Written by Michelle Kretzer
Greg Cook and his dog, Coco, became Internet sensations when the pictures of their emotional reunion following this month's Category 5 tornado spread like wildfire across Facebook and Twitter. Greg wasn't home when the twister hit in Limestone County, Alabama, and as he made his way through his neighborhood, which the storm had destroyed, he feared he would never see Coco again. When Greg spotted his leveled home among the wreckage, the chances that Coco had survived looked even bleaker.
Greg crawled through a window of what used to be his home and was wading through the piles of debris when he spotted Coco—soaking wet, shaking, and terrified but alive. Greg's emotion at that moment is evident as he tells his story in a video that he shot for PETA to urge guardians to make sure that their animals will be protected in case of a disaster.
Greg and Coco were fortunate—but many other animals and their guardians have not escaped disasters unscathed. Greg encourages all animal guardians to prepare for natural disasters in advance. Here are some top tips:
Written by PETA
The dust has cleared a bit from the tornado that hit our area this week, but we’re still working in the community to help people and animals who were affected by the disaster. I found out yesterday that my colleague Cindy Clark, who works in the PETA Foundation’s Development Department, was one of those people—her home was right in the path of the storm. Her story, in addition to being pretty exciting, is also a great reminder about how to keep your head in a disaster like this and do everything you can to ensure that your animals, who rely on you completely, don’t become victims. Here’s how it all went down, according to Cindy:
We evacuated on Monday afternoon when the tornado came to town. I live in a mobile home in Driver. My trailer is fine, thankfully. We were able to return Monday evening, but had to get the heck out of Dodge on Monday afternoon. It's odd, but many people have asked me through the years what I would do with my dogs if I ever had to evacuate. Of course, I would never go anywhere in that situation without my dogs.We were in downtown Suffolk at the school admin building when the storms hit. When we heard the emergency alarm on the radio is basically came down to - you are 20 mins away from your mobile home where your dogs are in the direct path of a tornado. You have 10 mins. GO! We got to my house, snatched the dogs out, and tried to get away from the storm but only made it about 2 miles from my house. Tornado was straight ahead of us on the right about 1/4 mi, elementary school about 200 yards on the left. SCHOOL! We vacated the Suburban we were in the fire lane at the school and proceeded to the gym. We were there for about two hours. My dogs calmed the kids that were scared and crying. They were a nice distraction for the kids and my dogs enjoyed tummy rubs, 10 hands at the time.
We evacuated on Monday afternoon when the tornado came to town. I live in a mobile home in Driver. My trailer is fine, thankfully. We were able to return Monday evening, but had to get the heck out of Dodge on Monday afternoon.
It's odd, but many people have asked me through the years what I would do with my dogs if I ever had to evacuate. Of course, I would never go anywhere in that situation without my dogs.
We were in downtown Suffolk at the school admin building when the storms hit. When we heard the emergency alarm on the radio is basically came down to - you are 20 mins away from your mobile home where your dogs are in the direct path of a tornado. You have 10 mins. GO!
We got to my house, snatched the dogs out, and tried to get away from the storm but only made it about 2 miles from my house. Tornado was straight ahead of us on the right about 1/4 mi, elementary school about 200 yards on the left. SCHOOL!
We vacated the Suburban we were in the fire lane at the school and proceeded to the gym. We were there for about two hours. My dogs calmed the kids that were scared and crying. They were a nice distraction for the kids and my dogs enjoyed tummy rubs, 10 hands at the time.
I like the happy ending. Big thanks are due to the folks at Nansemond Parkway Elementary School and the shelter at Kings Fork High School for being awesome throughout. There’s more info on what you can do to make sure your animals are safe in the event of an emergency here.
As you’ll be well aware if you live anywhere near here, our area got hit by a tornado yesterday. 200 people were injured, a lot of people had to leave their homes in a hurry, and …here we go again…animals were left behind, plus authorities have refused to let people who tried to go home after work return to their homes. We’ve been rushing around today trying to help those animals out. There’s plenty more info below about what you can do if you live in the area.
PETA, the Virginia Beach SPCA, and Suffolk Animal Control have joined forces to help local tornado victims. Because the storm hit suddenly, many people fled their homes leaving dogs, cats birds and other animals behind. The Virginia Beach SPCA has set up an emergency response center at the Suffolk Animal Control Bureau, located at 124 Glen Forest Drive in Suffolk. The shelter will be staffed 24/7 to receive animals as long as there is a need.If you know of an animal in need, whether lost or left behind, please call 757-409-7729, or email info@VBSPCA.com. PETA’s Community Animal Project is available to assist in rescuing animals who are trapped in or under homes and assist in capturing frightened animals running at large.At least 100 birds have already been displaced by the storm and taken for emergency care. For information on how to help stranded wildlife, please visit VBSPCAWildlife.com.
PETA, the Virginia Beach SPCA, and Suffolk Animal Control have joined forces to help local tornado victims. Because the storm hit suddenly, many people fled their homes leaving dogs, cats birds and other animals behind.
The Virginia Beach SPCA has set up an emergency response center at the Suffolk Animal Control Bureau, located at 124 Glen Forest Drive in Suffolk. The shelter will be staffed 24/7 to receive animals as long as there is a need.
If you know of an animal in need, whether lost or left behind, please call 757-409-7729, or email info@VBSPCA.com. PETA’s Community Animal Project is available to assist in rescuing animals who are trapped in or under homes and assist in capturing frightened animals running at large.
At least 100 birds have already been displaced by the storm and taken for emergency care. For information on how to help stranded wildlife, please visit VBSPCAWildlife.com.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
Follow PETA on Twitter!