An Alabama man was out for a walk one day when he caught sight of something that had him stopped dead in his tracks.

As he peered into a bush, he saw a box full of six little abandoned puppies who had been left to die in the woods. It was clear to him right away that the puppies were malnourished and in desperate need of help, so he rushed them to his local veterinarian.

Staffers at the Auburn Veterinary College in Sylacauga were stunned at what poor condition the puppies were in. The puppies, each of whom weighed just five pounds, were covered in scabies and open wounds from scratching themselves raw. They were also hairless, malnourished, and frozen to the bone from being outside in the elements for an unknown period of time.

“They were so smelly that the shelter staff had to wear masks in order to bathe them,” explained Nicole Zaguroli of Second City Canine Rescue (SCCR) in Chicago, Illinois. “They were in very bad condition; they had scabies, they were malnourished and cold.”

Thankfully, the caregivers were able to nurse the puppies back to health that they were healthy enough to be sent out to foster families, but they were still so weak that they needed a lot of extra care. After getting lots of medical treatment and love, the puppies slowly started to come back to life!

The puppies were so little when they were found that they were initially thought to be poodles or cocker spaniels. When they got bigger and their hair grew out, however, it became clear that they were actually Great Pyrenees!

These days, the puppies are all as healthy as ever and have been adopted into loving forever families. Many of the families continue to share photo updates of the dogs on social media. One of them named Bear (formerly Barksy) even has his own Instagram page!

Another one of the puppies named Elsa (formerly Georgia) seems to be very happy with her forever family as well.

We’re so glad that these puppies have beaten the odds to live happy and healthy lives!