The owners of a farm, located in central Florida between Tampa and Orlando, chose to sleep with their multiple animals in their room, rather than evacuate as Hurricane Milton approached.
Sara Weldon and her husband Rick Bass made the decision to stay home with their baby donkey, dogs and chickens, even though they knew the hurricane was headed straight for them Wednesday evening.
“We are in the direct path of the hurricane. We are not evacuating. And please don’t ask me to do it,” Sara Weldon said on their TikTok @oursimplehomestead, before “Milton” arrived.
Despite evacuation warnings from authorities, the Florida couple refused to leave their home to stay with their dozens of farm animals.
In the videos posted on TikTok, the little donkey, Cash, can be seen lying on the ground next to their dogs and their owners’ bed.
As for the dozens of chickens, they are in a cage inside the couple’s house.
“These animals are our children,” they stressed. “I alternate between feeling calm and crying because of my animals.”
The couple also showed the extent of the damage Thursday morning on another TikTok video, specifying that they still have no electricity, but that everyone is doing well, even the animals.