How to Help the Animals Affected by the Flooding in Western North Carolina

I can’t wrap my mind around the devastating images and videos coming out of Western North Carolina following the flooding from Hurricane Helene. I see the words “biblical and “once in a thousand years” used with news reports, but I can’t help but think that these thousand-year floods seem to be happening an awful lot lately all around the world. But this is not meant to be a diatribe about how we’re destroying our planet, it’s meant to provide information on where to donate to help organizations on the ground who are focusing on rescuing animals.

Following a disaster of this magnitude, there are always those who will say “but they’re just animals, look at all the human suffering, don’t they need our help more?” To that I say, it’s not a zero sum game. You can do both – help the the humans, and help the animals. I’ll also argue that helping the animals IS helping the humans, because you know that the well being of their beloved animals is front and center on affected pet parents’ minds.

I’ve rounded up a list or organizations, culled from Facebook posts of people who are familiar with the area.

Asheville Humane Society via Bissell Humane Foundation

According to the Bissell Humane Foundation, which has been raising funds and coordinating rescue efforts for the Asheville Humane Society, the humane society staff is “caring for a full shelter with no water, power or Wi-Fi. While state and national resources scramble to get them water, the staff is also dealing with their own family needs. As part of our disaster platform, BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Animal Incident Management team will be moving all the pets from the shelter that are not on stray hold and available for adoption. We are planning two air transports as soon as the airport opens on Monday. Our partners at Forsyth Humane Society will join us on the ground for this lifesaving mission.

Transport before and after a disaster is always part of our response strategy to help alleviate the burden of shelter staff and make room for impacted community pets.With two trips to Asheville, we have the opportunity to bring two planeloads of supplies for the staff and their families. Many people in Asheville are without basic supplies including water.”

Click here to donate to the Bisssell Humane Foundation.

Sister Kitten

Sister Kitten in Maggie Valley, NC is trying to help locals and feed colonies even in Asheville. In a Facebook post yesterday, they reported “No power, no water, no cell service, downed trees and power lines everywhere and devastating flooding. We made rounds today checking on and feeding colony cats and the destruction and heartache is beyond measure. Dogs, cats and their caregivers (our neighbors) will need a lot of support over the coming weeks/months.”

You can donate through PayPal.me/sisterkitten, venmo.com/sisterkitten or by credit card through the link at https://www.sisterkitten.org/how-to-help/

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue

Brother Wolf is another Asheville based rescue group whose shelter was devastated by the storm. Thankfully, they were able to get all 137 animals out of the shelter ahead of the storm. These animals are currently in foster care.

Click here to donate to Brother Wolf.

Best Friends Animal Society

If you prefer to donate to larger organizations, Best Friends Animal Society’s disaster response team has been working since Friday to identify how to best support impacted animal shelters and rescue groups in North Carolina and also in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. “We flew my friend Diane from Los Angeles to North Carolina over the weekend as part of our Best Friends emergency response operation there,” Samantha Bell, a cat expert at Best Friends told me. “She’s currently working at a neonatal kitten rescue that has no electricity and only one staff member with 30+ bottle baby kittens to feed and care for. She’ll be in the dark, with no electricity to heat up the formula, using a headlamp and a camp stove to keep the babies fed.” Best Friends is also sending staff to transport animals out of state, deliver much-needed supplies, and provide hands-on support to the people and animals impacted by this devastating storm. “We are trying our best to help as much as we can,” said Samantha.

Visit Bestfriends.org to donate.

Image via Sister Kitten Facebook page