Whenever I think about people who would hurt animals, and even leave them to die, I get sad. But fortunately, there are heroes out there, too. And two that I’d like to give special thanks to are Bret Winingar and his son, Zach…

Bret and Zach were riding a motorcycle on the back roads around Little Rock, Arkansas when they saw an old dog carrier.

Their curiosity was piqued, so they went for a closer look. Shockingly, there was a severely malnourished dog inside.

The carrier was covered with feces, and the dog had chewed a hole in the carrier in an apparent effort to free herself.

The father and son left the dog for a little while…

…And came back in a car with dog food and water.

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Bret and Zach decided to call her Charlie Bravo.

The dog started showing her appreciation for her rescuers before they even reached home.

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The first thing Bret and Zach did was trim Charlie Bravo’s claws. They had grown so long during her time in the cage, that they curled inward, making it painful for the dog to walk.

After that, it was time for a bath.

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Then, they took Charlie to the vet.

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The vet determined that she was about eight months old. Based on the wounds on the Charlie’ body, the vet guessed that she had been in the carrier for a long time.

Charlie Bravo’s story quickly spread on Facebook. And soon, Bret and Zach started receiving donations from kind souls who wanted to help pay for Charlie’s veterinary costs.

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Bret and his family gave the leftover donations to various animal charities, and also set up a new fund for rescued animals called “Charlie’s Angels.”

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Bret—who initially hadn’t even thought of keeping Charlie—couldn’t bring himself to giving the dog away. Since rescuing Charlie, Bret and his family have also adopted three more rescued dogs.