Florida therapy dog comes out of retirement to help Hurricane Milton recovery efforts

David Goodhue, Miami Herald on Oct 13, 2024

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VERO BEACH, Fla. — The same tornado that devastated the Spanish Lakes neighborhood in For Pierce, killing six people, crossed into Indian River County — ripping up roofs and trees in Vero Beach, according to the National Weather Service.

Although there were no deaths in Vero Beach from Hurricane Milton — which spawned a series of violent tornadoes statewide hours before making landfall on the Gulf Coast — the twister caused vast damage on the barrier island.

As residents on Dahlia Lane continued the arduous task of cutting trees and clearing debris from their yards under the hot sun Saturday, Olivia Chasse and her 6-year-old daughter Charlotte walked down the street with their golden retriever, Ben.

Ben, 10, is a retired therapy dog who Olivia adopted from a kill shelter in 2014 the day he was scheduled to be euthanized. She trained him for 18 moths to be a therapy dog, and he went on to serve hospital patients for over six years before his owners retired him after he visited many people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He had done his job for many years,” Olivia, 37, told the Miami Herald. “He had a lot of patients that he put smiles on and the nurses loved having him in the hospital.”

“He worked at hospitals and nursing homes during COVID, so we figured when they stopped, it was a good time for him to retire.”

After the tornadoes hit Vero Beach, Olivia was trying to figure out a way that her family could help residents. There were plenty of people delivering food, water and other supplies, so she decided to take Ben out for a walk so people struggling with Milton’s aftermath could have a few minutes to cheer up while petting him.

“We had a retired therapy dog at home, so we thought this is our way to help,” Olivia said. “He knows his job, and hopefully he can just put some smiles on some faces as everyone navigates through this.”

‘Still a lot of unknowns’

Will Ulrich, warning coordination meteorologist with National Weather Service Melboure, said the tornado that tore through Vero Beach began in Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County, before making its way 18 miles south.

When the tornado made its way down Kings Highway in Fort Pierce around 5 p.m. Wednesday, razing trees, power lines, homes and businesses with a width of about five football fields and winds up to 155 mph, it weakened some as it crossed into Indian River County, Ulrich said.

But then it picked up power as it crossed the Intracoastal Waterway and regained strength, packing winds between 125 and 135 mph as it traveled though Vero Beach, Ulrich said.

Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey confirmed to the Herald that there were no deaths associated with the tornado in the seaside city.

The confirmed tornadoes were part of 160 tornado warnings issued statewide on Wednesday by the National Weather Service, the second-most warnings issued in a single day in one state in the country, according to Iowa State University records.

The tornadoes began whipping up throughout the state hours before Hurricane Milton slammed into Siesta Key, a barrier island off Sarasota, packing 120 mph winds.

Ulrich said his team is still trying to confirm the number of tornadoes that impacted Vero Beach, but they already confirmed that two other, which were much weaker, impacted the city between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m., before the much larger one arrived.

“We have survey teams still trying to gather information,” he said. “There still are a lot of unknowns.”