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After their release, the dogs can be seen in the video swimming away from the cage, trying to keep their heads above water until they reach higher ground.

Nichols said they reached the backyard of their owner's house, which was on much higher ground, and which had food for them.

Nichols said a neighbor told the rescuers that the owners were a family with children that may have had a medical situation, and that they fled when the waters began rising.

\"PHOTO:
Jonathan Drake/Reuters
PHOTO: Panicked dogs that were left caged by an owner who fled rising flood waters in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, swim free after their release in Leland, N.C., Sept. 16, 2018.
>

Nichols and Rebollar, both Texas natives, began rescuing hurricane-affected people with the help of a boat when Harvey hit their state last year. That was when they decided they would try to carry on their rescue work in the future.

\"We plan on putting larger teams together to do this in the future for all storms,\" Nichols said.

Rebollar is a Marine in the U.S. Navy and Nichols has a business in Houston.

News of another animal rescue mission also caught people's attention -- and gratitude --- on social media.

Tony Alsup, a trucker from Tennessee, won hearts on Facebook as he travelled in a giant yellow bus from animal shelter to animal shelter, picking up dogs, cats and other animals that needed to be evacuated from the hurricane's path.

His motto: \"No one left behind.\"

\"So it begins,\" Alsup wrote on his Facebook page on September 11, two days before Florence hit.

\"I'm absolutely amazed at the cooperation taking place with the animal rescue groups and individuals...Volunteers are stepping up and reaching out to receive new pets from all over the country.\"

With the help of his bus, Alsup rescued 53 dogs and 11 cats from shelters in South Carolina, according to Greenville News.

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