This heartwarming video shows the moment two dogs were rescued from a lake in Dej, Romania, by volunteers from an animal protection group.

The rescuers were alerted to the dogs' plight by locals living nearby.

The strays had been stuck in the lake for 48 hours after somebody threw them in - a concrete wall around the lake appears to have prevented them from jumping out.

Abandoned: The dogs had been stuck in the shallow lake for 48 hours after somebody threw them in

The two-minute clip shows one of the dogs wading through the shallow water as the rescuers try to get its attention.

A man then climbs down into the lake and slowly makes his way over to the dog, which is now cowering next to its frightened companion among some reeds.

After slipping a collar around its neck, the rescuer uses a lead to haul the first dog out of the lake with the help of two volunteers waiting by the shore.

After pausing to shake itself dry, the timid canine runs off down the road.

Trapped: A concrete wall around the lake appears to have prevented the dogs from jumping out

Coming to the rescue: The video shows one of the volunteers climbing down into the water

Leading the way: The man slips a collar over the dog's neck in order to pull him over to the wall

The man then returns to the second dog, coaxing it over to the wall and passing the lead to his fellow rescuers who lift it out of the water.

As soon as the collar is unclipped, it runs off in search of its companion.

Last year, hundreds of dog lovers blockaded Romania's Parliament in protest after the country's constitutional court upheld a law allowing strays to be euthanised.

The ruling came weeks after a four-year-old boy's fatal mauling in the Romanian capital led the government to draft the legislation.

Home and dry: He then lifts the dog out of the lake with the help of two other rescuers

Helping hand: The man returns to rescue the second dog, which is cowering among some reeds

The second dog is also hauled out of the water before it runs off down the street in search of its companion

Under the new law, stray dogs will be taken to shelters and - if not adopted or claimed within 14 days - they will be killed.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals criticised the ruling and called the bill 'both inhumane and ineffective'.