Pulling into the Home Depot shopping center in Compton, California, earlier this month, Suzette Hall had her eyes peeled for someone she heard needed help. She drove through the parking lot slowly until she came upon a shaggy, nearly unrecognizable animal.

The animal, covered in dirty, matted fur, could barely muster the energy to lift his head as Hall approached. Passersby had reportedly ignored him for six months, and as Hall pulled up next to him, he sadly assumed she’d do the same.

But as the founder and director of Logan’s Legacy 29, Hall refused to overlook the sweet boy. She approached the matted pup and slowly began the difficult task of trying to earn his trust.

“He was so let down and neglected,” Hall told The Dodo. “He didn’t know anything but loneliness.”

The dog, later named Oreo, was hard to win over. He was incredibly skittish of humans, which Hall later learned was a result of people chasing him around the parking lot. But she refused to give up hope, even after he ran from her and hid.

She couldn’t find him again that night, but she promised to return every day until she had him safe in her care.

“[F]or over a week, we have been trying to rescue this baby, up at 2 a.m. almost every day and staying late at night,” Hall wrote on Facebook.

Hall recruited the help of her dedicated volunteers and attempted to talk to the local security guard, who seemed to be the only person Oreo trusted. Sadly, the security guard refused to help Hall’s team — but that didn’t stop their rescue efforts.

“We weren’t giving up, [a] storm [was] coming, and I just couldn’t fathom him being out there in another storm,” Hall wrote. “But we knew a trap wasn’t gonna work. Someone had to gain his trust.”

Hall and her volunteers returned one afternoon at the perfect time — Oreo was fast asleep and unaware he had visitors. Two volunteers, Yamileth and Karla, quietly snuck up on the pup and, within seconds, deployed their last-ditch plan.

“They scooped him up with a blanket,” Hall said. “[It was] just another miracle.”

Finally, Oreo was off the street and in the arms of people who desperately wanted to save him. Hall drove him straight to the vet clinic, where he underwent a full checkup and, later, a shocking makeover.

“Under all the dreadlocks, the painful matting, a beautiful little boy appears,” Hall wrote on Facebook. “His horrible past [is] behind him, and a new [hope] begins. I just know he feels amazing.”

With all his knotted, soiled fur shaved away, Oreo looked brand new. And, having finally felt loved for the first time, his spirit was instantly restored.

“Rescuing him gave him hope, and it renewed my hope, too,” Hall said.

It’s been over a week since his rescue, and Oreo has thrived. He’s since settled into his new foster home and is patiently waiting for a forever family to come his way. Until then, he’ll keep enjoying his newfound life as a beloved dog and thanking his rescuers for never giving up on him.

“I can’t wait for him to know what love really is,” Hall said.