Man, Dog Reunited 9 Days After Tornado Flattened Ill. Town

· Nov. 29, 2013, 3:45 pm

Jacob Montgomery’s apartment was destroyed when a tornado ripped through the town of Washington, Ill., on Nov. 17.

Montgomery, an MP in the Illinois National Guard, survived, but he was separated from his 6-month-old pit bull named Dexter.

Despite searching through the wreckage several times, he couldn’t find the puppy. So Montgomery posted pictures of Dexter on social media in hopes of finding him.

On Tuesday — nine days later — something amazing happened.

Montgomery got a Facebook message from a neighbor saying Dexter had been found under the rubble. The dog was malnourished and had a few cuts and scrapes. Otherwise, he was OK.

“I am lucky. All I had in my apartment is gone, but my dog was all I really had to worry about,” Montgomery said, according to the Illinois National Guard.

Montgomery is staying with a friend near Peoria, Ill., until he and Dexter can find a new home.

Montgomery and Dexter’s story reminded us of this other reunion following the devastation earlier this year in Moore, Okla. As the Two-Way wrote at the time, Barbara Garcia’s reunion with her pooch “added a rare bright spot to an otherwise sad story of widespread devastation and loss of life.”

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

You care.

You want to know what is really going on these days, especially in Colorado. We can help you keep up.  The Lookout is a free, daily email newsletter with news and happenings from all over Colorado. Sign up here and we will see you in the morning!