‘A little bit of magic’: Emotional reunion as part of Lake Lure Rainbow Bridge recovered
By Taylor Thompson
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LAKE LURE, North Carolina (WLOS) — It was a touching and emotional moment for WLOS’s general manager, Courtney Youngblood, when volunteers in Lake Lure uncovered part of a special memorial that was lost to Hurricane Helene.
Last week, workers clearing the channel to the Lake Lure boat marina discovered a section of the town’s Rainbow Bridge in the sediment.
The Rainbow Bridge is a memorial on the Flowering Bridge where pet owners can put their departed dogs’ collars and leashes.
Last week’s recovery of some of these important memories brought relief to many pet owners, including one of our own, Courtney Youngblood.
She left part of her heart on the rainbow bridge on Sept. 8, 2024.
Youngblood said that she never thought she would part with anything from the dogs she’s had throughout her life. But when she stepped onto the Rainbow Bridge, she felt overwhelmed by all the love.
“So many loved animals are represented, even if you didn’t have a dog that was out there, if you had a heart for animals, it would bring you to tears,” she said.
Youngblood and her husband decided to put their three pups’ tags together on one leash to hang on the bridge. She said it felt right in her heart. She had no idea that just 19 days later, Helene would sweep through Lake Lure and wash the bridge away.
She remained cautiously optimistic, but part of her knew that these memories of her dogs were probably gone forever.
“I remember sitting down in the hallway with Meghan Danahay here at WLOS when we saw that the bridge was gone because, as dog lovers, it was just the thing that finally made us sit down, and we just cried,” she said.
If you’re a dog person, you get it.
“They don’t care even if you had a bad day, they make your day better, they greet you at the door,” she said. “It’s just the definition of love for me.”
364 days later, the day before the one-year mark of the storm, a miracle happened.
Youngblood was scrolling through Facebook and saw a post saying that part of the Rainbow Bridge had been found. She spent several minutes looking closely at every photo to see if she could find their collar, but no luck.
Later that day, archives of all the collars found were posted, and her beloved pups were listed as number 51.
“I looked and I didn’t even know they were archiving the collars,” she said. “It’s a beautiful thing, and there they were.”
She couldn’t believe that her pups found their way home.
Now, all of the found collars will be cleaned and stored until the new Rainbow Bridge is built.
The new bridge is expected to be completed next spring.
“How special it is to know that history will always be there and that my dogs will always be on the new bridge,” she said.
Lots of happy tears took place on the old bridge, and Youngblood is thrilled that Pugsley, Hemingway and Johnny’s memories will forever live on the new bridge.
“I felt like – for all of the sadness and all of the destruction that happened – the day before the one-year mark of Helene just did feel like a little bit of magic, a little bit of happiness in a time where we all need it,” she said.
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