Trapped dog saved from Helene flooding ‘just in time,’ NC shelter says. ‘True bravery’
A trapped dog was saved from Hurricane Helene’s rising floodwaters “just in time,” a North Carolina shelter said.
“Gandolf was left behind,” Brother Wolf Animal Rescue wrote Oct. 17 on Facebook. “Trapped in an outdoor kennel. The place he lived his entire life. A small world now quickly becoming a nightmare. We can’t imagine how frightened he was as floodwaters hit his chest.”
Gandolf was in the scary predicament as Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina in late September. The deadly storm battered the mountainous region with devastating flooding and wind damage.
“A kind person couldn’t stop thinking about him, outside alone in the hurricane,” the Asheville shelter wrote. “The water rising by the second, something generations had never seen.”
Then, “in an act of true bravery,” the person set out to save Gandolf from being swept away.
“Climbing over debris and risking personal safety — for a dog that wasn’t theirs,” the rescue wrote. “They got to him just in time. He was now safe, but he was sick and needed medical care.”
As Gandolf got a fresh start, the shelter said it gave him free veterinary attention. Now, the family who helped Gandolf plans to keep him, the shelter wrote on Facebook and told McClatchy News in an email.
Brother Wolf spokesperson Brooke Fornea said the shelter couldn’t “share additional information on the rescue or specific medical care for privacy reasons — because (Gandolf) is not in our care or ownership umbrella.”
The shelter in past social media posts said its buildings sustained damage from “raging” floodwaters during the storm. Several animals have been transported out of the shelter as the organization plans to rebuild in Western North Carolina.
This story was originally published October 18, 2024 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Trapped dog saved from Helene flooding ‘just in time,’ NC shelter says. ‘True bravery’."
