Dog survives Polk County tornado and is reunited with family

Polk County, Fla. — Friday was a tough night for residents in Polk County where a EF-2 tornado touched down causing damage to homes and churches and left thousands without power.

But it was especially hard for the Pelham family who told Bay News 9 they had only moments to get into a closet before the tornado struck.

After the storm passed, they discovered their pitbull, Tuffy, and his dog house were gone.

The family told reporters they immediately began searching the area and discovered the dog house 100 yards away.

It was severely damaged.

Still, there were no signs of their big dog.

Miraculously, 18-hours after the search began a neighbor found the pooch hiding in a ditch about a half-mile away.

He was scared but otherwise seemed to be OK.

Tuffy's reunion was shared on twitter by reporter Trevor Pettiford Sunday.

One person commented, “They don’t call him Tuffy for nothin!”