GREENFIELD, Iowa- When an EF-4 tornado rolled into Greenfield Iowa, it carved a swath of destruction, taking out some 153 homes. Cheryl Ringer, of Greenfield was watching the news coverage, warning of the tornado, when she heard the sirens sound. She headed for the basement.
“When the storm hit, I grabbed the majority of my cats and went down in the basement and then when I shut the door, I could hear the sound of the tornado,” said Ringer. “Then I think something hit me on the back, and I fell on my knees and then I was trapped. I couldn’t get out.”
It seemed like a long time, but it may have been around 15 minutes or so.
“I had cinderblocks around my feet but I noticed there was open light out of the corner of my eye, and I I just put my hand up and and someone had seen me, and I believe it was a neighbor, then a crew was there to rescue me.”
Cheryl was pulled out of the debris, and she was ok, but 1 of her 5 cats was not located. The cat Danny, was not located, but a wildlife trail cam got a picture of Danny in the ruins of the house. So Amy Heinz of AHeinz57 Animal Rescue was working to keep demo crews from hauling the debris of the house, as that could kill a cat living in there.
“Yeah they say it’s just a cat. It’s not just a cat. It’s in this case it’s Cheryl‘s baby,”” said Heinz. “You know she she’s had that cat for seven years.”
Danny the cat was eventually found, and Cheryl has relocated to an apartment. Under the new rules there, she can only have one cat. So on Friday Heinz took her favorite cat named Penny.
“It just makes you think that things are not as important as people,” said Ringer. “I raised three sons and Greenfield and it was a very good place to raise children, and I and I hope and pray that Greenfield can stay strong. That’s what I would hope for them.”