Dog Found In Her Deceased Owner’s Arms After Tornado Gets Second Chance

After a deadly tornado struck Van, Texas, a dog was found curled up in the arms of her deceased owner. Both David Tapley, a retired police officer, and his wife, Brenda died in the storm. But the surviving dog now has a second chance.

The giant Great Pyrenees is believed to be 8 years old. She has been renamed Emma by her new owner, Michelle Shockley, who volunteered at the animal shelter that was tending to the wounded and abandoned animals after the tornado.

When Shockley first saw Emma, she felt an instant connection. “I was sitting in the back of the pick-up and she came out on my lap,” Shockley told ABC News. “She was just exhausted and very traumatized.”

Emma is showing signs of shock. Physically, she is badly bruised and has some head trauma. She is also deaf in one year from a burst eardrum. Emotionally, she is feeling the loss of her family and her home.

“She has the saddest face and is absolutely traumatized,” Cindy Nash of Nicholas Pet Haven told The Huffington Post. “You can’t help but cry when you look at her and just want to sit and hold and love her.”

The Tapleys were both animal lovers and heavily involved in animal rescue. Nicholas Pet Haven has taken in 5 of the Tapley’s surviving dogs and will be putting them up for adoption soon.




Since bringing Emma home, Shockley says her family is taking it slowly. Emma isn’t eating much yet, but she is sleeping a lot and she’s warming up to their other dog and getting comfortable around the house.

Given what she’s been through Shockley says, “She deserves anything she wants.”

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