A guy describes his meeting with a real-life Lassie.

Gary Thynes was playing with his dog at a park in Pittsburgh’s North Shore neighborhood on Tuesday, July 29, when another dog approached him, as if to attract his attention.

“He would come just close enough for me to be out of arm’s reach, and then he would bark, turn around, run a few steps, and bark again,” Thynes told ABC station WTAE. “It seemed like he was attempting to attract my attention. And I had an overpowering impression that he wanted me to follow him.”

Thynes left his pet in the hands of a friend and let the dog take him to a forested location near a train track. Thynes remembers having an instant sense that something was wrong.

“He led me to a tent encampment with two [people],” Thynes told WTAE. “At first, I just noticed one male. I attempted to gain his attention and rouse him up, but he refused. He was totally unresponsive. I couldn’t determine if he was breathing or not.

He continued speaking, saying: “And then I turned around and noticed a pair of legs sticking out of a tent. I tried to shake them, but it was a woman who also would not respond to me.”

Thynes phoned 911, and police and doctors arrived within minutes.

“I know how quickly you need to react to save someone’s life,” a voice stated. “So, the first thing that came to my mind was to immediately make a call. Call the cops. “Get someone out there as quickly as possible.”

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety informed PEOPLE that they transported an unresponsive guy and female to a local hospital.

“We are grateful to our public safety partners and the good Samaritans who were in the area and in a position to help,” the agency stated.

Thynes praised the dog that alerted him to the critical situation, saying, “He’s wonderful, and he definitely saved some lives yesterday.” “He is a persistent little puppy.”

The dog is currently in Thynes’ care, while the man and lady remain in the hospital, according to WTAE. There has been no update on their condition.

Thynes said on Facebook that he volunteered to take the dog when animal control arrived at the incident.

Animal control informed them that they needed to take the dog to the pound, located far outside the city. I expected them to be unable to return him or pay the necessary expenses. So I promised to take the puppy home with me,” he wrote.

Thynes stated that he provided the social worker who attended to the incident with his phone number and “told her to tell [the man and woman] I would keep the dog safe, and if they did, I would keep the dog for a while if they wanted to go get treatment.”

After returning the dog to his apartment, Thynes examined the animal to determine his overall condition. “I had a good look at this tiny hero.” He’s pretty thin, and it seems like he has a pretty serious infection in his eye, so I’m going to do whatever I can to help this little guy out, just like he helped save his owners’ lives,” he added in his post.

Thynes called it “an honor” to take care of the brave dog.

“I know how important the unconditional love of your dog can be and how much love they have for you,” wrote the man. “So it is an honor for me to take care of this person until his humans are well enough to reunite with a dog that loves them very much.”