Stray dogs often roam the streets with no one to turn to, their eyes quietly searching for a hint of kindness. They live each day in fear, hungry and unsure of what tomorrow will bring.
For the smallest and youngest, survival feels almost impossible. No animal should ever have to face the world alone, yet so many do. They feel unheard and unloved.
Among them were three frightened little pups named Pepper, Tuxedo, and Cole. They spent their days curled up under a freeway, pressed close together as cars roared above.
The noise never stopped, and neither did their fear. All they knew was how to survive. They didn’t know what it felt like to be safe. But that was about to change.
Stranded Beneath The Freeway
Three young dogs hid beneath the busy freeway in Southern California for two months.
The pups were forced to face the world alone, with no one to protect them from the noise, the cold, or the danger around them.
Kind people tried to help, leaving food and water nearby, but no one could get close.
The pups were distrustful and too scared.
When rescuer Suzette Hall, founder of Logan’s Legacy 29, heard their story, she knew she had to help. She returned to the spot again and again, hoping they would learn to trust her.
“I tried and tried to get them safe in my traps, but they just weren’t hungry enough. Still, with every part of me, I fell deeper in love. Their sweet little Shar-Pei faces, peeking out with those scared eyes—I was hooked. My heart was theirs,” she wrote on Facebook.
No matter how hard she tried, the pups stayed just out of reach. Then, luck stepped in.
Another experienced trapper arrived with better equipment, and this time, the plan worked. The three little dogs, later named Pepper, Tuxedo, and Cole, were finally safe.
From Shelter To Safety
Hall felt relieved, but that peace didn’t last long. The dogs had been taken to a shelter in Orange County.
Knowing how fragile they were, she couldn’t rest until she got them back. After a few anxious days, she managed to pull them from the shelter and bring them into her care.
“I am so completely in love with them,” Hall wrote in an update. “I promised they will never again be left behind.”
At the vet, Pepper, Tuxedo, and Cole were treated for eye, ear, and skin infections caused by weeks of neglect. They were weak and afraid, unsure how to accept kindness.
Their first baths required sedation, but the warm water and gentle touch began to ease their fear.
Now, the three pups are resting in a loving foster home near Irvine, California.
They are learning what it means to feel safe, to eat without worry, and to trust the people around them. Their bodies are healing, and so are their hearts.
With time and love, they’ll finally know that their days beneath the cold freeway are gone for good.