Hudson Valley Woman Rescues Displaced Hurricane Helene Senior Dog

A Hudson Valley family has stepped up to help a senior dog with health issues that was displaced by Hurricane Helene.

Hurricane Helene Leaves Behind a Path of Destruction

It's been about a month since Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Florida Golf Coast. Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane which comes with winds between 130 to 156 miles per hour.

According to the National Weather Service,  Helene's largest impact was in the southern Appalachians "where widespread severe and unprecedented flooding occurred with hundreds of fatalities and billions in property damage." The powerful wind gusts damaged property from the Gulf Coast to the North Carolina mountains.

USA Today reports that Helene's death toll stands at 224 with 96 of those deaths coming from North Carolina alone.

Many homes were not only damaged but wiped out by the storm displacing thousands. One of those displaced North Carolina families put out a call for help with their ailing dog.

North Carolina Family Gets Helps From Wappingers Falls Animal Rescue

In early October, a local animal rescue posted about a dog in need from the North Carolina region.

Compassionate Animal Rescue of Dutchess County reached out to shelters in areas affected by Hurricane Helene. They teamed up with Shelter Dog Transport Alliance of Asheville, North Carolina to help a dog named Max. 

According to Shelter Dog Transport Alliance, Max's family home was washed away in a landslide brought on by the hurricane. Max had been in the shelters care for a few days, before Max and his dad were reunited. However, Max's dad shared some news with the shelter that would need serious decisions to be made. 

Max is 15 years old and most likely has cancer. The NC shelter gave Max's dad a few options on how they could help support Max. Shelter Dog Transport writes:

"After careful consideration, Max’s dad turned to me and asked if we could take Max in as our own. He wasn’t ready for Max to leave this earth, but he also wasn’t ready or able to provide hospice care to him either no matter how it was arranged.

The team of CARE of DC in Wappingers Falls, over 700 miles away, shared Max's story and found a local Hudson Valley family that was stepping in as Max's hospice home.

Max's Final Adventure in the Hudson Valley

Earlier this week, CARE of DC shared the details of Max's arrive to the Hudson Valley.  Lauralee Williams Hartz of Newburgh, New York wrote on Facebook that she had seen Max's story through CARE of DC and "Something in my gut said that THIS is what I'm meant to do. This will make me feel like I'm doing something important to help."

Hartz added in her Facebook post:

I just couldn't allow him to spend his last days/weeks/months in a shelter, knowing what a huge sacrifice his dad made out of love for him.

Max joins Lauralee and her dog, Halo who was also rescued from CARE of DC. Hartz said "I absolutely adore Max and it's our honor to give him all the love we have for as long as he has left on this earth."

Hartz will be keeping in touch with Max's dad back in North Carolina and wanted to let other know that Max wasn't the only pup to make the trip to the Hudson Valley.

There are other dogs that are available for adoption, all you need to do is fill out an application on the CARE website. From there, you can attend an adoption event or schedule a visit at the shelter.

You can read Max's full Hudson Valley update below: