It just took three words to change the course of Suzette Hall’s day lately.
As soon as she heard an elated person exclaim, “We got him,” over the phone, the founder of Logan’s Legacy dog rescue dashed to I-710 in Los Angeles.
Hall and her rescue friends had spent the previous few weeks unsuccessfully attempting to capture a fearful dog stuck by the roadway. Neighbors verified that he’d been there for months, but no one was able to get near enough to help.
“He would cry and bark for people to notice him,” Hall explained during an interview.
When the pup initially appeared in May, residents began bringing food out for him. The forlorn boy would go back to the highway’s shoulder and fall asleep alone after helping himself to some kibble.
Until one day, when he was given his very first toy.
“Someone had tossed out a squeaky pig to him, and he literally made it his best friend,” Hall explained.
The dog, whom Hall eventually called Bruce, was ultimately accompanied outdoors.
A few weeks later, Hall was summoned to assist in Bruce’s rescue. Despite knowing about Bruce’s cherished toy pig, witnessing him connect with his squeaky pal warmed her heart.
Hall recalled that, “There were so many times when he thought we weren’t looking, and he would just be playing with his pig. He’d throw it up into the air, catch it, and then run around with it.”
Bruce made certain that the pig never left his sight, even at night, as Hall went on to add, “He would take it everywhere he went, even when he was sleeping on the side of the highway. I don’t know how he would’ve survived out there if he hadn’t had his pig.”
After weeks of futile attempts, a neighbor finally succeeded in trapping Bruce in their yard. When they contacted Hall to tell her the good news, she hopped in her van and drove to the highway.
Hall was on her way to Camino Pet Hospital with Bruce moments afterwards. But someone important was absent.
Hall also adds, “I forgot about the pig. So we had someone bring his pig to him at the vet.”
Later that day, Genavie Ochoa, a lady who’d met Bruce on the street and assisted Hall with the rescue, arrived with the toy in hand.
Bruce was overjoyed to see his human friend, but his expression lighted up when he saw what she was holding.
“He literally knew it was his pig. It was the first time we ever saw him smile,” Hall later stated.
Bruce was placed with a loving foster home not long after his rescue. He trotted gleefully into his temporary home, carrying his toy pig, who is still his dearest companion.
“The pig will sleep next to Bruce’s bed at night, and when his foster mom gets up in the morning, she always finds the pig in bed with him,” Hall explained.
As of today, Bruce and his squeaky pal are still on the lookout for true love.
“We really need to find him a forever home — and his pig has to go with him!” as Hall hopes in finding the best family for Bruce soon.