MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – Students at Lucy Beckham High School and one rockstar teacher are stepping up to the play to rescue and rehabilitate four dogs in need. It began on November 13 when Colleton County Animal Shelter received a call through Animal Control reporting four feral and aggressive dogs that were on the loose. But when Animal Control arrived, what they found was a different story. Young puppies, frightened and timid – but hardly aggressive. The owners requested that the dogs be euthanized while Colleton County Animal Shelter was feeling the pressure of an overflowing shelter and lack of resources to help the dogs recover, make progress, and become better socialized. That’s where Meowdog Animal Rescue stepped in. The rescue was founded by Lucy Beckham High School teacher Alex McCarell. It operates out of the Vet Science Department in the school, where students have hands-on experience with pets in pre-med classes learning basic vet care, grooming, and animal behavior, while also getting the animals rehabbed to a point where they can be adopted. McCarell said they are uniquely positioned to spend plenty of quality time with the animals they intake, which made them the perfect fit for this litter of pups, who may have otherwise been overlooked. Over the last few weeks, McCarrell and her students have transformed the once-fearful creatures into loving, wonderful companions, all while in the classroom. "It's really cool at the school, too, because we have so many students […] we have that manpower, that resource that they can just go in there, do their work and sit and pet something, which seems simple but for these animals that are terrified and have never been socialized, that's huge,” said McCarell. “That is one of the things that Meowdog is known for, is how well our animals are socialized, because they are in so many different settings, and they learn a lot of love and trust through our students and community. So, this litter in particular, to go from that terrified to full circle and now they are just love muffins and they run around, and they play, and they are just the happiest sweetest dogs in the world, so it's just been a huge, 180." And the cherry on top: three dogs have already been adopted. The fourth has an adoption pending. If you want to get involved with Meowdog by fostering or volunteering, click here.