Johnnie and Kathleen Bratten describe their initial response to the flooding and how they felt when they returned to their ruined home. They left town when they heard about the hurricane, expecting only a brief trip, but could not return until days later. When they did, they rescued their Chihuahua, who survived by floating on a mattress. Both the Chihuahua and the Brattens were in shock—they were unable to salvage anything and relatively soon thereafter their home was razed.