The Kingsport Fire Department (KFD) announced a happy ending for a dog lost in Tennessee during Hurricane Helene.
On October 2, KFD's Technical Rescue Team, along with the Murfreesboro Police Department, found a pit bull named Athena trapped in a tree 20 feet above the ground. Conveniently, it was one of the police force's canine officers who alerted the rescuers to Athena's location. Officer Angela Alexander reported that K9 Kari “began barking uncontrollably and directed the search party into a tree.”
“The funny thing about Kari is that she doesn't like other dogs, but this time it was different,” Alexander explained. “I'm proud of him for helping to find some good in all the devastation caused by the flooding.”
After determining the best way to extract Athena, Alexander and the other rescuers approached her carefully so as not to frighten her from her dangerous perch. Luckily, the puppy was “happyly removed from the tree” before being fed and watered by his rescuers.
A short time later, Athena was reunited with her grateful owners. After all, the dog spent almost a week alone after being separated during the storm on September 27.
Athena's owners were able to watch heartwarming footage of her rescue on social media before she was returned to them. This marked an emotional high point for the family, who had suffered the loss of their entire home in the storm just days before.
“A bunch of debris got pushed up onto my porch,” said Athena owner TJ Faulkner. “These were metal steel beams. It destroyed my front porch. When it did it, it pushed my house and floated through the air like a spring.” “
When TJ's wife, Allie, saw the footage of Athena's rescue, she recalled: “I was crying, I was laughing. I was so happy.”
“He's like another member of our family, like another kid,” TJ added. “He means a lot to us.”