LITTLE ROCK, Ark — They say that cats have nine lives, but one lucky dog got a second chance after the devastating tornado that struck Little Rock on March 31.
UA Little Rock student Lindsey Hutcheson said it was a miracle that she found her beloved dog Remy alive and well after storms tore through her home.
The 4-year-old Australian Shepherd was trapped in her third-floor apartment for almost a day following the tornado.
Hutchenson, a member of the women’s cross country and track and field team, was at practice when tornado sirens went off on Friday afternoon.
She and her teammates took cover in the basement of the university’s dormitory while they watched the news coverage in shock.
“I was panicked because my dog was home alone,” Hutcheson said. “I was crying the whole time because I could see on the news where the tornado hit my apartment complex.”
After the tornado passed, Hutcheson made her way to her Calais Forest Apartments, located at 500 Napa Valley Dr. in Little Rock.
She had to park about three-quarters of a mile away due to multiple blocked roadways.
“I saw that some of the buildings in my complex were completely destroyed. In my building, my apartment was the only one whose roof got torn off," she explained.
Once Hutchenson reached her building, she was met with utter destruction.
"When I saw it, I ran down because I was panicking. I went under the caution tape, but I was told I couldn’t go in. I fell on the ground crying because my dog was in there,” she said.
Hutcheson’s parents, who live south of Hot Springs, made it to her apartment about half an hour after she did to help out.
Eventually, the family was able to search the apartment, but it was covered in debris— pieces of roof, insulation, and rubble littered the ground.
Despite their efforts, they couldn't find Remy, nor could they hear him.
They soon noticed that the wall was torn open in one place and wondered if Remy might have been able to jump out.
A neighbor later told Hutcheson that they thought they had seen someone rescue Remy from the apartment, but this also led to a dead end.
After contacting the apartment’s maintenance staff, she was disappointed to learn that no one had seen her dog.
With it still not safe to go into her apartment, Hutcheson went home with her family and got a few restless hours of sleep before resuming their search the following morning.
Hutchenson's mom decided to try kicking down the door to the bedroom, which had been blocked by pieces of insulation— and that's when they spotted Remy.
“I tried to dig the insulation out, and then I saw his little butt sticking out of the debris,” Hutcheson described. “I don’t know how or why, but he’s fine. I probably lost everything else. Honestly, he is all I cared about. Everything else can be replaced, but I just wanted him to be found.”
Hutchenson believed that Remy was most likely in his bed in the bedroom when the tornado hit and got trapped under the debris.
She wasn't sure why he didn’t respond when they searched the apartment the first time.
Before they located Remy, Hutchenson's mother had made a Facebook post that was shared more than 15,000 times.
“It means the world to me that people would take time out of their day to read our post,” Hutcheson said. “If Remy was out there and that’s how we found him, we would have been so grateful. I am so glad that people care, and that they did that for me.”
Hutcheson, who is earning an MBA, will graduate from UA Little Rock in May. Until then, she is grateful to be staying with a family friend in Little Rock.
With the state of her apartment, it’s unlikely she will be able to return. Her parents, who both work in insurance, have been helping her with her insurance claim.
Meanwhile, she feels incredibly lucky that she wasn’t at home when the tornado struck, and that she has been reunited with her best friend.
“It could always be worse,” she said. “I know there are people who have it worse than me right now, so I can’t complain. I’m just glad Remy was found.”
Hutcheson is scheduled to compete for the Trojans on Friday, April 7 at the Little Rock Invitational, the program’s annual home meet held at the Coleman Sports Complex.
She will be running in the 1,500-meter and 800-meter races.
