Desert River Guides co-founder Cody Dudgeon stands holding a dog with another rescue volunteer ( n Dudgeon emerged from waist-deep quicksand, her raspberry-pink drysuit caked in desert mud. The Farmington, New Mexico, whitewater paddler towed a 14-foot inflatable raft through flooded streets with a team of fellow guides on October 23. The group was searching for pets left behind after historic flooding devastated the Four Corners region the night before, destroying homes and displacing thousands.
Using their swiftwater rescue skills and drysuits, Ryan and her volunteer team spent several days rescuing animals stranded in flooded homes, locked in corrals, or trapped in submerged kennels and cages. Ryan and her husband Cody, 46, own Desert River Guides, a rafting company that leads trips down the Animas and San Juan Rivers. The couple has lived in Farmington their entire lives and said they have never experienced flooding like this.
Ryan believes their guide shop will store animals—chickens, cats, dogs, rabbits, and more—for weeks to come. Over the phone, Ryan described the heartbreak of watching floodwaters swallow her home on October 23. She knew she had to do something to help her community.
The group paddled their raft through inundated neighborhoods and, where possible, walked the streets while towing it. They left their homes, but they also left their pets locked inside their houses, which is why we went out.” The Dudgeons rescued dozens of animals, pets, and livestock that were left behind. Farmington is an agricultural community with thousands of ranches and farms in the surrounding San Juan County.
Ryan recalled trying to reach a goat farm and hearing the animals bleating in the distance. The team of paddlers was unable to reach the goats and, like many other livestock, the herd drowned. Just as much as we could help, just as much as we were allowed to do.” Deceased pigs, horses and goats floated through the streets alongside housing debris and logjams.
Longtime residents like the Dudgeons compared the event to the historic 100-year floods of October 1911, when historic rains tore through the Four Corners region. The 2026 floods have been so bad that, Ryan said, rumors circulated through town that a nearby dam had broken. In reality, it was just flooding from swollen rivers.
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