Tornadoes leave a wake of destruction and heartache in their path. They have been known to wipe out entire towns, rip roofs off schools, displace vehicles and, sadly, tear apart families and lose pets.
Rescuers have dug through debris searching for pets as their owners frantically call out for them, praying that they hear a faint mew or a struggling woof.
They sift through mementos, photos, broken dishes and more. They shove aside shingles and drywall and plywood, seeking a glimmer of hope that their four-legged friend is still there and alive.
When an EF2 tornado ripped across Logan County, Arkansas, people sought shelter from the terrifying storm heading their way. Ona Dunlap of Clarksville rushed to help a handicapped housemate struggle to the storm shelter with her husband Bruce behind them.
He was lagging behind a bit, searching for their four cats and two dogs. One cat was missing and so was their sweet Dasha.
Ona and Bruce assumed that their precious dog Dasha was trailing right behind them. But the poor pup is petrified of storms…
Bruce tried in vain to get their furry baby to follow them but she was skittish and refused. He took off and sought shelter with his wife, thinking only of their poor dog fending for herself while the wicked storm howled above them.
Finally, the storm passed and the couple was able to emerge from the storm shelter. The sight that greeted them as they arose from safety made them sick. All around them was utter destruction.
Their home was in pieces with metal scattered around like leaves on the wind. The doors were blocked and they couldn’t get back into their home to see if poor Dasha was there and had survived.
It was pitch black, very late at night, and they couldn’t see anything. They made the gut-wrenching decision to find shelter elsewhere for the night and return first thing in the morning to search for their baby.
Saturday morning, Ona and Bruch came back and began sifting through the rubble. They couldn’t believe what they found!
Dasha was in the house and she was alive!
“She didn’t run off, well, she couldn’t get out the doors. All the sheetrock had the doors pinned, and the windows didn’t get blown out amazingly so she couldn’t get out.”
They were thrilled to find Dasha scared to pieces but unharmed. They think she sought shelter under the kitchen counter and its sturdiness in the wake of the storm saved her life.
Family friend Julie Moore was with the couple when they found Dasha, a light amongst the darkness that day.
“Dasha came running out like, ‘Why did y’all wait so long?’’ Ona just grabbed her fur and grabbed her face and started talking to her, saying, ‘I’m sorry. We’re here.’ [Ona] talks to her like a person and Dasha actually responded like a person — they kissed each other.”
But they were missing one of their four cats still. Suddenly, Ladybug the cat made her way to the couple despite all of the chaos surrounding them.
“She was wet, she was cold and shaking. Ona just grabbed her up and started pulling the sheetrock out of her fur, and just squeezed her and hugged her. One thing Bruce said when they found both of them and she was hugging them, he said, ‘There’s your kids.’”
It’s so sad to see their home in pieces, but things can be replaced, lives cannot. The Dunlops were blessed to be alive and to be reunited with all six of their precious pets.
