When Suzette Hall got the call, she knew time was running out. A small dog, recently abandoned by her family in a Southern California park, had been seen wandering scared and alone—taking shaky refuge in the bushes across the street from coyote-filled woods.
“The park is full of coyotes, but she found herself safer in the neighborhood,” Hall, founder of Logan’s Legacy dog rescue, wrote. “She would curl up in the same yard every night.”
By the time Hall arrived, neighbors had already tried to help the terrified pup, but she kept her distance—too afraid to trust.
“Everyone wanted to save her, but she was frozen in fear,” Hall wrote. “When I pulled up … I could just feel her sadness.”
With storm clouds looming, Hall quickly set a humane trap baited with tasty treats. But the nervous dog wouldn’t step inside. Hoping to coax her in, Hall drove away to give her space—only to look in her rearview mirror and see the little dog chasing after her van.
“She knew,” Hall wrote. “She knew I was the one coming to save her.”
Hall stopped and used baby gates to gently guide the dog into the trap. Neighbors, who had been anxiously watching from porches and windows, erupted in cheers when she was finally safe.
Hall named her Iris.
After loading Iris into the front seat of her van, Hall glanced over mid-drive and was struck speechless. The exhausted pup had dozed off, her head resting gently on the armrest—front paws clasped together as if in prayer.
“It looked like she was praying,” Hall told The Dodo. “She had been through so much. It felt like she was truly grateful.”
Iris’s silent prayer had been answered. At Camino Pet Hospital, she received a clean bill of health and soon will move into foster care—where real love and safety await her.
Hall is now searching for Iris’s perfect forever home. But for now, she rests easy, warm and loved, just as she seemed to wish for all along.
Want to help dogs like Iris? You can donate to Logan’s Legacy, or reach out to Suzette Hall on Facebook about adoption.
