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.

Bret and Zach decided to call her Charlie Bravo.

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

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.