The other day, volunteer  dog rescuer Mary Nakiso was driving through California’s Orange County when she passed someone cowering on the side of the street. The creature was large, hairy and alone. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Nakiso slammed on her brakes to investigate.

As she approached the animal, Nakiso realized just how massive and afraid he was.

“He is literally 75 pounds and so big but so scared,” Suzette Hall, founder of Logan’s Legacy 29, wrote on Facebook.

The giant dog was petrified, which Nakiso soon learned was the result of being “thrown out” by his family a few minutes earlier.

“When he first got thrown out, he was so confused [and] running in circles in traffic,” Hall wrote. “A huge jeep with huge tires literally went over him …”

The pup, later named Benji, had no idea where his family had gone. He roamed the busy streets frantically, hoping to find his way home. After a while of running around in circles and dodging cars, Benji eventually disappeared.

Nakiso called Hall to notify her about Benji, and the two started monitoring local social media groups for any sightings of him. Later that day, someone posted about seeing a giant matted dog in their neighborhood.

Hall couldn’t make it back to the neighborhood fast enough due to traffic, so she messaged three more of her trusted friends who lived nearby.

The group of volunteers immediately agreed to help.

“I sent a message to Nuñez Aky, Yamileth and Karla,” Hall wrote. “When they got there, he was running back and forth so fast. So they waited for him to settle down.”

Hall stayed glued to her phone for updates while the team of volunteer rescuers hatched a plan to corner the flighty dog once and for all.

Then, she finally received the news she’d been hoping to hear all day.

“[B]ecause they are so amazing, they got him into a yard and shut the gate,” Hall wrote. “My heart was so happy. The fear and terror he had been through was over, and this big hunk of pure love was finally safe.”

The rescuers showered Benji with love and praise before carrying him to their car. They drove him straight to Camino Pet Hospital, where the shaggy pup received a long-overdue makeover.

“All the layers of his past [have] been shaved away,” Hall wrote in a Facebook update. “He literally had dreadlocks.”