May 23, 2008 5:36 pm US/Mountain
Sassy The Cat Barely Survives Windsor Tornado
Written by Jesse Sarles, cbs4denver.com
WINDSOR, Colo. (CBS4) ―
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Sassy the cat after being removed from the Garden Valley Veterinary Hospital rubble.
CBS
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Dr. Rick Dumm holds Sassy after she was rescued.
Jackie Smith
Thursday's tornado that tore through Windsor hit the southeast part of the city particularly hard. One building that was destroyed there was the Garden Valley Veterinary Hospital, and a frantic search for a cat in the rubble there led to a happy ending.
Jane and Richard Matt of Windsor left their 14-year-old cat Sassy at the animal hospital and boarding facility this week so they could drive to a grandchild's graduation in Arizona.
After the tornado hit, Jane and Richard's daughter Laura Pascavis of Loveland called them and shared the news. They immediately grew concerned about a granddaughter who was staying at their Windsor home with their dog and for Sassy at the animal hospital.
Pascavis was able to relay the news that their grandchild and dog were safe, but she explained that Garden Valley had been demolished (she saw CBS4 News' report). CBS4 News video of the facility, located at Highway 257, showed collapsed walls and a destroyed roof.
Jane and Richard grew greatly concerned for Sassy's safety. "We've had sassy for about 15 years and we were going crazy," she told CBS4.
In its evening newscast, CBS4 reporter Rick Sallinger showed video of Sassy, who was rescued from the rubble by Garden Valley's owners Dr. Rick Dumm and his wife Martie. Several people in the area helped Rick and Martie dig through the rubble for about 2 hours before they found the cat. Rick was using his truck to pull out walls during the rescue effort.
"It's the only good news we've had today," Martie Dumm told Sallinger. "All the other animals were transported, but then we were like, 'What about Sassy?' and we were so worried about Sassy. Then these guys came in and dug through all the rubble."
"We're just glad she made it and all the staff is okay."
Pascavis saw the report and called her parents, who then sent an e-mail to CBS4.
Because of your report tonight I will be able to sleep knowing our SASSY is OK. We were traveling home from Arizona and heard about the devastation in our home town Windsor and have been on our cell phone ever since. We found out our beloved pet Sassy was in the vet clinic that was destroyed and were devastated not knowing if she was alive or dead. Our daughter and our neighbor went to the Red Cross and were told she was still in the vet clinic and they said they could hear her but couldn't get to her. I was devastated -- thinking how scared she must be, did she have food, water. Through hours of calling around town we were told that the vet owner of the clinic has dug over 2 hours to get to her and had her at his house. My daughter got to his house and called me and told me that Sassy was OK and would take her to her house until we arrive tomorrow to get her but the best part was your news cast where I got to see Sassy on your news cast at 10:00 P.M. THANK YOU NOW I CAN SLEEP BECAUSE I CAN SEE ALL THOUGH SCARED SHE IS OK. THANK YOU - THANK YOU. We feel that the vet clinc is the best in the world to work so hard to save our Sassy. We are so grateful.
"Because of (CBS4), we knew she was okay," Jane said on Friday.
The Matts' house in Windsor is still standing. It sustained damage, but "nothing like some of the other homes in the area."
Garden Valley Veterinary Hospital plans to build a temporary facility to house and care for animals. In the meantime, they are recommending two other facilities owners can take their pets to.
Four staff members and two volunteers were in the clinic when the tornado hit, according to Jackie Smith, head technician and practice manager.
Everyone took shelter in the dog kennel area and then, after the tornado passed, they took all the pets to the Dumm's house.
The clinic was formed in September 2006.
"We've got so many offers for help right now ... we'll be good," Smith said.
Additional Resources
- Garden Valley Veterinary Hospital has a phone message explaining what pet owners should do if they had a pet who was scheduled to go to the facility. Call (970) 674-5105 to listen to the phone message from Martie Dumm, the owner.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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