October 3, 2024

UPDATE: At the request of Brother Wolf Animal Rescue (BWAR), the ASPCA and the Humane Society of Charlotte (HSC) assisted with the emergency transport of 44 homeless dogs and cats from BWAR after the shelter was devastated by severe flooding due to Hurricane Helene. During Hurricane Helene’s destructive landfall on September 26, the animals were housed in temporary foster homes in the Asheville area. After the storm, emergency foster caregivers brought the animals to the ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance (ASNA) for temporary sheltering before they were transported to HSC in Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 2. The 14 dogs and 30 cats – all of whom are unowned – are receiving medical and behavioral care until they are made available for adoption in the coming weeks. Additional animals from BWAR will be transported tomorrow to MSPCA-Angell in Boston, Massachusetts.

"Brother Wolf Animal Rescue is a long-time partner of the ASPCA, so providing our assistance with this urgent transport of 44 dogs and cats was a natural extension of that partnership, especially following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene,” said Jessica Rushin, Senior Director of Animal Placement for ASPCA Shelter Services. “This emergency transport ensures these animals continue to receive the care they need in a safe environment while freeing up resources for Brother Wolf Animal Rescue to begin to rebuild their flood-impacted facilities. We are also grateful to our longstanding partner Humane Society of Charlotte, who provided a vehicle to facilitate this transport and graciously opened their doors to these animals so they can have the best chance at finding loving homes.”

"As the former CEO of Asheville Humane and a resident for over 10 years, it’s deeply personal to see this community come together in a time of crisis. We’re proud to collaborate with the ASPCA and Brother Wolf Animal Rescue to ensure these animals receive the care they need after the devastation of Hurricane Helene. At the Humane Society of Charlotte, we’re committed to providing a safe haven for these cats and dogs, giving them the best chance to find their new homes,” said Shelly Moore, CAWA, Chief Executive Officer, Humane Society of Charlotte.

This transport of over four dozen dogs and cats is part of our wider disaster relief support in response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and beyond. Western North Carolina is home to the ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance and the ASPCA Behavior Rehabilitation Center (BRC), which houses dogs undergoing rehabilitation for extremely fearful behavior so that they can be candidates for adoption. While the area remains an active disaster zone with ongoing resource shortages, including a lack of running water, we urgently evacuated more than 30 dogs who were in treatment at the BRC to our Cruelty Recovery Center (CRC) in Columbus, Ohio, where they will continue to receive much-needed behavioral care.

Our disaster response team is coordinating with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services to establish a statewide pet supply distribution plan to support communities impacted by the disaster. We also remain in close communication with local animal welfare partners in Western North Carolina to determine how we can best support additional needs.

To learn about ways to help the Humane Society of Charlotte, including the shelter’s urgent need for adoptions and wet/dry dog and cat food donations, please visit their website.

October 1, 2024

UPDATE: As our disaster response team continues to engage with impacted shelters across several Southern states to assist with disaster relief efforts, we are also working to ensure the safety of our staff and animals impacted by the category 4 storm. Today, we are evacuating more than 30 homeless dogs from our Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in Weaverville, North Carolina, to our Cruelty Recovery Center in Ohio. Additionally, our disaster response team is coordinating with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to establish a statewide pet supply distribution plan to support communities impacted by the disaster. Our teams also remain in close communication with local animal welfare partners and stand ready to assist more animals in need.

ASPCA Relocation & Placement team evacuating homeless dogs from North Carolina to Ohio.

September 30, 2024

At the request of Citrus County Animal Services and Franklin County Humane Society (FCHS), we’ve been assisting on the ground in the Southeast following the devastation of Hurricane Helene in several Southern states including Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

In Florida, our team has been conducting water and land search-and-rescue assessments and supporting the impacted communities with pet food and other critical supplies for animals and pet owners affected by the storm. Our disaster response team is engaging with impacted shelters across the state, as well as state-level agencies, to coordinate additional animal sheltering and disaster response needs. Escambia County Department of Animal Welfare has also been assisting the ASPCA with emergency relief efforts in Citrus County.

“In the aftermath of storms such as Hurricane Helene, the ASPCA’s priority is to provide local agencies with the critical support and resources they need to safely care for animals affected by disasters,” said Clint Ganus, Manager of Disaster Response, ASPCA. “The full impact of this devastating hurricane is still being realized and we are immensely grateful to the many disaster response partners who are working together to bring displaced animals to safety and help impacted families care for their pets during this challenging time.”

In addition to these efforts, we also assisted with the emergency transport of 37 shelter cats from FCHS in Eastpoint, Florida, after the shelter experienced flooding. The cats – all of whom were unowned and at FCHS prior to the hurricane’s catastrophic landfall – arrived in Sarasota, Florida, on Sunday, September 29. Shelter staff from Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League (West Palm Beach) and Cat Depot (Sarasota) were on-site to receive the cats, and are now providing around-the-clock medical and behavioral care until the felines are made available for adoption in the coming weeks.

“During severe storms like Hurricane Helene, it’s crucial for animal welfare organizations to work together across disaster-impacted communities to continue meeting the needs of animals in shelters,” said Jasmine Holsinger, Senior Manager of animal placement for ASPCA Shelter Services. “This collaboration not only ensures the safety of these cats but also frees up vital resources at Franklin County Humane Society to help other local animals in need as a result of Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic impacts. We're immensely grateful to our shelter partners for their unwavering dedication during what has proven to be an incredibly challenging time across the state of Florida, as their collaboration helps these cats have the best chance at finding loving homes.”

This transport of over three dozen shelter cats is part of our wider disaster relief in the Southeast. While our response continues, we are also urgently relocating dogs from the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in the Asheville, North Carolina area to our Cruelty Recovery Center in Ohio.

We will continue to assess the needs in these affected communities and remain ready to assist in further disaster relief efforts.

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