Where Are They Now? Dogs Rescued from Hurricane Helene Get a New Leash on Life!

When Hurricane Helene hit the Southeast last year, the ASPCA quickly mobilized to several states to help. In total, we spent more than 30 days providing round-the-clock relief to shelters, pets and pet parents in impacted areas, including operating an emergency shelter in Conover, North Carolina, among other response efforts.

At the emergency shelter, we facilitated pet and owner reunifications and placed 126 unowned animals through our incredible partner shelters. When it came time to demobilize from North Carolina, we transported the remaining unowned animals to an ASPCA Recovery Center in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to the animals from the emergency shelter, the Recovery Center also received an urgent transport of 33 dogs from the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in Weaverville, North Carolina, when the facility was impacted by the storm.

But the question is, where are those animals now?

Well, we are happy to report that since then, 17 animals from the emergency shelter have been adopted, with 12 being adopted directly from our facility and five finding homes through our partner shelters.

As for the dogs transported from the Behavioral Rehabilitation Center, 11 of them found homes through the Recovery Center and our partner shelters, while more than half were later returned to the Behavioral Rehabilitation Center for treatment once it was operational again. Following their graduations from the Behavioral Rehabilitation Center, those dogs also went on to find loving homes!

We’re so thankful that despite the devastation and tragedy that they faced, we were still able to help these dogs find the loving homes and second chances they deserved.

We recently caught up with a few of the animals impacted during these efforts, and we’re excited to share their pup-dates!

Yogi

Yogi was one of the 19 dogs transferred from the emergency shelter in North Carolina to the Recovery Center in Ohio. In good health, all Yogi needed from us was daily care, lots of love and a helping paw to find him a loving home.

Yogi’s adopter, Leah N. came across Yogi on a Facebook post.

“It immediately stopped me in my tracks because he looked so much like our dog, Waffles, who had recently passed away,” said Leah, who kept an eye on the post to see if anyone else showed interest.

She got her answer when, after a few weeks, Leah saw another post about Yogi. This time, her daughter saw it and insisted the family meet him.

“As soon as we met him, we knew he was the one,” Leah recalled.

Yogi was initially nervous when arriving home, but eventually settled in, showing his curious and friendly side. Since then, he has become a snuggler, loves to chase his ball and run laps in the yard, and has brought new life to Leah’s other dog, Pearl.

“Having Yogi in our lives has been such a gift,” said Leah. “He has brought back a joyful energy to our home while also being the perfect snuggle companion. Knowing that he was rescued during a disaster makes it feel even more meaningful. We are grateful to be able to give him the safety and comfort he deserves. We are also deeply appreciative of the ASPCA for the incredible work they do, and I would encourage anyone looking for a pet to consider adoption.”

Squirrel

Squirrel’s adopter, Megan, also found him through a Facebook post. Another one of the 19 dogs transported from the emergency shelter to the Recovery Center in Ohio, Squirrel’s face stuck in Megan’s head.

“We weren’t actively looking to add another dog to our family, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him,” she said. “It felt like he was meant to be with us.”

At our facility, Squirrel was struggling to relax in his kennel and had a lot of energy.

“The ASPCA was very transparent about his needs, which helped us prepare,” explained Megan. “They were right — he was bursting with energy. That hasn’t changed, but he’s learned to manage it much better over time.”

In his new home, Squirrel has shocked Megan with his love for structure.

“His routines are like clockwork, from waking up to bedtime,” she told us. “Every night, he heads straight to bed and burrows under the covers at our feet. In the beginning, he was always on high alert and had trouble falling asleep, even when he was cozy. He didn’t wag his tail either. But slowly, he began to relax. Now he sleeps soundly through the night, and his tail is full of happy wags.”

Despite the few challenges Squirrel had when arriving home, Megan and her family wouldn’t change a thing about him ­— though he has definitely changed them.

“Squirrel has taught our family so much, especially about empathy,” Megan said. “Knowing his difficult past, we approached every challenge as a chance to learn and grow together. When you adopt a dog, the instinct is often to ask, ‘What training does the dog need?’ But with Squirrel, we also asked, ‘How can we adjust to support him?’”

“Words can’t fully capture what Squirrel has brought into our lives,” she added. “He’s taught us how to give grace, love unconditionally, and appreciate the simple things — like building bed forts.”