A man has rescued seven little pups stranded beside a lake after he heard and followed their cries.

Junior Cook and his friend Leon Colombe heard the voices for the first time on July 29 when the two of them were relaxing in the yard of Junior’s home located near the Cross Lake, Manitoba, Canada.

The cries, which were coming from across the lake, continued for a long time, prompting Junior to grab a pair of binoculars and find the source of sounds. Far off, across the water, he saw a group of black shapes running around but he couldn’t guess anything about them.

Believing the black figures to be a pack of wolves fighting or playing around, Junior decided to ignore them.

“They didn’t think anything of it, and then the next morning when they woke up they heard the sounds again,” Deborah Vandekerkhove, director of Norway House Animal Rescue – a rescue organization based in Winnipeg, Manitoba – told The Dodo.

This time, Junior and his friend became concerned and decided to investigate the matter.

“They thought they would boat over to see what was going on. As they got closer to the island, they started videotaping because they realized the animals were puppies,” Deborah said.

As their boat approached the shore, they saw seven tiny puppies crying in starvation.

Watch the video below. 

“It’s just some fir trees and rocks, and a lot of high, thick grass,” Deborah said. “There’s nothing—no food, no water.”

The pair went back and brought some food for the little pups, and over the next couple of days, the two friends tried to gain their trust by bringing them water, food, and dog kennels.

After the puppies became comfortable around Junior and Leon, the pair took them to a foster home using their boat.

The seven pups were named after the characters of popular TV series “Gilligans Island” which featured seven people stranded on an island. The puppies were named Gilligan, Skipper, Ginger, the Professor, Mary Ann, Thurston Howell III, and Mrs. Howell.

“It took two days to gain [their] trust—and the two girls will just need a little more work to know that humans aren’t there to hurt them—but the other ones are just doing terrific, they’re very social,” Deborah said. “There are a couple of boys, Skipper and Gilligan, who are almost inseparable.”

The pups are now being treated at the Winnipeg Pet rescue after which they will be sent to their forever homes.