Internet users have praised a woman from Tampa Bay, Florida, after she said that, while everyone else in the area was evacuating, she decided to go back home instead, where her dog was waiting for her, knowing that she would be back to save her ahead of Hurricane Milton.
In a video shared on TikTok on Tuesday, under the username @danieblueboop, the poster can be seen driving her car in an almost-empty lane, going back home to get her pup, Murphy, while all the other vehicles can be seen driving the opposite way, trying to get out of the area as soon as possible.
“When everyone else is evacuating, but you’re headed home because that’s where your dog is and you won’t leave her behind,” reads layover text in the clip. Newsweek reached out to @danieblueboop for comment via TikTok comments. We could not verify the details of the case.
As Category 5 storm, Milton, makes its way into Florida with maximum sustained wind speeds of 160 mph, mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in multiple Florida counties, including Charlotte, Citrus, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Volusia, and Hernando County.
On Sunday, the Florida Division of Emergency Management warned residents against leaving their pets at home when evacuating, because they would be unlikely to survive on their own, urging them to make arrangements beforehand.
Locals were advised to make sure their pets had a safe place to stay, with family, friends, local shelters, or boarding facilities, if they couldn’t take them along, and to ask hotels and motels if they could consider waving their “no pets” policy during this unprecedented emergency.
The Associated Press reported that Cathie Perkins, Pinellas County Emergency Management director, said that Tampa Bay will be “ground zero” of Hurricane Milton. She added that those who stayed and weren’t hurt during Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 12 people in the area a week-and-a-half ago, will most likely be affected by Milton.
Staying in the area poses a great risk, even if you think your home is strong enough to withstand the violent winds and flooding, so evacuating your family, including your animals, should be your top priority.
If evacuating is not an option for you, or if it is too late, you should prepare your home for the disaster, following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advice as laid out on the website, which you can find here.
You should also make sure you have food, water, pet supplies, and medications. You can find a checklist of all the essentials you may need, provided by the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s website, here.
A stock image shows a person driving a car in the rain. While everyone else was evacuating ahead of Hurricane Milton, a dog owner from the Tampa Bay area in Florida decided to drive the other way to go save her pup.
Getty Images
The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 7.5 million views and over 1.1 million likes on the platform.
One user, TheOnlyDCP, commented: “I would drive, walk, and swim thru the eye of Milton to get to my dogs.”
Alina posted: “I’d NEVER EVER leave my dog behind. If I’m going she’s going period.”
Rockefeller skank added: “I’m crying the hardest for the fur babies who have no choice and no idea, but they can feel it coming… Animals know when a catastrophes gonna happen. Praying for everyone.”
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
