It started as an ordinary workday at The Ritual salon in Morgan Hill.
Summer Brown was mid-shift, chatting with clients and going about her usual routine, when the front door suddenly flew open. A client rushed in with alarming news: A small dog was running loose across the street — and she looked lost.
Without hesitation, Brown stepped outside.
She quickly spotted the pup near a canal. The little dog was pacing nervously along the edge, clearly frightened. Brown tried to approach slowly, hoping to keep her calm.
But the scared pup startled.
In an instant, she slipped — and tumbled straight into the canal.
It was a steep drop. The splash echoed. And then came the panic.
“She was scared,” Brown later told The Dodo. “I could tell right away that she couldn’t swim very well. Her paws were thrashing above the water.”
The canal was deep. The water was murky. And the dog was sinking fast.
Brown didn’t weigh the risks. She didn’t pause to consider how cold or dirty the water might be.
“I just ran,” she said. “I didn’t even think about it. The only thing I took off were my white tennis shoes.”
And then she jumped.
Brown swam toward the struggling dog and wrapped her arms around her tiny, shaking body. The moment she made contact, everything changed.
“As soon as I grabbed her, she just relaxed into my arms,” Brown said.
It was as if the dog knew she was safe.
Brown carried her to the edge of the canal and, with help, climbed out. Back at the salon, she sprang into action again — grabbing clean hair towels to wrap around the soaked pup.
Then she had a creative idea.
“I had her sit on one of our clients that had the heater going above her head,” Brown said.
Under the warm salon heater, bundled in fluffy towels, the trembling dog slowly began to calm down.
Thankfully, she was wearing a collar with a phone number.
Brown called immediately.
The little dog’s name was Daisy — and earlier that day, she had slipped out of her house unnoticed. Her family had been frantically searching for her.
Within minutes, they rushed to the salon.
“As soon as Daisy warmed up and saw her family walk through the door, she was back to normal,” Brown said.
Tails wagged. Hugs were exchanged. Tears were shed.
What could have ended in tragedy turned into a joyful reunion — all because one hairstylist chose instinct over hesitation.
Once Daisy was safely back in her family’s arms, Brown dried off and returned to her clients as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
But for weeks afterward, the story echoed through the salon.
Because sometimes, heroes don’t wear capes.
Sometimes, they kick off their white tennis shoes and dive straight into a canal.
