A New Jersey woman and her dog are being credited for saving another dog that was left abandoned in a cage to drown in the ocean.

Jennifer Vaz says that she was walking in Veterans Memorial Park in Highlands early Monday morning when her own dog Molly brought her attention to a dog in a wire cage down on the beach.

“I looked down and I see these eyes looking back at me, crouched down in this little cage,” Vaz says. “Molly went inside and gave him a lick and he started to follow her out so I was able to put Molly’s collar on him.”

Due to the tide cycle, officials say that the dog would have drowned if Vaz had not come along.

The dog, a young pit bull, is now at the SPCA in Eatontown. He has been named River. Vaz says that she hopes to be able to adopt him

Anyone who may have information about the situation is asked to contact the animal cruelty hotline at 1-877-898-7297 or notify the Highlands Police Department at 732-872-1224.