“Today is the beginning of a whole new life …”
Suzette Hall, a dedicated dog rescuer and founder of Logan’s Legacy 29, often receives urgent requests to help pups in need, but one particular message last week left her especially frantic.
Her friend, Sandra Viveros Jackson, had spotted a small dog with severely matted fur running through a busy neighborhood in Los Angeles. With temperatures soaring and no shelter in sight, the dog desperately needed rescue. “The poor baby was covered in dreadlocks and carrying a heavy past of never knowing love,” Hall shared on Facebook.
Although Hall was already on another rescue mission, she quickly rallied her team of trusted volunteers to assist. Viveros Jackson and the team searched the area but couldn’t locate the dog. Then, under a car, they spotted a flash of white fur. They surrounded the car to prevent the pup from escaping and, after offering praise and encouragement, gently pulled him out.
Hall arrived shortly after the rescue and was shocked by the extent of the dog’s matted fur. The pup was nervous, unable to see properly due to the tangled fur, but Hall assured him he was safe. “He doesn’t know human touch or what it feels like to matter,” Hall wrote. “But we will be shaving away his past, and he will learn what it feels like to matter.”
At Camino Pet Hospital, the vet team shaved off the matted fur, revealing the dog’s adorable face and sweet underbite. For the first time in a long while, the pup — now named Maurice — could see clearly. With his fresh haircut and surrounded by love, Maurice looked and felt like a new dog.
“Can you imagine not being able to see for years or having dreadlocks so tight with ticks crawling on you?” Hall wrote. “And then, one day, all of a sudden, you feel like a million dollars.”
Just over a week after his rescue, Maurice is thriving in foster care. While he’s still searching for his forever home, he’s relishing his newfound life as a well-loved and well-cared-for pup. “Today is the beginning of a whole new life, a past stripped away…” Hall said. “Be still my heart.”