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WAYNESVILLE, N.C. – An animal sanctuary nestled in the Appalachian Mountains is bouncing back from Helene thanks to the resilience of its founder and support of fellow rescue organizations.
Farmshire Animal Sanctuary, a home for rescued farm animals that were abused and abandoned, lost power, water and cell service over the course of a week after Helene wreaked havoc in western North Carolina.
Farmshire President and CEO Sarah Windle was at the sanctuary when a shelter in place order was issued. Although initially feeling calm, her calm began to turn into worry as she started receiving alerts about dams nearby breaking.
Flooded road after Helene.
(Sarah Windle / FOX Weather)
“Then I was kind of starting to panic, like, ‘Yeah, I’m in the mountains but we’re still susceptible to dams, and places can just wash out’,” she said.
During the torrential downpour from Helene, Windle continuously checked on her animals, which included rescued pigs, llamas, chickens and a turkey, to ensure they were safe from the floods.
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To her surprise, the animals were not only dry in their barn, but they seemed peaceful despite the chaos from Helene around them.
“They were just like snug little bugs, like nothing was happening,” Windle said.
One of the pigs at Farmshire Animal Sanctuary.
(Sarah Windle / FOX Weather)
As the storm went on, it eventually took out the power and then their water source, forcing Windle to fill large jugs of water one by one at a creek on her property and transport them by ATV to her animals.
In addition to lacking power and water, Windle had a limited supply of food for her animals and no access off the mountain, due to fallen trees blocking roads. She also had no way to communicate with the outside world, as cell service was down.
“I knew we needed help, but I was just trying to be positive, believing that it would get here eventually – and it did,” she said.
That help came in the form of fellow animal rescues, such as a cat rescue and horse rescue, that were nearby. She also shared her creek water with neighbors, making sure their animals had a source of freshwater, as well.
Windle, retrieving water for the animals at Farmshire after Helene. She would also share the water with other animal rescues.
(Sarah Windle / FOX Weather)
Plus, as the cell service came back online, national rescues were able to assist. Windle said Farmshire began storing their donations, such as grain and hay, and helping distribute it within the community of animal rescues in western North Carolina.
While Helene took out the power, water and communication for Farmshire Animal Sanctuary, it also prevented them from having their largest fundraiser for the animals. The fundraiser was supposed to have food trucks and vendors that give a portion of their sales to the animals at Farmshire.
Windle had to cancel the event at the last minute, postponing it indefinitely until she and the local businesses involved can get back on their feet after Helene.
To help the animals at Farmshire Animal Sanctuary, you can make a donation on the Farmshire Animal Sanctuary website and Instagram and Facebook pages.