Bruce and Ona Dunlap were watching the Friday night news in their Logan County, Arkansas, home when the cable suddenly went out. The news was warning of an impending EF2 tornado.
Bruce opened the door to check what was happening outside.
“When he stepped outside he told Ona, ‘It’s awful quiet outside and there’s no wind — there’s nothing out here,’” Julie Moore, a close friend of the couple’s, told The Dodo. “She said, ‘Oh yes there is. Get to the storm shelter now.’”
Minutes later, their house was thrashed by the tornado.
Ona immediately rushed to their handicapped housemate’s room to get him into the storm shelter. Meanwhile, Bruce searched for their four cats and two dogs.
He couldn’t find Ladybug, one of their cats. Their dog Dasha refused to go out, so Bruce was forced to leave without them.
“Dasha could sense that something was wrong and she went to the kitchen and lay down,” Julie said. “Bruce didn’t know what to do … by the time he got to the storm shelter he could barely get the door to shut.”
The tornado landed and tore the roof off the Dunlaps’ home. Their belongings were scattered and debris was everywhere. When they got out of the storm shelter, it was so dark that they couldn’t even see what part of their house was still standing.
The following day, the couple and a few of their friends were checking the damage when a white fluffy face emerged from the debris – it was Dasha! What followed next is the sweetest reunion they’ve ever witnessed.
“Dasha came running out like, ‘Why did y’all wait so long?’” Julie recalled. “Ona just grabbed her fur and grabbed her face and started talking to her, saying, ‘I’m sorry. We’re here.’”
Julie took her phone out and decided to take photos of the heartwarming reunion.
“[Ona] talks to her like a person and Dasha actually responded like a person — they kissed each other,” Julie said.
Ona and Bruce were so happy that Dasha is safe, but they are still missing one member of their family – their cat Ladybug.
But a miraculous thing happened: Ladybug also found her way to Ona!
“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,” Julie said. “One thing Bruce said when they found both of them and she was hugging them, he said, ‘There’s your kids.’”
The Dunlaps still have a long way to go before they recover from this disaster, but they are grateful that they made it through the night and that their pets are safe. Luckily, they have a community to support them during this difficult time.
A similar heartwarming reunion also happened after a devastating tornado in Oklahoma a few years back, see the video below:
h/t : The Dodo (This site is for everyone who loves animals and wants to spread that love and make the world a better place for them.)