By Lexi Solomon
The Charlotte Observer
WAKE FOREST, N.C. — Korey Floyd went to Western North Carolina to help save lives after Hurricane Helene. He didn’t expect to bring home a companion.
Floyd, 23, has worked for the Wake Forest Fire Department for four years. His latest mission took him to Mitchell County as part of a swift water rescue team.
Deployed two days before Helene hit, Floyd spent 10 days in some of the hardest-hit parts of the state with 11 other firefighters, helping to cut trees, do welfare checks and more.
Several days in, Floyd’s team drove down a road near Bakersville, a town of about 700 people between Boone and Asheville, where they found a group of sheriff’s deputies cutting up a fallen tree — and a deputy’s wife holding a dog.
The black and white pitbull mix had been wandering on the road, the woman told Floyd. She’d tried to find the owner, but no one in the community recognized the dog.
“So we went up and said, ‘We’ll take it for you, look around for you, try to find the owner,’” Floyd recalled.
After traveling a couple of miles up the road and back, asking anyone in sight if they recognized the dog, Floyd and his colleagues realized the pit mix would likely go to the pound if no one took her in.
“We went and got her scanned; she has no microchip,” he said. “So we ended up taking her home and trying to give her a better life than she would have had.”
They named the dog Lulu and got the Mitchell County animal shelter to ask its Facebook followers if anyone recognized her. As the firefighters waited for responses, they took Lulu back to the Bakersville station, giving her food and water and enjoying time with her in between tasks.
“Whenever we went back to the station, we’d go say hi to her, play with her a little bit,” Floyd said. “It brought everybody’s mood up.”
Floyd laughed with colleagues about taking Lulu home, but when the time came to return to Wake Forest on Sunday and the dog still didn’t have an owner, he realized it was no longer a joke.
Already the owner of a 3-year-old beagle mix, Winston, and a gaggle of chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys, Floyd decided he’d bring Lulu home with him.
“She’s great with the other dog and with the birds and everything,” he said. “She loves them all. She doesn’t try to attack [Winston] or anything.”
Capt. Kyle Mangum, Floyd’s supervisor, said Floyd’s decision to rescue Lulu is an example of his generous spirit.
“He wanted to give her a home to be loved in,” Mangum said. “He has contacts with the community that he found her in and is still trying to locate the owners. Korey is just that kindhearted of a person.”
A veterinarian estimated Lulu is 2 or 3 years old, Floyd said. She’s been given all her shots and is being treated for two tick-borne diseases and a bout of worms — but overall, she’s healthy, he said.
“She helps a lot,” Floyd said. “She’s always just there, ready to hang out and chill with us.”
The calm, playful pup is an example of how Floyd and first responders like him can save human lives and animal lives, he said.
“We try to do what we can for both,” he said. “You can help an animal out just like a human.”
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