Amid the destruction and devastation that has followed the severe tornadoes sweeping across the country, there’s one touching survivor tail worth celebrating — and it wags. (See what we did there?)
Three weeks after a series of tornadoes blew through Alabama, leveling everything in their path, a family in North Smithfield returned to their damaged home to sift through debris. Miraculously, they found their missing dog Mason waiting for them on the porch.
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With both of his front legs broken and his fur matted and dirty, Mason had obviously been through a terrible ordeal. According to MyFox Alabama, the terrier mix was hiding in his garage when the storm picked him up and blew him away. For weeks, his family searched but found no sign of their scrappy pup.
“This is probably the most dramatic we’ve seen as far as an injury in an animal that’s survived this long,” Phil Doster of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Animal Control Shelter told MyFox Alabama. “For an animal just to show up on someone’s porch after this time was pretty remarkable, especially with the condition he’s in.”
(VIDEO: After tornado, a woman reunites with her lost cat on TV)
With severe breaks on both his front paws, Mason literally had to crawl through the tornado’s wreckage to get back to his family home, but that hasn’t crushed this survivor’s spirits.
“For an animal to go through what he’s gone through and not to be ugly, to be happy for any companionship is remarkable. We’re honored to be part of his recovery,” Doster said.
Because of the generosity of Vulcan Park Animal Care in Birmingham, a center that volunteered their services to help the ailing pup, Mason is now on the mend — and needless to say, being showered with affection. Last Friday, Mason underwent surgery to fix metal plates to both his broken limbs, which will keep them stabilized as they heal. Mason will remain at Vulcan Park for about six more weeks, as his family works to restore some sense of order to their shattered home.
As the areas that have been hit with tornadoes continue to rebuild, NewsFeed hopes we’ll be able to share many more heartwarming stories like Mason’s — a truly tough pup.
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