STOKESDALE, N.C. (WGHP) -- When Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, the damage was measured in homes destroyed, roads washed away and communities that were cut off.
Animals, pets, strays and livestock were also caught in the disaster. In the days and weeks after the storm, animal shelters and rescue organizations worked to evacuate and relocate hundreds of pets and livestock from some of the hardest-hit areas.
Red Dog Farm Animal Rescue Network in Stokesdale was among the nonprofits and shelters that stepped in to help. For Executive Director Lauren Riehle, calls for help started coming in the day after Helene, and one request was unexpected.
"It started with water, ironically enough," she said. "To this day, I can't look at a case of water quite the same way. For us, our efforts started with a phone call from a local shelter up in the Asheville area that was running out of water and needed bottled water because they had suddenly become ... landlocked. They couldn't get out."
Riehle put out a call for water, and the Triad answered. Enough water was donated to fill seven trucks.
"It gave folks a tangible effort to provide in a time when ... we all were kind of frozen ... and wanting to do something," she said.
Then the need evolved.
"We started getting the calls for the animals that needed to come in," Riehle said.
Red Dog Farm began receiving animals in waves. Some were shelter animals that just needed to get out of the disaster zone. Some were strays or lost pets taken in after the storm. In some cases, it was animal surrenders from pet owners who could no longer safely care for them.
Others were farm animals whose owners didn't realize how extensive it would become to make repairs.
"We started getting phone calls from folks who thought that they could keep their farm animals, and then when they started looking at the actual damages and timeline to repair and everything, it wasn't feasible for them to continue," Riehle said.
Red Dog Farm was uniquely equipped to help because of the wide range of animals it already cares for. The nonprofit works with about 70 species, from traditional household pets to livestock.
Riehle said one of the core missions of Red Dog Farm is to help the animals in front of them to the best of their abilities.
It is difficult to quantify exactly how many animals passed through Red Dog Farm following Helene. Many eventually found permanent homes like
Kojak was rescued from Asheville in the days after Helene and brought to Red Dog Farm. Now, he has a new role as a meet-and-greet dog at Nighthawk Ace Hardware in Greensboro.
For some animals rescued after Helene, the recovery is not over. Red Dog Farm still has two dogs rescued from the aftermath waiting for permanent homes.
Riehle said the lessons of Helene are still fresh, and for Red Dog Farm, that means being ready for the next call when it comes in because when disaster strikes, there may not be time to figure it out.
"I would love to see the folks that choose to help during the disasters maybe ... continue to stay on or think about ... signing up ahead of time at the beginning of hurricane season, so that we can be prepared and be able to respond easier and quicker," she said.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP.