After the April 27, 2011, tornadoes ripped through Alabama, lots of pets were left without homes.
Luckily, there were plenty of people who adopted the animals. We recently caught up with three Alabamians and found out how their tornado dogs are doing five years later.
Here are their stories:
Runt, the survivor
Five years ago, Joley Griffis, of Flomaton, and her husband, Johnny, heard about a dog that needed to be adopted or else it would be sent to a shelter. One of Johnny’s high school classmates lived in Tuscaloosa, and his home was destroyed in the April 27th storms. The dog had been trapped in the house, and the family had thought they had lost him, but they found him later.
But it didn’t work out. The family had to give him up. So Joley went to check the pooch out.
Runt walked right up to Joley, and the two of them formed a bond then and there. “I took him (home) that day,” she says. “I said, ‘He’s coming with me.'”
Runt lives a pretty solid life now. He is a bit spoiled, and he gets along with everyone, including kids. His only problem? Living through the tornado has made him frightened of storms.
Joley’s there to comfort him when he needs it, and he’s there for her as well.
“I’m a rape survivor, and he helps me through the bad times I’ve had,” she says. “So we’re perfect for each other. … We help each other. He doesn’t like thunderstorms, and there are some things that cause me to have flashbacks or bad days and he’s right there for me. It’s like we know when we need each other.
“He’s a blessing to me.”
Wolley, the protector
Wolley looked like a black lab when a Tennessee family found him on their drive home from volunteering in Alabama.
It was a few days after tornadoes had ripped through the state and they drove down to the Heart of Dixie to pitch in any way they could. On their way home, they got a flat tire — and ran into Wolley.
They didn’t know what to do, so they called the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). And so the leader of organization sent her friend, Jeni Bowen, a photo of the seven-week-old dog — she knew that Jeni and her husband were looking to adopt their first dog.
That’s all it took.
“My friend sent us the photo and we were like, ‘Yes, we’ll take it,'” Jeni says.
But Wolley wasn’t a black lab at all. According to Jeni, when Wolley was displaced he spent time in a garage and got into oil — turning his yellow coat black. But even worse, vets suspect he injested antifreeze during this time, which caused him many stomach problems.
So the first few months with Wolley were filled with vet appointments and healing, but Wolley’s a perfectly healthy pup now.
“Wolley’s a lot of fun,” Jeni says. “He’s really laid back. He loves car rides and anytime we say the word ‘r-i-d-e’ he wants to get in the car and go. He’s a big adventurer.”
And he has a little sister now, too. Last year, Jeni and her husband rescued another dog, Mercy, and the two have become best buds. They even get along with the family’s six-year-old cats, even though the cats rule the house — you know, the way cats do.
And even better, the Bowens found out that Wolley may have long-lost siblings out there.
She took Wolley to a dog trainer in Birmingham, and weeks later, the trainer called her with a message.
“(The trainer said), ‘I just wanted to let you know that another couple brought their dog to me this week that is starting training and his name is Frank,” Jeni says. “And he said, ‘I’m almost positive that Frank and Wolley came out of the same litter.’ He said they look identical, they are the same age, and the other dog was also a tornado rescue from Tuscaloosa. We laughed and laughed because we pictured Wolley and Frank together, these two old-sounding names. We never got to meet Frank but it was such a neat coincidence.”
Jack, the family dog
Kelly Garrison, of Birmingham, and her future husband stopped by the Greater Birmingham Humane Society a few days after the April 27th storms. They were donating food to the shelter, but he decided he wanted to look at the pets — especially the black dogs. He had been looking for a black pooch, but there weren’t any at the shelter.
Then he saw Jack.
“(He said,), ‘That’s the dog. That’s mine. He’s calling to me!” Kelly recalls.
So they met one-and-a-half-year-old Jack, and confirmed he was the one. And they found out he was a tornado rescue — his previous owner’s home and fence were destroyed in the storms.
And Jack — who Kelly calls a “ridge-bull labra-dane” — quickly went from homeless to part of a new family.
And he loves the Garrisons’ new son.
“He is the big brother and guard dog to our house and our son,” Kelly says. “He sleeps next to the crib. The day we brought our son home we was like, ‘I need to sleep here and make sure he’s OK.’ But whatever room our son is in, he’s in that room as well.”
So basically, Jack leads the life of a typical dog — except for one thing.
“He does not like any stuffed toys at all,” Kelly says. “he looks at us like we’re crazy when we try to give him one.”
By Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com
