'How he survived is a miracle': Starving dog 'Alex' who was on the brink of death weighing 43 pounds after surviving on twigs and rocks is rescued by animal lovers

His rescuers described him as terrified, emaciated, severely neglected and clinging to life.

But Alex - a heartbreakingly-malnourished dog who was found wandering the streets of New Orleans, surviving off nothing but rocks and twigs - never stopped being a kind, lovely animal.

'He was still so nice and sweet and forgiving despite, obviously, the neglect he has suffered for some time,' said Deanna Theis, the assistant director of the Southern Animal Foundation, a no-kill rescue organization.

Theis saw a picture of Alex appear on a website for a local animal control center, and realized he would be euthanized unless someone like her went to save him.