While walking through the woods to a local pond to go fishing, two North Carolina kids heard a faint whimpering nearby. Rather than ignore it, they dropped everything to figure out where the noise was coming from.

Eventually, the 14 and 10-year-olds’ discovered an emaciated dog tied to a tree and surrounded by trash. The helpless animal had no food or water and was so weak that she couldn’t even stand. The kids could tell the dog desperately needed treatment, so they picked her up and carried her until they found an adult who could help them.

“I do give the kids credit because it is easy to turn a blind eye and not get involved,” said Michele Whaley, director of the Pitt County Animal Shelter. “They said, ‘No, this is not right.’” Once at the shelter, a vet determined the terrier/American pit bull mix probably hadn’t eaten in about two months and weighed 28 lbs., which is almost half of what she should weigh.

Since the dog, who has been named Tanzie, needed more care than the shelter could give her, a group called Friends of the Pitt County Animal Shelter came forward to take her in and have started treatment, which is expected to take six months, to get her to a healthy weight and kill all the parasites in her system.

“The one thing that spoke to me: Her eyes are so soulful,” Whaley said. “she obviously had the will to live.”

Watch the entire video below to see how two kids helped save this dog’s life.

What would you have done if you found a starving dog tied to a tree? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.

[Featured image: WITN]