Dear Friends,
Our hearts are in this work together – we truly feel that every day at Brother Wolf. Our hearts broke together seeing what destruction Hurricane Helene brought to this region. All that Brother Wolf had built since 2007, gone in catastrophic flooding. And we know you’ve felt it too…the grief, the unbelief, the worry and pain.
Through it all – literally every single day of this experience – this amazing Brother Wolf community lifted us up. The day before the storm, together we evacuated 100 animals in just two hours to the safety of foster homes. In the immediate aftermath, with barely any internet or cell coverage, 150 animals were amazingly transported to safety outside of the disaster zone. In the weeks following, Brother Wolf provided free veterinary care to 1,272 pets whose families had been devastated by the storm and launched a new program to keep struggling pets and their families together no matter what.
Your words of support, love, and encouragement as well as your generous and critical donations gave us the resilience, fuel, and strength we needed. Thousands of you wrapped your arms around us and together we’ve kept doing what’s in all of our hearts no matter the circumstances: saving animals’ lives.
Heading into 2025, now operating our programs out of a temporary facility, we’re full of hope and determination. We will rebuild and there will be good that comes from this horrific tragedy – we are sure of this, thanks to you.
Thank you for being here, thank you for caring, and thank you for helping Brother Wolf stand up for animals who have nowhere else to turn. I can’t wait to see what this community builds together and you can be sure we’ll keep you in the loop as plans solidify!
With deepest gratitude,
Leah Craig Chumbley
Executive Director
Since 2007, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue has been a lifeline for companion animals and the people who love them. Headquartered in Asheville, NC, Brother Wolf operated a thriving adoption center, mobile spay-neuter unit, thrift store, and retail store near Biltmore Village. Over the years, our campus became a haven of hope for animals in need, saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals thanks to dedicated staff, donors, fosters, volunteers, adopters, and supporters.
On September 26, 2024, with reports of high rainfall and winds incoming, Brother Wolf made the decision to evacuate our entire campus. With an urgent plea put out to our community, droves of supporters showed up to offer safety to dogs and cats who needed a place to go. Incredibly, in just two hours, 100 animals were placed into temporary foster homes. We braced for what we thought would be the worse case scenario: several inches of water in our buildings. We will forever be grateful that our animals were taken to safety and we will never forget the feeling of community that surrounded us that day.
On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina. As one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history, Helene caused historic, catastrophic flooding that ripped through our region. Our community suffered immense losses. Brother Wolf’s campus was completely engulfed by water. We lost every physical asset we had worked so hard to put in place for the thousands of animals who depend on us each year.
Neighbors tragically lost their lives, entire buildings were washed away, and vibrant communities were reduced to rubble. For days, we were completely isolated from the outside world with no power, water, internet, TV, or cell coverage. Brother Wolf staff drove to each other’s homes and met in parking lots in order to orchestrate a large-scale transport of all of our animals out of what had now become a disaster zone. Over the next six days, with the help of national groups and partner shelters as far as Massachusetts, we evacuated all 150 of our animals to safety.
To provide care for owned pets in our region who were now surviving a catastrophic disaster alongside their families, we helped distribute critical supplies like food and water. Desperate for a way to help injured animals with veterinary care, Brother Wolf partnered with other nonprofits to bring in a free mobile veterinary unit that could access the hardest hit communities. Over the next seven weeks, we assisted 1,200 animals – we saw animals covered in fish hooks after being swept away by flood waters, animals with fractured bones, animals who had been stuck up in trees for days or trapped by fallen trees, and animals with skin, eye, ear, and gut infections from ingesting toxic water and mud. We met their families and their rescuers, survivors helping each other get through a living nightmare day by day.
For those pets with ongoing and extensive needs, Brother Wolf launched a brand new program in the aftermath of Helene. Our Stay Together program quickly connected with over 70 struggling, storm-impacted families who needed help in order to keep their pet healthy and happy in their home. For some this meant supplies delivered to their door, transportation to a veterinarian, or assistance with badly needed veterinary care. Whatever it took, Brother Wolf worked to ensure that families and the animals they loved could stay together, even while facing massive destruction.
You never imagine that something like this will happen to your town, to your people, to your organization, to your animals. A hurricane in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Through the heavy days of devastation, when it was hard to find the strength to keep going and facing the daily overwhelm, we were continuously uplifted by caring and generous people from around the world reaching out to help.
The heart of Brother Wolf never was a building; it’s always been all of us coming together to impact both animals’ and people’s lives in a positive way. We’ve not lost the passion for our mission and Helene won’t take away our resolve to be here for the animals who have nowhere else to turn. Our work is needed now more than ever in our region and we are here to help.
In December 2024, Brother Wolf moved into a temporary location in Asheville, NC, where we’re currently basing our operations out of. As we continue our critical boots-on-the-ground work to save animals’ lives, we’re also building a new future, one that will impact thousands of animals for generations to come.
As of January 2025, thanks to thousands of generous donors, we’re implementing phase one of rebuilding Brother Wolf: resuming core programs, establishing the framework of our new shelter with an architecture and engineering firm that specializes in building shelters, and starting the search for new land on higher ground.
We envision a community where all companion animals are valued, cared for and thriving, and where lives are enriched by the special bond between people and animals. We hope you’ll join us in building this kind of future so that every animal is able to enjoy the kind of life they have always deserved, thank you.
