An animal rescue volunteer came to the aid of a number of dogs on Sept. 18, that had been left stranded in the floods in North Carolina after Hurricane Florence.
“All of the 10+ dogs that were rescued yesterday by Keith Benning and his rescue partners John NeeSmith and Marshall Furr are safe. They are being held in a staging area,” the non-profit stated in a Facebook post.
Most of the rescues are believed to have taken place in the Cape Fear River area.
Instagram users expressed support for Benning’s rescue efforts.
“May the powers that be bless his kindness and return it to him a hundred fold,” commented one Instagram user. “Thanks for all you’re doing! Good people do exist in this world,” said another.
Some commenters castigated the animal owners who left their pets behind. “What is the problem that people leave their pets like this ???? I’m devastated,” one of the comments read.
Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue urged people to be sparing in their criticism. “We don’t know all the circumstances of these rescues, please hold any criticisms of (people leaving their pets behind) it is likely there is more going on that just what you are seeing.”
“The problem is flooding everywhere and the water is rising. It took us 4 hours to get to a place that we were within 15 miles of. Boats are great but the roads are washed out followed by 10 miles of pavement, then it’s a washed out road, ten miles of pavement, then another washed out road, then flood.
“The biggest problem with rescuing anything here is getting to it. We had choppers over us all day rescuing people. We’re in rocky point. We’ve rescued about 10 dogs so far.”
Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue also posted a photo showing one of the rescued dogs. They said the dog had been seen by a vet and was safe, dry, and “doing much better.”
