The Forecast
The Storm Prediction Center was already aware of the fact that a storm was about to hit the cities on April 23rd. The SPC even issued a warning that warned people to take precautions and to prepare themselves for a tornado that would be at least an EF2. It was clear from the start that this was not going to be an ordinary tornado that the people could just get through. The people living in the area were quick to take action and take an effort to save themselves, but no one predicted that the tornado would turn out to be so powerful and intense. Therefore, when the storm actually hit, many people found themselves in danger just like this pup who was separated from his loving family after the merciless storm struck upon them.
The Effort
The animal shelters decided that they had to extend the dates as some animals had been injured by the storm, needing a lot of extra medical attention too. It must be a great feeling to have found something you thought had been lost forever, sort of like finding a lost earring, but ten times better. “We have 24 usable kennels in our shelter and 20 foster homes for 107 animals,” Horsley explained, “We are packed.” Tuscaloosa’s Metro Animal Control ended up with about 770 animals during that time period too, but still, Mason was nowhere in sight.
Social Media Knows No Bound
The social media use reached out to borders that surpassed the Alabama state. A person from Connecticut was able to help two dogs that had been discovered in Homewood, Alabama to meet again with the owner and some other person from New Zealand stumbled upon photographs of her lost dogs and could match them with images of the photos of found pups on the Facebook page. All in all, about 100 animals could be reunited with their families using this social media platform. So what was in store for Mason and his family?
The Last Search
Three weeks had passed since the Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado had left immense destruction on NorthSmithfield in Birmingham. During this time, Mason’s family made a decision that they would go and check the remains of their demolished home one more time. They were nearly losing a home but thought that they needed to try once more to search for their dog.
A Sweet Surprise
The whole family could not believe their eyes when they went back to look for little Mason for the last time! They saw that he was right there sitting and waiting for them to do exactly this. Was this real? Were they just dreaming of him? Since he had gone missing for days, the family could not believe their eyes when they saw Mason there wagging his tail and his tongue out…After finally seeing him again after so long, the family ran to get closer to Mason.