When TikTok user Jeanelle Kayy was driving through Long Beach, California last month, a blur of black fur beneath the highway made her hit the brakes.
Curious and alarmed, she pulled over — and watched, stunned, as not one but three wrinkly puppies scurried out from beneath the overpass.
“So, there’s these poor babies that got abandoned — beautiful Shar-Peis,” Jeanelle said in her first TikTok video. “I just found them under the freeway …”
You can watch that video here:
She couldn’t fathom how three young Shar-Pei puppies ended up living under a major highway, or how long they’d been fending for themselves.
Scattered piles of kibble nearby hinted that someone had been trying to feed them, and once Jeanelle uploaded her video, commenters confirmed it.
“People have been trying to catch them for two weeks,” she explained in a follow-up. “But one always runs, and you really don’t want them bolting into traffic under a freeway …”
Multiple attempts to save the pups had failed. Locals resorted to leaving food and hoping someone more experienced would succeed.
That someone turned out to be Suzette Hall, founder of Logan’s Legacy 29.
When Hall saw Jeanelle’s video, she immediately grabbed her rescue gear — traps, food, blankets — and rushed to the highway. She’d rescued hundreds of dogs, but the sight of this frightened trio hit particularly hard.
“Their sweet little smushy Shar-Pei faces, peeking out at me with those scared eyes — I was hooked,” Hall wrote on Facebook. “My heart was theirs.”
She set humane traps loaded with treats, but there was a problem: the pups already had plenty of food lying around. They simply weren’t hungry enough to risk walking inside.
Just as hope was fading, another experienced rescuer arrived with a larger trap. Together, they waited — and one by one, the puppies stepped inside.
“Miraculously, it worked,” Hall wrote. “They were finally safe.”
Hall transported them to a local veterinary clinic, feeling an enormous wave of relief. The pups seemed equally relieved, curling into their crates as if grateful to be anywhere other than beneath a roaring highway.
At the vet, their condition told the rest of the story.
“These babies are fragile,” Hall shared. “Their eyes are infected, their skin needs care, and their spirits are still trembling with fear. They don’t yet know what it feels like to be loved — but they will.”
That love came quickly. After receiving medical treatment, the puppies — now named Tuxedo, Coal, and Pepper — were placed in the same foster home, where they blossomed almost instantly.
You can watch the dogs playing in their new foster home here:
In their foster house, the once-fearful pups now play, explore, and learn that gentle human hands can be trusted. Hall hopes the trio might even be adopted together, but for now, she’s simply grateful they’re safe.
“These three miracles have completed all their vetting, they’re gaining weight, healing emotionally, and finally safe in foster care,” Hall wrote. “No more roaring freeways. No more fear. No more running for their lives.”
If you’d like to help pups like Tuxedo, Coal, and Pepper, you can donate to Logan’s Legacy 29.
To inquire about adopting any (or all) of them, email Suzette Hall at info@loganslegacy29.com.
