“I knew I had to do something, anything.”

A woman named Stephanie Castillo was recently running errands in Chino Hills, California, when she came across a heartbreaking sight. Outside Priceless Pet Rescue, someone had dumped seven dogs — all crammed into one tiny cage.

“My stomach immediately sank,” Castillo told The Dodo. “I knew I had to do something, anything.”

Castillo had no idea where the dogs had come from. She decided to call the rescue to let them know about the pups who’d been left outside their building. Unfortunately, though, they were closed all day. Given the state they were in, Castillo knew the dogs couldn’t just stay there until the shelter opened.

“It seemed like [they’d been] there for a while because they were sitting in their own filth and panting … I also noticed there was a blind senior dog that was in really bad shape,” Castillo said.

Determined to get the dogs some help, Castillo then called her local humane society, who said it might take hours for them to arrive.

“It would only get hotter as the day went on,” Castillo said. “So I opted to take them in myself.”

Once Castillo got home with all seven dogs, she let them out of the cage and gave them the care they urgently needed. They were all starving, parched and terrified.

“They … looked like they had been through a lot,” Castillo said.

Before long, the humane society came to take the dogs and gave them the vet care and vaccines they needed. The humane society then transferred them to Priceless Pet Rescue’s Costa Mesa location.

You can watch their full rescue journey here:

The dogs are now all available for adoption through the rescue, who named them Hal, Reese, Dewey, Francis, Malcolm, Lois and Rudy. After everything they’ve been through, they deserve loving homes.

“[These dogs have] faced uncertainty, but [their] spirit remains unbroken,” Priceless Pet Rescue wrote on their website.

Heather Gameros, the rescue’s adoption manager, shared that two of the dogs have already been adopted. Hopefully, the remaining five won’t have to wait long to find their forever families.

“They truly deserve the world,” Castillo said. “With some love and attention, they will live very happy lives.”