In the wake of Hurricane Helene, local animal shelters are helping rescue animals impacted by the storm.
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, local shelters are helping rescue animals impacted by the storm.
A group of volunteers from Saving Sage in Sunrise traveled to North Carolina to help shelters devastated with damage.
"Most of the places you show up and it looks like it's normal. Nothing happened. And then you cross the street and it seems like it was a war zone. Mangle trucks mixed in with trees, dirt. It's insane. Bridges washed out," Yelena Gayko said.
Gayko is a volunteer at Saving Sage. She traveled with the group that brought hundreds of pounds of donations of food and other supplies to shelters devastated by the storm.
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"We brought food, we brought medical supplies, we brought syringes because a lot of cats or dogs were coming off of the street rescued," Gayko said.
They brought back over 80 cats and kittens with them.
"You know, this is our passion. This what we do. We've been on the receiving end of generosity of people from the community and we are all too happy to give back to the same cause," said Michelle Reichler, a director at Saving Sage.
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Other local pet rescues like Bella’s Promise and Milk Drunk were on standby to immediately help take some of them in.
"So we do tube feeding and bottle feeding. We do a lot of special needs animals, mostly ones that are born with anomalies. So like missing eyes, missing limbs, issues with their organs," said Michelle Bucur, Milk Drunk Foundation president.
The shelter is now turning to the community for help.
"We spend more than $5,000 a month just on food, so I know that cat and kitten food is going to be at a premium right now. Adopting a local animal always makes room for more animals, and fostering. If you've ever wanted to think about fostering, or learn about fostering, it is a rewarding way to be of immediate assistance to, you know, the rescues and animals everywhere, basically," Reichler said.
To donate or learn more about volunteer, adoption or fostering visit the rescue's website.
