On a steamy summer day, it is exhausting to spend even a short amount of time outside, much less for a complete 24 hours. That is why a Good Samaritan realized something was off when she saw a mystery animal sleeping on a sunny hillside for three days a row.
“She thought that [the animal] was a coyote at first,” according to rescuer Suzette Hall. The woman realized she was staring at a dog when she drew nearer.
The woman identified the dog via several Facebook posts made by neighbors who had seen it in various locations for two weeks. However, she has only been recorded as “seen,” never as “missing.”
The woman contacted Hall for assistance as it became increasingly hot, but the dog remained rooted to the slope.
When she arrived, the sun was already intensely shining on the exposed hill. “It was so hot that day,” Hall said. “I was feeling so dizzy, but I thought, ‘She’s gotta be hotter.’”
Here, you can see Hall approaching the dog for the first time:
Hall walked over to the rocky hillside after grabbing her trap and a large water jug. The condition of the dog became more obvious as she approached closer.
Hall remarked, “You could tell that she hadn’t had water in days.”
Hall laid her trap with food and poured a big bowl with water when she finally caught the dog.
“She drank all the water,” Hall said. “But she wasn’t going into the trap. She would go in a little bit and then go lay back out in the sun.”
The dog eventually realized Hall was there to assist her. “Every time I would start to go down there to check on her, she would start to wiggle her tail,” according to Hall. “She knew I was there. She was starting to trust me.”
Eventually, Hall approached the dog close enough to speak with her but was still unable to capture her. And even so, the dog would not follow the lure in the trap to the back.
After briefly leaving the hillside, Hall returned with some new snacks, which were ultimately successful.
Hall saw the dog was much younger than she appeared when she approached the trap and got a better look at her.
“She’s a little Malinois puppy,” Hall said. “[She’s] about 7 months old.”
The terrified pup waggled her tail as Hall approached her, even though she was shivering in the trap. Hall decided to give her a name that captured both her character and her tale.
“I named her Sunshine because it was so hot and because she’s a bright light of sunshine,” Hall explained.
Hall was able to bring Sunshine off the hill and ultimately out of the sun with the assistance of four sympathetic firemen.
Hall and the Good Samaritans who assisted her experienced victory, but Sunshine was paralyzed by terror.
“She’s just so scared,” Hall said. “She’ll let you pet her, but she just shakes. That’s typical for being on the streets for a long time.”
Here, you can see Sunshine’s attitude following her rescue:
Sunshine’s origins are unknown to anyone in the area, but based on her behavior, Hall surmises that she has lived there her entire life.
“She is so unsocialized,” Hall said. “I don’t think she ever had a home.”
Sunshine was taken to the veterinarian by Hall after the rescue, where the dog is currently unwinding in a quiet area. Hall claims that Sunshine has received a lot of attention from the vet techs at the clinic, which has made her more at ease around people.
Sunshine will move in with a seasoned foster parent as soon as she finished de-stressing; this person has helped dogs like Sunshine grow in the past. She will then be adopted and given a permanent home.
And even if Sunshine is still waiting for her happy ending, her rescue from the harsh sun after three days of sweltering heat is already a triumph. “She’s a total miracle,” Hall declared.
