A North Carolina pastor and two of his parishioners set out Friday afternoon to help victims of Hurricane Florence. Although they initially intended to locate humans stranded by floodwaters, they ended up finding cats and dogs in need.
In a now-viral video, the trio of rescuers are seen saving two stranded dogs and a pair of water-logged kittens.
Matthew Drake is the pastor at Richlands United Pentecostal Church in Jacksonville, NC – an area devastated by this week’s storm. Drake was accompanied by church member Leroy McGee, and a third unidentified helper. The team navigated the flooded streets in a boat, searching homes for people in peril.
CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz was there as the unlikely heroes encountered two dogs on an abandoned porch surrounded by rising water. After delivering the dogs to dry land, Drake and his helpers went back to rescue a cat they saw clinging to a ledge at another home.
Floodwater is rising in Jacksonville, North Carolina from Florence and rescue teams are racing to help people and their pets.https://t.co/GukOjcjkHk
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) September 15, 2018
The video shows Drake and another man disappear behind the home and return moments later, each carrying a sopping wet kitten.
Hurricane Florence has already caused multiple deaths and left nearly a million homes and businesses without power. As a result of continued rain, forecasts project record breaking flooding in North Carolina.
Thankfully there are people like Drake and McGee out there helping the four-legged victims who cannot save themselves.
H/T to Huffington Post
Featured Screenshots via YouTube/Associated Press