A dog and her pup are lucky to be alive after someone brutally tied them in a sack on a remote dirt road and dumped them. But thanks to a kind person who stumbled across her, her life was saved.

Josiane Almeida, an animal rescuer from Lagoa da Plata, Brazil, was informed by a well-wisher about a distraught canine family. She and her husband immediately parked on a country road and filmed what they saw as they approached. Even after working with many animals from abusive environments, Josiane was still shocked by what she saw.

“Some of the worst abuse scenes I’ve ever seen,” Almeida wrote in an online post. “A sick mother with her puppy was tied in a bag and thrown into the middle of nowhere. They’ve been there for a while.”

As Josien approached the dog, the mother let out a low growl, no doubt shocked by her predicament. A puppy appeared to slip out of the sack and stood beside her. But three other puppies were trapped inside the sack with their mother.

But they are about to be released. Josiane noticed that the mother was having problems and the puppy was hungry and weak. She took the family home to give them water and food and rest.

She later went to the veterinarian who said all the puppies were healthy but the mother had cancer – cancer. Josiane sought help on social media to pay for her chemotherapy, and her friends and supporters reached out.

The mother dog is now being treated and she and her family are being cared for by Josiane. When they are ready, the puppy will be adopted. For Josiane, she was relieved that she could help the dog.

“This family used to be suffocated by a thrown sack, but because God is good we managed to get them out of their misery! They had a great day with me today!” Josiane Almeida wrote. “Thank God for giving me this opportunity.”