Scorching summer days can be brutal for stray animals with nowhere to seek relief from the heat. Without shelter, food, or water, survival becomes an uphill battle.
One particularly hot day in California, a woman noticed a lone animal lingering on a hillside near her neighborhood. At first, she assumed it was a coyote, but after observing it for three days, she realized the heartbreaking truth—it was an abandoned dog.
It wasn’t just any dog—it was the same one that had been posted about on Nextdoor for weeks.
The poor pup had been wandering the area for over two weeks, spotted by various neighbors, yet no one had reported her as missing. Something felt off.
Determined to help, the woman reached out to Suzette Hall, a dedicated rescuer from Irvine, California. As Suzette shared with The Dodo:
“It was so hot that day. I was feeling so dizzy, but I thought, ‘She’s gotta be hotter.’”
The challenge? The dog had positioned herself far up the steep, brush-covered hillside, making it nearly impossible to reach her. Thankfully, kind-hearted neighbors allowed Hall to use their yard for access.
Despite the difficulty, giving up was never an option.
Hall carefully climbed up the rugged terrain until she finally reached the exhausted dog hiding in the bushes, trying to stay cool. As she said:
“You could tell that she hadn’t had water in days.”
Wasting no time, she set up a trap filled with treats and placed a large bowl of water nearby.
Desperate for relief, the dog immediately drank the water, but she refused to enter the trap. Hours passed as Hall patiently tried to earn her trust.
Though the pup allowed Hall to get closer and even speak to her, she was still too frightened to be caught.
It wasn’t until Hall left to grab fresh chicken that the real breakthrough happened. As Suzette later shared on Facebook:
“I put the chicken in the trap and started to walk away and … I heard the trap shut. I turned around and started crying. This was such a hard rescue because of the location she was in, so I was exhausted and hot, and I couldn’t hold back my emotions.”
When she finally took a closer look at the dog she had just rescued, she realized it was a Belgian Malinois puppy—only about seven months old.
Getting her down the hillside was another challenge. The terrain was too difficult for Hall to carry the trap alone, so she called for help. Four compassionate firefighters stepped in, working together to safely bring the puppy to solid ground.
Inspired by the scorching heat and the pup’s radiant spirit, Hall decided to name her Sunshine. As she mentioned:
“I named her Sunshine because it was so hot and because she’s a bright light of sunshine.”
Though no one knew exactly what Sunshine had endured, it was clear she had been on her own for a long time. As Suzette explained:
“She’s just so scared. She’ll let you pet her, but she just shakes. That’s typical for being on the streets for a long time.”
Sunshine was immediately taken to a vet in Irvine, where she received the care she needed and slowly began to decompress. The clinic staff showered her with love and patience, helping her regain trust in humans.
Once she was ready, Sunshine was placed in a foster home with Brittany, an experienced dog trainer who was exactly what she needed.
But something special happened in that foster home.
What was meant to be a temporary arrangement turned into something permanent. Sunshine’s foster mom became her forever mom. As Brittany shared:
“Originally was fostering, but when she walked up to me and gave me my first kiss, it was a wrap and I asked to adopt her.”
Now, Sunshine is thriving in a loving home, spoiled with affection, and spending her days with her big furry sister, Akeela.
After weeks of uncertainty and struggle, her days are now filled with warmth, happiness, and—just like her name—nothing but sunshine.