Saving Dogs And Cats From Asheville's Ruins 'Is Just Everything'

With no running water, no electricity and little to no communication with the outside world, the Asheville Humane Society on 14 Forever Friend Lane needed help.

Enter Race for Life Rescue and several other groups, who helped get about 100 cats and dogs to safety after Helene dealt a major blow to the city in western North Carolina.

“I think what people don't think about is when an animal is that scared and that sad and that in shock, they're so quiet and that's almost the saddest part,” Race for Life communications director Amanda Gates said in an interview Wednesday.

“They're wet, they're hungry, they're terrified.”

(​MORE: Help Arrives For Pets, Owners After Helene)

The animals were flown out in Race for Life’s 1999 Beechcraft 1900D. The plane landed at Asheville Regional Airport packed with supplies for people stranded in the city.

It’s a mission the group is repeating as it continues to assist in pet rescues in areas hit hard by the storm.

“So we left North Carolina yesterday and arrived in Pasco County, Florida, where we are taking 50 dogs and cats into New York and Massachusetts. We will drop those animals off at shelters and then we will stop in Broome County, New York,” Gates said.

(MORE: Dad Walks 17 Miles To Daughter's Wedding After Helene)

Race for Life Rescue has been helping pets in need in disasters ever since Hurricane Ian in 2022.

"To see them removed from their crates and tails wag again, to see them start to wiggle and have that little bit of joy and a little bit of light in their eyes and have that hope back is just everything," Gates said.

The animals from Asheville were taken in by other shelters in parts of North Carolina that weren’t as damaged.

The Asheville Humane Society posted their gratitude on Facebook:

“As we stood on the tarmac, waving goodbye to animals we love fiercely, we were filled with gratitude knowing that our animals were in capable hands.

‘This is our bright spot. This is our happiness,’ Jen, our director of operations said. ‘We love our animals enough to let them go, because their happiness is our purpose.’”

Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.