Two dogs were abandoned to starve inside a locked house.
The emaciated animals were only found when a worried neighbour broke in.
Katie Dunkley, from Barry, broke into the house on Daniel Street after noticing that the property appeared to have been left abandoned with the dogs inside.
RSPCA officers took the animals, who appeared malnourished and distressed, into their care and both are being closely monitored.
Shannon Harris, 19, spotted her neighbour Katie walking down the street with one of the dogs on Friday.
“I had just finished work and I saw my next door neighbour walking a dog down the street,” Shannon said.
“She told me that she had broken into the house to rescue him. She tried to rescue the female too but she went to bite her so only saved the male.
“The female was very aggressive.”
Shannon then approached the house where police officers were waiting for the RSPCA to arrive.
“I spoke to a few people who were stood around and from what I have been told the girl who lived there moved out around March or April time but had been going back and forth to get clothes,” Shannon said.
“I looked through the broken window into the living room and saw dog poo all over the floor, a chewed up sofa and two Christmas tree ornaments on the fireplace.
“From the pictures I took, I believe the female dog was curled up in the corner. The police went in through the back and somehow got the female dog into the cage, broke the rest of the window and got her out through the window.”
Both dogs appeared underweight and visibly distressed.
An RSPCA Cymru spokesperson said: “RSPCA Cymru responded to calls concerning dogs allegedly abandoned in a property in Barry.
“We attended the scene within hours of this issue being brought to our attention.
“One dog had already been removed from the property, and another was found inside. Both are now in the RSPCA’s care and are being closely monitored.
“The RSPCA is now investigating the circumstances behind this incident.”