Dog found in rubble 9 days after tornado

WASHINGTON, Ill. — A 6month-old pit bull that was buried under a pile of rubble for more than a week after a tornado ripped through a central Illinois city has been coaxed to freedom with hot dogs and reunited with his owner.

Jacob Montgomery, a member of the Illinois National Guard, was separated from the dog, Dexter, when the Nov. 17 tornado destroyed his third-floor apartment in Washington. Montgomery combed through the wreckage multiple times but turned up no sign of Dexter.

Nine days after the storm, a neighbor who was looking for his cat, also missing, with the help of a group called Rescuing Animals in Need sent Montgomery a Facebook message to tell him Dexter had been found partially buried in debris where the apartment building used to stand.

“He said, ‘ I’ve got your dog right here,’ ” Montgomery said. “As soon as Dexter saw me, his tail started going.”

The pooch was in relatively good shape.

“The vet said he has no real injuries — just a few scrapes and cuts,” said Montgomery, who got Dexter as a puppy to keep him company when he moved from Champaign. “He was malnourished, but he’s going to be fine.”

The Washington tornado was part of a band of heavy storms that brought rain, high winds and a rash of twisters to Illinois, and left seven people dead in its wake.