Hurricane Heroes: NC man travels 800 miles to help rescue animals in SWFL

While many left florida during hurricane irma, one man drove North Carolina to help rescue animals.

Barbara Gray called desperately for one of the 11 cats she hasn’t seen since Hurricane Irma, even turning to social media. “I’ve been posting every night since the monday after the storm that I couldn’t get down here.” she said.

The neighborhood cats she feed are trapped in her home- surrounded by floodwaters. Braving the water, Eric Phelps, with the non-profit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue came to help those in need.

You’ve likely haven’t heard of Brother Wolf Animal Rescue because they’re 800 miles away in Asheville, North Carolina. Phelps said “We debated deploying down to South Florida to help out and the debate didn’t last very long.

“The reason we do this work is because people need help.” he added.

Wednesday is his 11th day in Southwest Florida and he was doing one more rescue before driving home.

What they found may shock you. “We ended up finding nine goats, standing in the water almost up to their necks.” Phelps said “They had no sleep, they had no water, they had no food and they all looked really, really worn out.”

With the help of locals, Phelps saved the goats, dogs and of course Barbara’s cats, all with humility.

Wading in water and leaving food for barbara’s relieved cats left her a grateful cat lover “To have somebody like Eric and his group come in, it’s beyond words.”

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