Dog Guards Owner’s Body For Hours After Tornado

A dog guarded its owner’s body for hours after the man was killed by the Oklahoma tornado on Monday.

The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office happened upon the small, mud-covered dog in the wake of the tornado that tore through Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City. The dog was guarding the dead body of its owner, who had been trapped under the debris of his destroyed home.

Deputies snapped a picture of the small dog and posted it on Facebook along with the comment: “scared, this little pup survived.” But the next day they learned why the dog was so attached to the small plot of debris — underneath the rubble was its owner.

“Man’s best friend to the end,” the Sheriff’s Office added to its Facebook page on Tuesday.

The full extent of the tornado is still being uncovered as crews dig out from the destruction and try to uncover the death toll. Officials initially said that 51 people were killed in the tornado, but it was later revised to 24 when it was learned that several people had been counted more than once.

The tornado is being called the worst of all time, surpassing the storm that struck a nearly identical path in Moore back in May 1999. While the Moore tornado does not rank as the biggest in circumference, wind speed, or duration, it has a large combination of these three measures to make what many believe to be the worst-ever.

Animal rescues have been a major story in the wake of the tornado. On Monday an older woman being interviewed about her leveled home told a reporter about the loss of her dog. During the interview, the reporter noticed movement in the rubble and realized it was the dog believed to have been killed.

A video of the tearful reunion has since gone viral.

The dog that guards its owner’s body has been taken to a shelter. The deputy who found the pup said he hopes to adopt it.