On a warm October day in Erwin, at least a dozen jugs of bleach line the entrance of the Unicoi County Animal Shelter. Cleaning crews wearing personal protective equipment operate machines to clear out mud, debris and damaged items out of the shelter. A sign in front of the building tells visitors that they are closed. The smell of sewage permeates the air.
On the morning of Sept. 27, the Watauga River crested after Tropical Storm Helene brought record rainfall to the region. Rapid flood waters charged towards nearby buildings including Impact Plastics, where 11 employees lost their lives. Unicoi County Animal shelter is located just over 2 miles downhill from the plant.
“It looked like a tidal wave coming at us,” recalled Pam Harris, the assistant director of Unicoi County Animal Shelter.
Harris said that staff had to evacuate about one-hundred animals along with themselves, and thankfully, no one was hurt. Cody Walker, the director of the shelter, said that he was driving to work from his home in Greene County on the day of the floods. He said that the rapid waters from the Nolichucky River flooded the bridge he uses in his daily commute. At that point, he started making calls.
“We were trying to send people home, calling all other shelters around Sullivan County… Washington County,” said Cody Walker, the director of the shelter. “All of them really came in help with coming up here, trying to get all of the animals.”
The shelter, which adopts out over 400 animals per year, was halfway submerged by the floodwaters. Walker estimates that it will take at least half a million dollars and one year to fully restore the shelter. The Unicoi County Animal Shelter is accepting donations to speed up these efforts.
The journey to fix the shelter began nearly one month after the floods, with a private cleaning company contracted out by Walker.
One cleaning worker guides Walker and Harris through the empty shelter that was once buried in thick mud. At the front office, a line made of grass and dirt about five feet off of the ground mark the height of the water. Almost everything in the shelter was damaged: from washers and dryers to the computer holding medical and adoption records.
Walker, who has been on the job for a month, said the shelter ran on a small budget before Helene hit, receiving a combined total of $127,000 from the town of Erwin, the town of Unicoi, and Unicoi County annually. There are only two full-time employees, a team of part-time staff and lots of volunteers.
“That doesn’t even pay half of our payroll,” he said. “We fundraise about anywhere from two to $400,000 a year just to keep the doors open and keep it running.”
Walker and Harris make their way to the kennels. Water bowls inside the battered kennels are filled with stagnant floodwater. A newly donated set of cages is caked in mud. Walker points to a kennel door that was once patched together with zip ties before Helene hit.
“We honestly just can’t afford to fix these kennel doors. So, we patch ’em the best we can. I hate doing that,” he said. “That’s something that’s going to be in the future…making these kennels better for them… this is their home, and they deserve the best.”
Despite these hardships, Walker and his team are providing services to the community. In the meantime, the United States Humane Society is helping find and pay for a temporary shelter until Walker and his team can get the permanent shelter back up and running.
“We’re trying to keep positive… We cried enough now it’s time to fix it,” he said.
Neighboring animal shelters pitch in
About 20 minutes away, the Washington County animal shelter has helped take in donations and animal control cases for Unicoi County as plans for the temporary shelter unfold.
“We’re blessed that we have the largest facility, and we have some property outside,” said Tammy Davis, the executive director of the shelter. “We currently have six storage trailers. And two of those are things that we are storing for Unicoi.”
Davis said, however, that space is limited with the number of animals sent their way from Unicoi and other impacted counties.
“The only way that we have been able to help take in animals is that we were extremely lucky that other animal welfare rescue organizations came in and pulled dogs and cats from us that had been here for a while,” she said.
A number of those animals were sent to Young Williams Animal Center in Knoxville, which took in hundreds of animals from 9 counties following Helene.
“Being the largest animal welfare organization in Tennessee, and certainly in this region… that’s really the least we can do,” said Janet Testerman, the CEO of Young Williams. “Having this hit so close to home… it’s been really emotional for… a lot of us here, and we’re seeing it up close and personal, more so than we ever have.”
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