Wife waited hours outside animal shelter hit by Helene. Then came emotional adoption
The North Carolina shelter said one of its workers was entering the adoption center at about 9 a.m. and heard someone share an enthusiastic greeting.
'A woman was waving (violently) at me from across the parking lot, a big smile plastered across her face,' the Asheville Humane Society employee wrote Feb. 7 in a Facebook post. 'I made my way over and she blurted out that she had been there since about 7:45am (we open at 10) to ENSURE she would be first in line to adopt sweet Champagne.'
The woman said her husband allowed her to choose which dog they would take home. But he figured out her secret and showed up with a bag of 'items that would only fit Champagne — including a tiny bow tie.'
'She and her husband were visiting Asheville to pump some money back into the economy,' the humane society wrote. 'They had decided a long time ago that they were ready to add another dog into their small family, and wanted to support a shelter impacted by Helene.'
The deadly storm hit Western North Carolina in late September, unleashing wind damage and catastrophic flooding on some mountain communities. The shelter sent some of its animals to safety as it lost water in the wake of the storm, according to a past social media post.
Months later, the couple couldn't wait to adopt Champagne. More than two hours after the wife started waiting outside the shelter, the family finally kicked off their new chapter together.
'At 10am the doors opened and they burst inside,' the animal organization wrote. 'The energy was high. And in a matter of minutes, Champagne was off to a home that loved him very. Very. very. Much.'
The Asheville Humane Society didn't respond to McClatchy News' requests for additional information about Champagne and his new owners on Feb. 10 and 11.
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