It’s tornado season, as we saw from the devastating twisters that touched down in Granbury, Texas on Wednesday.  No other natural disaster seems as random and as immediately destructive as a tornado. We’ve all seen the pictures where a house will be completely flattened and one right beside it will be totally untouched.

Growing up in North Carolina, we weren’t in tornado alley, but we certainly had our share. I may not be remembering this correctly since many of the memories of my childhood seem to be blurred with my fantastical imaginings, but I swear I recall coming home from junior high one day and a tornado appeared out of nowhere. The bus driver let me off at the corner of our property, and my mother was standing at the front door, frantically screaming for me to run as fast as I could into the house as she could see the tornado touch down in the distance. 

That one may be part of some childhood tall tale, but I very clearly remember going home to visit one year and being woken up by tornado sirens. We were safe, but one of my best friend’s apartments was destroyed as the tornado drove right through her and her husband’s bedroom, splitting it in half. They scampered into their closet just in time. It sounded exactly like how people describe it: like a freight train approaching.

While the focus is, rightly so, on the human injuries and deaths in Granbury, when I see footage of the destroyed houses, it’s impossible for me not to think about the household pets that ran away in fear trying to find someplace safe. 

The Humane Society of North Texas has paired with Hood County Animal Control to rescue animals that may be trapped in damaged homes and to take in pets until they can be reunited with their people. I can only imagine how compounded a pet owner’s anguish must be if they have lost everything and they also can’t find their beloved cat or dog and have no idea if the helpless creature is safe. 

In addition to cash, the Humane Society of North Texas also needs dog and cat food and cat litter.

May 16: Humane Society of North Texas

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