Mystery Man Dives Into West Virginia Flood Waters To Save Dogs Stuck In Shelter Kennels

In the worst of time, the best of humanity rises to the occasion.

Huge swaths of Kentucky, as well as parts of West Virginia, Tennessee, and Virginia, are still reeling from major flooding caused by a month’s worth of rainfall happening in just 24 hours.

Videos of the floods have poured online, showing devastation reminiscent of what Hurricane Helene did to parts of Western North Carolina just a few months ago.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has established the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund to assist those impacted by these storms. The program has been extremely transparent about how the funds will be used and remains steadfast that every single dollar will go to flood victims.

Hug your loved ones and cherish every day you have together, because we're not promised tomorrow.
The floods in KY are affecting people all over the state and my lil heart breaks for everyone in this mess pic.twitter.com/C6ibnfk8fE

— TheRealAC (@TheRealAC49) February 16, 2025

Louisville’s Breckenridge Lane near Six Mile closed due to flooding. Four cars were trapped; here’s two. Lots of areas experiencing floods after Saturday’s rain. Updates:https://t.co/7XuOKw7UHV pic.twitter.com/PFR403Eccr

— Matt Stone (@mattstonephotog) February 16, 2025

Currently the overall storm death toll sits at 14 (12 in Kentucky, 1 in Atlanta, and 1 in West Virginia) with rescue mission still ongoing, despite over 1,000 water rescues confirmed to this point.

A major winter storm is expected to hit the region in the coming days, which further increases the urgency emergency crews are operating with.

Winter Storm Warning expanded a row of counties north.

Louisville is now included. #KYwx pic.twitter.com/sST8TMFIQk

— Kentucky Weather (@Kentucky_WX) February 18, 2025

Over 14,000 homes in Kentucky alone were without power yesterday but crews have worked tirelessly to get electricity back up and flowing. As of writing, Kentucky has ~3,300 homes without power, while West Virginia has 7,393, nearly all on the flooded southwest border.

One of the counties in West Virginia heaviest hit by these floods is Mingo County.

At one point nearly 60% of the county was without power and while the floods are beginning to subside, the dangers are far from over.

Mingo county is hurting as well. Attempting to find a distribution site and supplies for them. Mingo is often looked over by everyone. pic.twitter.com/2GoyQYHVsc

— Zachary Shrewsbury (@zachshrewsbury) February 16, 2025

Bob Aaron recorded this semi truck stuck in floodwaters in Mingo County, West Virginia. pic.twitter.com/5m7w3zNtG3

— Daniel Burbank  (@DanielBurbankTV) February 16, 2025

Donations to help victims in West Virginia can be sent to the American Red Cross West Virginia Chapter or WV Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (WVVOAD) “Disaster Recovery Fund”, the later guarantees that 100% of donations go to serve those in need and has a 95% rating on Charity Navigator.

While we could focus on the negatives here, let’s look at a story coming out of Mingo County that proves there’s great people doing spectacular things for everyone, and everything, in need.

Nameless Man Saves Rescue Animals

Save Our Strays Rescue is an organization focused on taking in animals off the streets, rehabilitating them, and helping to find them suitable homes and families. There’s a location in Borderland that tragically was submerged by the fast rising flood waters.

SOSR president Kathy Thompson and her husband were manically working to get all of the animals to safety in the short amount of time they had when a mystery man literally threw himself into harms way to save the animals.

Thompson told WOWKTV that the nameless man dove into the rising waters to pull animals still trapped in kennels, saving every one of them before leaving to presumably go help other who needed assistance.

“We’re so thankful that even though we’ve lost the shelter and lost all the kennels and everything, we’re thankful that they got out alive. And we just appreciate everybody that’s always tried to help us and I know all of Mingo County’s gonna need help until we get this behind us.”

I wish we had a video of that guy saving these animals if only to try and identify him because he deserves his flowers.

Huge shoutout to everyone doing everything they can to help their neighbors and community. When disasters like this strike, it’s beautiful to see everyone band together, even though you obviously wish they never had to do it.

If you want to donate to flood victims in West Virginia, check out American Red Cross West Virginia Chapter or WV Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (WVVOAD) “Disaster Recovery Fund”.

For victims in Kentucky, check out the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund.

My prayers are with everyone in Appalachia. We see you, even when it feels like no one else does.

Massive flood walls doing their thing in Mingo County, WV pic.twitter.com/sB2SNEuQq3

— The Civil Rights Lawyer (@johnbryanesq) February 17, 2025