Dog found in the rubble of a Florida retirement community destroyed by Hurricane Milton and reunites with his family

Fort Pierce – A dog was rescued from the rubble of a home struck by a tornado Thursday morning Hurricane Milton at a senior living community with the help of a CBS News Miami team meets with the family.

A resident found Lulu the Shih Tzu at Spanish Lakes Country Club Village, a retirement community for those 55 and older near Fort Pierce.

CBS News Miami reporter Morgan Rynor ​​was on hand during his live appearance on “CBS Mornings” when the pet was found.

A neighbor who found the dog in the rubble initially mistook her for another puppy from the retirement community named Benji, who was actually safe with his owners.

“I can’t believe I’m starting this off with good news,” Rynor ​​said during the morning segment.

“He has Benji. He has Benji. Oh my God,” she continued, seconds after the neighbor found the dog.

Lulu went missing Wednesday evening after tornadoes struck the community. On Thursday, the dog was taken to a veterinarian for a checkup and was treated for skin infections.

Two people in the home died, the neighbor told CBS News Miami.

Victor Linero, who lives in Indian River County, later confirmed to CBS News Miami that his grandfather Alejandro Alonso and the man's girlfriend, Mary Grace Viramontez, were the owners of the 14-year-old dog. Linero becomes the dog's new owner.

Lulu has a dog sibling, a Rotweiller named Shiba, who was also in the house at the time. The family thought the other dog hadn't made it, but later Thursday they received a call: Shiba had been found alive.

After her report on “CBS Mornings,” Rynor ​​said, “My photographer Brian (Shanahan) heard a little barking in the distance and immediately we thought the worst.”

“We said there was no way there could be a dog in the huge pile of rubble behind us,” she said.

“Even though we were about two minutes away from our 7:30 a.m. live taping, we decided Benji was more important,” Rynor ​​said.

“So we ran to the pile of rubble,” she said. “We started looking and then one of the neighbors came over and the neighbor said, 'He knows Benji.'”

The neighbor called Benji's name and Lulu seemed to recognize the voice.

The dog was wrapped in a blanket.

The couple was one of them six people who died after two tornadoes formed Hurricane Milton ended up in the retirement community.

“This is like nothing else we've ever seen,” Sheriff Keith Pearson told CBS affiliate WPEC.

He said 12 confirmed high-intensity tornadoes ripped through the area within 20 minutes.

More than 100 personnel, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol, National Guard and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, were on scene. Some went door-to-door in the community to conduct search and rescue operations.

They called off their search and rescue operation overnight due to poor weather conditions, but resumed the search in the morning.

“All we can do is search the area. Check the residences and if there is anyone in the residences we will work our way through the storm to get them out,” Pearson said.