LOCO, Okla. – Just as Dorothy saved Toto from a tornado, so too did a team of storm chasers who spotted a frightened dog in the middle of a twister Thursday.
Video recorded by storm chaser Jordan Hall showed the moment when their expedition to track a tornado turned into an animal rescue mission.
Hall and his team were in the southern Oklahoma town of Loco as a line of severe thunderstorms swept through the area.
The video he recorded from the dash of his vehicle captured images of powerful wind gusts blowing tree branches sideways and even snapping a few. Then, a gray funnel appeared in front of the vehicle.
“Tornado! Right in front of us! Look!” someone can be heard shouting.
“It’s big time!” another person said.
As Hall continued to record the storm, a dog that had scurried up from a nearby ditch appeared on the road in front of the vehicle.
The animal could barely be seen at first as debris and dark clouds swirled around it. Then, Hall and his team spot the frightened animal as it tried to cross the road.
“Dog! Dog! Dog!” someone can be heard shouting. “Come here, doggy!”
“Come here, puppy dog!” someone else said.
The dog rushed toward the passenger’s side of the vehicle, with its body tilted slightly sideways as it tried to fight against the wind.
According to Hall, the dog made it to the vehicle safely.
“The dog was shaken up but ok,” he said.
Hall noted that the animal may have come from a nearby house.