A small dog was pulled alive Thursday from heavy debris in Fort Pierce, Florida, after Hurricane Milton tore through the area.
The dog, whose name is Benji, had apparently been trapped underneath what was left of a home at the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village retirement community, Fox 5 reported.
In video footage of the rescue, a neighbor is seen stepping over the massive piles of rubble while carrying Benji in one hand and a flashlight in the other.
WFOR reporter Morgan Rynor watched the scene unfold and expressed her joy that the small animal was alive. She also said the pet appeared to be injured.
“About two seconds ago, we just pulled out this little tiny dog named Benji who has been missing now since last night. His owners were actually in that mobile home right back there. That’s where they lived,” she said, pointing out the severely damaged home.
“The destruction, you can’t even describe it,” Rynor said. The Fox 5 report said the owners were among other people unaccounted for at the time of its publication.
Benji went missing when tornadoes ripped through the area.
“Sheriff Keith Pearson told FOX News that emergency crews were conducting door-to-door search and rescue operations throughout the remains of the retirement community on Thursday morning,” the report said.
According to CBS News, Benji was eventually taken to a veterinarian and reported to be in good condition:
Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday evening as a major Category 3 storm on the state’s west coast, leaving several people dead and knocking out power, according to Breitbart News.
“Sustained hurricane-force winds smashed inland through communities still reeling from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, before roaring off Florida’s east coast into the Atlantic,” the outlet noted, adding that “Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the storm triggered deadly tornadoes and left more than three million people were without power.”
