NEW ORLEANS -- You may have seen the video on social media: Two abandoned puppies, so sick it was unclear if they were going to survive.
A month ago, something barely moving in the rain, in a ditch, caught a man's eyes. Had he not stopped that day on General Meyer Avenue in Algiers, two puppies would have died.
"They were both just little, lifeless bodies, in the grass, in a little ditch, with the rain coming on them. And he just knew he had to get them," said Beth Renfro, the Client Care Supervisor at the Louisiana SPCA. "He grabbed them, put them in a box that he had and rushed them straight here."
The little brown male was not in good shape, had a respiratory infection and was dehydrated, but he was holding on. His litter mate, a little black male, was severely dehydrated, hypoglycemic and so weak he could not walk.
"He was dying. Yeah, he was dying," said the Louisiana SPCA Shelter Veterinarian, Dr. Kerry Backsen.
Dr. Backsen and a support team of three more, took turns staying with them.
"A big part of these guys' success, was nursing care, continuing to check on them, making sure they're clean and dry and eating and hydrated," Dr. Backsen said.
They appear to be 'Olde English Bulldogges,' around 16 weeks old now. Wednesday, they were strong enough to be neutered. And after four weeks of bonding with them at the shelter, two staff members are giving each one a forever home. The brown puppy, now named 'Peter Quill,' is going home to a 4-year-old big sister English Bulldog.
"She likes him. She's a little protective of her toys, but they'll get along just fine," said Adam Eastin who works in Network Administration at the Louisiana SPCA.
The people at the shelter ask every one to surrender unwanted animals to them, rather than abandon them.
"If you don't want your animal, this is a place that we'll always take your animal for you," Renfro stressed.
Too often, time is not on the side of the many abandoned animals, but this time, there's a happy ending to this 'wagging' tale.
We were unable to find out who the good Samaritan was.
The care for the puppies has come to about $3,000, if you'd like to donate to the Louisiana SPCA to help out.