May 25, 2011

It was amazing to watch people emerging, unhurt, from their storm cellars as we were watching television news last night of the latest powerful Oklahoma tornadoes.

That got me thinking. What happens to all the animals when a tornado strikes?

  Rescuers searching for people trapped in the ruins often find animals, and say that frightened pets often wait until dark to sneak quietly out to look for their owners. In this photograph, taken after the devastating tornadoes that stuck in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, rescued kittens are waiting to be picked up their owners. More than 350 dogs, cats, birds, snakes, lizards and even a tarantula have already been found there.

 

 

 

Dogs also go to work alongside the rescuers when disaster strikes. In this photo, a live-find dog named ChicoDog searches for survivors in the wreckage of a public housing complex in Joplin, Missouri. His partner is Kathleen Kelsey, a canine rescue specialist with the Missouri Task Force One search-and-rescue team.

 

 

Kittens Photo: Dave Martin  /  AP

ChicoDog Photo: Mark Schiefelbein / AP


 

 

 

Posted by: Seymour Simon

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