Fast forward two years. On April 27, an employee of Winnebago County Animal Services found a stray dog on her driveway. He was brought to the shelter and checked for a microchip. Lo and behold, he indeed had a tag with a 2014 identification number.

Someone from the shelter called the contact phone number, and Jose answered.

“I couldn’t get to the shelter fast enough. I couldn’t wait for it to open to see Chaos,” Jose said.

Chaos was a little scared and apprehensive at first when he was reunited with his original dog dad, but after shyly approaching him and sniffing his hand, his fear quickly disappeared — as you can see in the heart-tugging video.

“I couldn’t be any happier. I feel amazing!” Jose said. After their joyous reunion, he drove Chaos home, about 90 minutes away. At first Chaos kept trying to climb into Jose’s lap. Then he settled down, and rested his head on his dog dad’s shoulder for the entire trip.

At home, Jose introduced Chaos to another dog he had adopted.

“As soon as they met, they started playing and running around, acting like they have been together since they were puppies,” Jose said.

Chaos could be a poster dog for microchipping your pets.

“Pay the microchip fee!” Jose said. “That fee versus never seeing your animal again is totally worth it.”

Photo via Facebook

3-Legged Senior Pit Bull Saves Couple from Armed Robber

As Bob Stenzel and Darcy Cherry sat at a table in their Janesville, Wisc., home at dinnertime last week, a man with a gun entered their house through an unlocked door.

“He had his gun drawn on us and demanded us to the ground, and repeatedly asked us, ‘Where’s the safe?’ and ‘Where is the money?'” Stenzel told KTRK.

“I was just praying and praying and praying for us all to be safe,” Cherry added.

Levi, their 15-year-old, three-legged Pit Bull, began to growl and bark at the intruder. The man ran off, but not before shooting at Levi’s head. Fortunately, the bullet only grazed the top of Levi’s head and lodged in his shoulder.

After being treated for his wounds, Levi the hero dog is doing well and expected to make a full recovery.

“It’s a feeling you can’t really express in words,” Stenzel told KTRK. “I mean, thank God he was here.”

Levi is “as loving as a dog can get,” according to GazetteXtra reporter Frank Schultz.

“Levi got up on his three legs and hobbled over to nuzzle the legs of a Gazette photographer and reporter as they entered his house,” Schultz wrote Jan. 23. “Not bad for a dog who was shot in the head four days earlier.”

This was actually the second time Levi was a hero. On a mountain hike with Cherry and her son in 2014, Levi took a fall off a steep trail. One of his legs was shattered and had to be amputated. Cherry told KTRK she believes Levi protected her son, who was walking right behind the dog, from falling first.

Stenzel and Cherry rescued Levi when he was a puppy and had been abandoned in an apartment building.

“He is amazing. He bounces back so fast,” Cherry told Channel 3000. “I wish I could have his strength and his mobility to just come back and be so loving natured.”

According to the Janesville Police Department, the armed robber was white, 5’7 to 5’8 tall with a slender build, and between 20 to 30 years old. Anyone with information is asked to call the police department at 608-755-3100 or Janesville Crime Stoppers at 608-756-3636.

Photo: YouTube

Wisconsin Police Officer Runs into Burning House, Rescues Dog

As soon as he pulled up to a house on fire in Tilden, Wisc., Friday night, Chippewa Falls Police Officer Craig Mantzke wasted no time running into the burning home.

“Officer Craig Mantzke was first to arrive on scene and bravely entered the residence, which was fully engulfed in flames,” wrote the Chippewa Falls Police Department on its Facebook page yesterday. “Officer Mantzke forced his way inside, searching for people through the smoke and flames.”

A dashcam video shows Mantzke’s patrol car approaching the house and the officer running into the burning structure. Video from his body camera shows him searching the house as it fills with smoke.

After the video ends, Mantzke found an 8-year-old Shih Tzu named Maggie gated in the kitchen area and helped her escape.

“I think if we were in the same position we’d be absolutely elated if someone was able to save our pet or do what they could to save our pets,” Mantzke told WEAU. “Those are a big part of families.”

No other members of the Sullivan family, who have lived in the house for 12 years, were home at the time of the fire. The house was a total loss, but the family told WEAU they’re thankful no one, including Maggie, was hurt. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help the family recover.

A composite of the dash cam and body cam videos that was posted on the Chippewa Falls Police Department’s Facebook page yesterday has been viewed more than 77,000 times as of this morning.

Photo via Facebook