When Gabby Bannon first heard of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, she knew she had to help.
Little did she know, her act of kindness would result in a chance encounter that would change her life forever.
Finding Rusty
"I'd been watching news coverage and seeing the devastation of what had been happening, and I decided I really wanted to do something to help", Gabby told Fox 29 in an interview.
Along with her husband Michael, she joined LaMancha Animal Rescue, driving supplies down to North Carolina and returning with dog in needs of homes.
Every dog she met had a story to tell, but there was something about Rusty that really stuck with her.
A few days later, Rusty became part of the family. The loveable brown crossbreed settled in as if he'd always lived with the Bannon family, taking to Gabby's children from the moment he met them.
Returning kindness
Then, only two weeks after he arrived home, Gabby was alerted to something by her loyal friend.
Rusty started barking and pacing unexpectedly. "I was wearing a long-sleeved sweater and he started tugging at my sleeve", recalls his new owner. "When I opened my bedroom door, smoke was filling the hallway".
Gabby scooped up her children and the family dogs and rushed outside, escaping a fire that had started in the kitchen.
She then managed to go back in and put the fire out.
"It was as if he was meant to come into our lives and be there that day to save us", she said.
Rusty's family will be forever thankful to the rescue pup, who ended up rescuing them in return.
