Last month, dog rescuer Suzette Hall — founder of Logan’s Legacy 29 — received a message that instantly sank her heart. She’s heeded thousands of calls for help regarding stray dogs around Los Angeles, California, but this case was different. Instead of wandering the streets for food, this poor pup went door-to-door, staring into peoples’ yards until they fed her.

“For over a month, she would beg at homes for food, looking into gates,” Hall wrote on Facebook.

As soon as Hall saw a picture of the sweet girl staring desperately through a residential gate, she knew she had to help. She called her good friend and volunteer, Mary Nakiso, and drove straight to the pup’s last location.

Hall and Nakiso quickly located the pup, later named Makena, and got to work trying to trap her. They spent hours attempting to lure Makena toward their trap and were almost successful until an onlooker suddenly foiled their plan.

“We were there for 5 hours, and she was almost in my trap when a mean neighbor came and kicked the trap so hard she ran in panic,” Hall wrote.

Makena bolted into the dark, far away from Hall, Nakiso and the neighborhood she’d been canvasing for weeks. Defeated, the rescuers had no choice but to call it a night and resume their mission the next day.

Luckily, it didn’t take long for Makena to reappear in the neighborhood again. The following morning, she visited a loving neighbor named Janet, who set out refreshments for the sweet girl.

“Janet was leaving her a bowl and water, and she started to really count on that,” Hall wrote. “[Then], last night, Janet called me and said, ‘She is literally following me [and] my dog everywhere.’”

After many failed attempts, Hall saw Makena’s comfort around Janet as a new opportunity to catch her.

“I was like, ‘This is our chance,’” Hall wrote. “Normally, she would run like a cheetah as fast as she could if anyone looked at her, but last night was her night.”

Hall rushed to Janet’s house and enlisted the help of a next-door neighbor, who allowed the rescuers to use his yard. Minutes later, Makena followed Janet into her neighbor’s yard. They’d set a trap for her but were surprised to learn that she didn’t need it after all.

“We got her cornered, and the kind man literally was able to pick her up,” Hall said. “I literally cried tears of joy the whole way back.”

Finally, after several painstaking capture attempts, Makena was safe in Hall’s car and on her way to the vet. Hall initially placed Makena in a crate to decompress in the car, but she eventually pulled over and moved the pup from the crate to the front seat.

“And she cuddled tightly into the blankets on my seat,” Hall wrote. “I looked over, and I [saw] her nose peeking out from under the blanket. This girl’s month of homelessness was over, and she knew it.”

Hall was overcome with emotion seeing Makena’s little nose poke out from the blanket — a sure sign that she was safe and happy. They soon arrived at Camino Pet Hospital, where Makena received a complete checkup and a soothing bath.

Thankfully, Makena was overall healthy and instantly cleared for foster care. She quickly found a loving foster home, where she’s been thriving ever since.