Two Souls in a Pile of Trash
The morning sun in Los Angeles usually brings with it the familiar sounds of a city waking up. But for one neighborhood last month, it brought a sight that was deeply unsettling. There, on the curb amidst a pile of bulk trash—an old, discarded dresser, a broken chair—were two small, fluffy strangers. At first glance, they looked like two piles of dirty, discarded carpet, but then one of them moved, and the heartbreaking reality of the situation became clear. They were dogs, and they were in a state of shocking neglect.
“[T]hese babies were so matted, so filthy, and one of them … had patches of skin just gone,” wrote Suzette Hall, the founder of the rescue organization Logan’s Legacy 29. Their fur was a solid, painful-looking shell of knots and grime. “No one knew where they came from. No one came looking.” They had simply appeared overnight, two tiny, broken souls abandoned like the broken furniture they were now using as their only form of shelter in a vast and terrifying world.
The neighbors’ hearts broke. They set out food and water, their offerings a small beacon of kindness in the dogs’ dark reality. But the pups were petrified. They refused to move from their makeshift den in the trash pile, the discarded dresser their only shield against a world that had clearly shown them no mercy. Realizing they were in over their heads, the neighbors made a call to the one person they knew could help: Suzette Hall.
A Rescue Built on Patience
When Suzette arrived, the scene was just as heartbreaking as described. The two little dogs, later named Kimber and Pennies, were frozen in fear. While many of the dogs Suzette rescues are skittish and prone to bolting, this situation was different. These two were so terrified, so completely shut down, that they were like statues, stuck to their safe spot in the trash. “They were terrified. Frozen,” Hall wrote.
Getting close to them was not going to be easy. Their fear was a wall, and Suzette knew she had to approach them with a deep well of patience and compassion. She began by simply talking to them, her voice a soft, gentle melody in the harsh noise of the city. She showered them with praise, telling them they were good girls, that they were safe, that she was there to help.
Slowly, painstakingly, her gentle presence began to break through their terror. She managed to corral them into a neighboring yard, a more contained space where the rescue could proceed. One by one, with slow, deliberate movements, she slipped a leash over each of their necks. She then gently scooped them up, their small, trembling bodies a testament to the trauma they had endured. As she carried them to her car, she made them a silent promise. “They are not trash. They are worthy,” she wrote later that day. “And from this moment forward, their lives will reflect that.”
The Heartbreak of Separation
The pups’ journey to healing was just beginning, and it would be far more difficult than anyone had imagined. A thorough examination at the vet’s office revealed the devastating extent of their neglect. Both dogs tested positive for scabies, a highly contagious skin disease caused by mites. The diagnosis was not just a medical issue; it was a logistical and emotional nightmare.
“Scabies is incredibly contagious to other dogs and even to humans,” Hall explained. “It affects anything with skin.” For the safety of everyone, both human and canine, the two sisters had to be placed into immediate and strict isolation.
For Kimber and Pennies, who had clung to each other as their only source of comfort and safety in the world, this separation was a new and profound form of cruelty. From the moment they were dumped, they had been a unit, a tiny pack of two against the world. Now, at their most vulnerable, they were being forced apart. Their caregivers’ hearts broke as they watched the two sisters, now in separate medical kennels, cry out for each other. “They didn’t ask for any of this …” Hall wrote, her frustration and sadness palpable. “They just want to feel safe, loved and healthy again.”
A Joyful Reunion and a Bright Future
The next few weeks were a grueling period of intense medical treatment. The sisters had to endure medicated baths and treatments, all while being completely isolated from each other and the other animals. But through it all, they were surrounded by the love and dedicated care of the rescue team. And slowly, miraculously, they began to heal.
Finally, the day came when they were declared free of scabies. The first thing the staff did was arrange their reunion. The moment Kimber and Pennies saw each other, the room was filled with a joy that was pure and overwhelming. Their tails wagged incessantly, their bodies wiggling with a happiness that was impossible to contain as they sniffed each other hello, reaffirming the unbreakable bond that had gotten them through so much.
With their health restored and their spirits soaring, the two sisters were finally ready for the next step: a loving foster home where they could experience the comfort of a real home together. They have been thriving ever since, their playful, sweet personalities finally free to blossom. “They are so sweet,” Hall told The Dodo. “They are all better and ready for adoption.”
Pennies and Kimber are still waiting for their perfect forever home, a place where they can stay together, a package deal of love and resilience. Once discarded like the broken furniture they were forced to sleep in, they are now living their dream lives, their past a fading memory. And as far as Suzette Hall is concerned, the best is yet to come. “They’re safe now,” she wrote. “Their healing can begin.”
