Odysseus was so critically emaciated when he was found that his story even even the most seasoned rescuers weep up. The 2-year-old puppy was discovered abandoned outside of a Georgia church – tied up, sickly but yet clinging to life.

Rescuers suspect that Odysseus could be a boxer mix – but he’s so underweight that they can’t be sure. He weighed barely 28 pounds when he was found, and all his ribs showed plainly through his skin.

Local group Angels Among Us Pet Rescue stepped in to care for Odysseus, and rushed him into emergency veterinary care. Late Sunday night, the rescue recounted his story in an emotional Facebook post.

“I’m writing this with tears flowing down my cheeks … He is an absolute skeleton … This child needs rescue and emergency veterinary care and he needs it Immediately!”

“It will take a while to determine his personality,” Anne Clark, from Angels Among Us Pet Rescue, told The Dodo. “But I understand he is pretty sweet.”

During the weekend, the rescue began searching for a foster home where Odysseus may begin to heal from his years of starvation and mistreatment.

“We are also in serious need of a foster to assist Odysseus rehabilitate,” the organization posted on Facebook. “Would you open your home and heart to help him?”