SWANSEA, S.C. — Showing a little love for animals goes a long way.
"All of them just want love, they need the love. They want to be petted, loved on kissed and know that they're always going to have a meal," said Audra Herzberg, Grazing Hope Animal Rescue founder.
This is the lesson a group of Swansea high schoolers learned when they came across a puppy nearly skin and bones at the sports fields next to Swansea High Freshman Academy.
Initially there to pick up trash for a service project, the kids found another reason to step up.
"There's a dog. We're going to a store to get some dog food and so we finished picking up the last little bit of trash and started riding that way and we found the dog," Zebulon Jarvis, a senior at the school and one of the volunteers said.
An abandoned dog in the area is not unusual, it's a sad reality in Swansea some students say.
"Being in a rural community, it's pretty common. People just dump dogs everywhere," Caleb Mclemore said.
Thankfully, after food and water, some human love and a few phone calls, these students found a solution to a dog they started calling "Scoobs".
One of the kids' parents had just opened a no kill shelter two months ago.
"It means so much to me that teenagers stepped out of their comfort zone to call and find a place for a dog," Herzberg said.
Audra came to pick up "Scoobs" from the students.
"(I) Gave her a bath, cuddled up and went to bed. She slept in bed with me and that's where she sleeps is in bed with me cause she doesn't deserve to be outside," Herzberg said.
"It was really emotional to see her like that because you don't ever want to see an animal wandering around by itself and alone, but I'm glad that we were all there to help her and get her to a safe place where she could be loved and cared for," said Savannah Reed a senior and volunteer.
A four-legged friendly life saved thanks to a group of caring kids.