BEAUMONT, Texas — Southeast Texas dog lovers are rallying around two severely malnourished dogs that were rescued from a Beaumont home.
The dogs were saved after a good Samaritan saw the neglect and called for help.
Now Beaumont Animal Care is looking for families to foster the dogs and a new Beaumont animal rights group says, enough is enough!
The two sweet pups are being well fed and are in good spirits, but cases like these have animal lovers uniting and calling for change.
Gracie and Nyla are lucky to be alive after suffering from what Beaumont Animal Care calls a "severe case of animal neglect."
"They're both roughly 20-21 pounds right now, which is shocking," said Beaumont Animal Care Adoption Marketing Coordinator Viviana Lopez.
Beaumont Animal Care rescued them from a home on Wednesday, but sadly they found two other dogs already dead on the property.
"I'm glad we got to intervene and take custody of them when we did. Luckily, we were able to forego a seizure hearing because the owner decided to sign them over right then and there, but we are still going through with pressing criminal charges," said Lopez.
The Facebook post posted by Beaumont Animal Care caught the attention of many angry and upset social media users, including Rhonda Girard.
Girard is the president of the newly-formed Southeast Texas Animal Coalition (STAC).
"How can a human being watch a living breathing creature get to that point and all the suffering in between. It's horrible," Girard said.
Girard says her call to action involves two goals that she says, takes aim at the very source of what leads to animal abuse and neglect
"The first goal is the overpopulation crisis and the need for spay and neuter clinics. We need to all work together to get this overpopulation crisis under control. If we don't it's only going to get worse," Girard said.
The second goal is reforming laws on animal welfare, including harsher punishments for people who abuse or neglect animals.
"The severe neglect and the abuse that's going on in our area, and the amount of people that are getting away with it is, it's just a shame," Girard said.
As Gracie and Nyla continue to recover, they're surrounded by love and care as they await to find their forever home.
"They're very, very friendly!"
Beaumont Animal Care says they are currently accepting foster applications for the two dogs.
If you want more information on how to support the growth of STAC, you can find out more on their Facebook page.