Barbara Garcia
Barbara Garcia is an Oklahoma woman whose house was destroyed in a hurricane. She gained brief fame after she found her dog live on television while being interviewed.
On the afternoon of Monday 20 May 2013, touching down for about 30 minutes, a tornado killed 25 people in Moore, Oklahoma (a suburb of Oklahoma City).
The woman was Barbara Garcia (born circa 1940), and the dog was "Bowser". She had lived in her home at 113 SW 8 since at least 1973.
She also received an outpouring of $50,000+ in donations to help her buy a new house after this event. By November 2013 she had moved into a new home, built on the same location by a volunteer nonprofit organization from Virginia called Operation Blessing.
"Things change and I chose to believe that they change for the better," Barbara said. "God, he missed the best chance he had to take me. He'll never have a better chance. He left me here for a reason. I don't know exactly what that reason is, but I know there's a reason and I know I'll find it and I will find comfort in it."
I can find no obituary of her, so it's likely she is still alive as of 2019.
Sources
Original prompt to write this article: Gerarda Canning Facebook post, 1 June 2019
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Moore_tornado
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/barbara-garcia-dog-bowser-oklahoma-tornado_n_3339950
https://www.news9.com/story/24026861/reunited-after-the-tornado-moore-woman-dog-have-a-new-home