Denise Richards Adopts Puppy During Sandy Aftermath

People Pets

By Amy Jamieson

11/12/2012 at 02:05 PM EST

Denise Richards and her new dog Tara

Courtesy Denise Richards

She traveled to New York to talk about disaster relief after Hurricane Sandy, and Denise Richards ended up doing some serious relief of her own.

When the actress visited a North Shore Animal League America shelter in Long Island, N.Y., on Saturday to help spread the word about relief efforts in the area and encourage adoptions, she met one shelter resident and couldn’t let go.

According to a post on the shelter’s Facebook page, Richards adopted a black Labrador mix puppy named Tara.

“During their visit Denise and her family fell in love with Tara the Labrador Mutt-i-gree puppy and welcomed her into their home!” reads the post.

Looks like Richards – who told PEOPLE in 2010 that she has “lots” of once-homeless dogs – has given her friends yet another reason to call her Dr. Dolittle.

“I swear, if there’s a dog stranded somewhere, he finds my car, and he finds me,” she told PEOPLE. “If anyone is looking to get a dog, they ask, ‘Can you help me?'”