Touching photo of shelter dogs hugging helped save their lives

Two affectionate puppies have been given a second chance on life after a viral photo of the two 'hugging' saved their lives from euthanasia.

On Tuesday, Angels Among Us Pet Rescue posted an image to its Facebook page of two dogs named Kala and Keira. The image, taken by photographer Malena Evans at an animal shelter in Atlanta, shows the two looking downtrodden while Kala wraps its front legs around Keria's neck.

While the photo is undoubtedly adorable, the story behind the image was much more harrowing: If the dogs weren't adopted by the end of the day, they would be euthanized. The Facebook post reads in the voice of Kala, offering a grim description of what would happen to the dogs if they weren't saved in time.

"I'm Kala. This is Keira. We're so scared in here," the Facebook post reads. "The people working in the shelters see how scared we are but just told each other that today is our deadline. We have to have someone rescue us or we'll be 'next.'"

The Facebook post received over 17,000 likes and nearly 10,000 shares. The touching image of the dogs' embrace proved to be successful, as Kala and Keira were saved from the shelter.

"Exactly 2 hours and 6 minutes. That's how long it took this amazing community of animals lovers to come together to save the lives of two canine friends," the updated Facebook post read. We just received word from our Angels volunteer that Kala and Keira are safely in the car and on their way to a vet-all thanks to you."

ABC reached out to Angels Among Us to determine if the person in the second photo is the dogs' new foster owner and to find out whether the dogs still need a forever home.