Chet Rhodes and his family feared they’d never see their 14-year-old Sheepdog Patch again after a tornado swept through Girard, Illinois, on April 19, the Associated Press reports.
"After the tornado passed, we came out to survey the damages, and saw all our fencing gone, all 100 trees down, part of our roof gone, siding missing and all the dog kennels, doghouses and Patch gone," Rhodes told the AP.
But Rhodes’ wife, Andrea, called the veterinarian to inform him that Patch was missing. Soon after, she got a call that Patch had been found four miles from home and was at the vet. A neighbor returned Patch to the Rhodes family, the AP says.
"That was pretty emotional," Chet Rhodes said. "Patch is truly a miracle dog. He had to have been swept up in the tornado but was not injured; he is just a little sore. Maybe now he will come into the house in the next storm."