SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. -- One tornado victim has her dog to thank for saving her life. When the tornado hit, it separated so many people from their pets. That's what happened to Vikki Dimisa and her chocolate lab named Mocha.

---

VIDEO: Dog Disappears After Saving Owner's Life
COMPASSION: Strangers Reach Out To Victim
MIRACLE: Pet Dog Found Alive Under Rubble
GET ONE: Man Says Weather Radio Saved His Life

---

Vikki and Fred Dimisa spent a lifetime working and saving for their retirement home, which a tornado destroyed in under 30 seconds.

"It just happened so fast and it was so loud and so powerful," Vikki said.

When the twister hit, Vikki was asleep on the living room couch with her Labrador retrievers Mocha and Max. As the roof was falling in, Mocha rushed toward Vikki.

"All of a sudden, Mocha just grabbed me and knocked me down and he grabbed the other dog and threw the other dog on top of me," Vikki explained.

The storm passed. Vikki, Fred and Max were alive, but Mocha was missing.

"I'd rather not have been saved if we couldn't have found him," Vikki said.

Workers with the Sumter County Humane Society searched for Mocha for a day and a half. They were afraid he was gone for good, until they got a tip about a dog wandering around a Villages golf course, two miles away.

It was Mocha. He was still pretty shaken up, but not hurt. Fred thinks the tornado sucked the dog right through the hole in the roof.

How he survived, Vikki is sure it's a miracle and, although she lost her home, she feels blessed that her entire family is safe.

"He saved my life and I'm here because of him and these guys are everything to me," she said.