Two large energetic dogs are running around their new fenced-in yard after Armstrong County humane officers realized their owner didn't need to be charged. She needed to be helped. 

When Armstrong County humane officers were called to investigate a concern of animal neglect last fall, they met an older woman struggling to care for her two large dogs. Officers said the woman's dogs were extremely important to her because they were all they had.

Instead of humane officers charging her, they called in help. Armstrong County's Habitat for Humanity teamed up with Pitt's campus chapter to build an outside run for her dogs. 

The team spent six hours out in the frigid cold on Saturday. Humane officers said when the door opened, Beasly and Mariah bounded out and ran back and forth while everyone watched and laughed. 

"We absolutely could not have helped this woman and her dogs without the help of the Armstrong County Habitat for Humanity and H4H at Pitt," humane police officer Susan Clark said in a press release. 

"Together with our partners we can do so much more," humane police officer Chris Jirak O'Donnell agreed. 

Now the woman can just open her door and let her dogs outside to do their business and get some exercise. 

An anonymous donor to Orphans of the Storm covered some of the project's materials, and the rest was covered by Humane Animal Allies' Mercy Fund, which helps people who are struggling to care for animals.