‘He was a joy’: Penn Township family mourns loss of pony after tornado

Darla Cynkar couldn’t believe it when her husband, Jim, told her a tornado had just whisked by their Penn Township home Wednesday night, toppling trees and scattering branches across their yard.

She was even more shocked and heartbroken to hear that a fallen tree struck and trapped their 16-year-old pony, Jack.

Three tornadoes touched down in Western Pennsylvania late Wednesday, the National Weather Service said Thursday. An EF-2 tornado with wind gusts up to 115 mph was spotted near Route 22 in Beaver Run Road area and cut a path through parts of Salem and the Derry Township area.

Cynkar was out on an errand in Murrysville with her daughter, Natalie, when the tornado ripped through their property along Pine Hollow Road Extension.

A local fire department and the Westmoreland County Animal Response Team pulled into their driveway shortly after Cynkar returned home with her daughter.

“They got the tree off the horse, but his little back was broken,” Cynkar said. “He couldn’t move his back legs. It was terrible.”

Natalie held Jack, trying to soothe him until an Allegheny Equine veterinarian arrived.

Jack went into shock and began developing cold spots. His breathing labored, Cynkar said, who suspects one of his lungs was damaged from the impact.

He needed to be euthanized.

“I’m just very sad it happened to him,” Cynkar said Thursday, caressing braids of hair they cut from Jack’s tail. “It’s hard when you’re an animal lover. I’m just a big sap. Anything that doesn’t have a home, we’re like — ‘We’ll take it.’”

The Cynkars have two 20-year-old horses, Lilly and Nugget, three dogs, two cats and 21 chickens. They adopted Jack from a friend just about a month ago, although they had known him for five years.

“He was a joy,” Cynkar said. “He was a little dog. He was, like, in your pocket.”

Family friends filtered in and out of the Cynkars’ barn Thursday, extending condolences and delivering peppermint candies to comfort Lilly and Nugget.

Cynkar longed to live on a farm for 57 years before her dream became a reality. They moved Lilly and Nugget from Willow Valley Stables to their home barn within the past year, she said.

But Cynkar’s desire to rescue animals has not skipped a beat.

“There’s always another Jack that needs a place to stay. I’ll take him,” she said. “We’re just very, very fortunate that (the tornado) wrapped around and didn’t hurt our house or our barn.”