By admin WAYNESVILLE, NC – An Appalachian animal sanctuary is recovering from Helene thanks to the resilience of its founder and the support of other rescue organizations.
Farmshire Animal Sanctuary, a shelter for rescued farm animals that have been abused and abandoned, lost power, water and cell service within a week after Helene wreaked havoc in western North Carolina.
Farmshire President and CEO Sarah Windle was at the sanctuary when the order was issued to open the shelter. While she initially felt calm, her calm began to turn to anxiety when she began receiving alerts about a dam breaking nearby.
Flooded road behind Helene.
“Then I started to panic a little bit and said, ‘Yes, I’m in the mountains, but we’re still prone to dams and places might just flood,’” she said.
During the heavy downpour that plagued Helene, Windle constantly checked on the condition of her animals, including rescued pigs, llamas, chickens and a turkey, to make sure they were safe from the floods.
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To her surprise, the animals were not only dry in the barn, but seemed calm despite the chaos around them.
“They were like little snuggly bugs, like nothing was happening,” Windle said.
One of the pigs at Farmshire Animal Sanctuary.
As the storm continued, the power was eventually cut off and then the water source, forcing Windle to fill large jugs of water one by one at a stream on her property and transport them to the animals on an ATV.
In addition to the lack of electricity and water, Windle had limited food supplies for her animals and no access to the mountains due to fallen trees blocking the roads. She also had no way to communicate with the outside world because the cellular network did not work.
“I knew we needed help, but I tried to stay positive, believing that it would eventually arrive, and it did,” she said.
This help came in the form of other animal rescues, such as cat rescue and horse rescue, that were nearby. She also shared stream water with neighbors, making sure their animals also had a source of fresh water.
Windle, collecting water for animals in Farmshire after Helene. She also shared water with other animal rescuers.
Additionally, when cell service was restored, the country’s emergency services were able to come to the rescue. Windle said Farmshire began storing its donations, such as grain and hay, and helping distribute them to the animal rescue community in western North Carolina.
Helene cut off electricity, water and communications to Farmshire Animal Sanctuary, but it also prevented the largest fundraiser for animals from being held. The collection was to involve food trucks and vendors who donate a portion of their sales to animals in Farmshire.
Windle had to cancel the event at the last minute, postponing it indefinitely until she and local businesses could get back on their feet after Helene.
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To help the animals at Farmshire Animal Sanctuary, you can donate on the Farmshire Animal Sanctuary website and on Instagram and Facebook.
Original article source: North Carolina animal sanctuary affected by Helene, saved by the community