Snoopy was only 8 months old when he suddenly had to learn to survive on his own. After his family abandoned him, the young puppy sheltered underneath a pile of trash in the back of an apartment complex and waited for them to come back. He wanted to be saved, but as soon as someone spotted him, he instantly put his guard up.

“He was back there for days, but he wouldn’t let anyone touch him,” Suzette Hall, founder of Logan’s Legacy dog rescue, told The Dodo. “He was growling at everybody.”

Multiple neighbors tried to rescue the dog — some hoping to lure him out with treats, while others attempted to pull him out themselves — but none of their efforts worked. The dog wanted a new life, but he was too afraid to trust anyone.

“One man would leave food and water for him, but he wouldn’t let anyone near him,” Hall said. “The poor baby was so scared.”

Eventually, a Good Samaritan reached out to Hall, who agreed to help right away. The rescuer was loading her gear into the car when her phone lit up with an unexpected update.

“One of the neighbors sent me a message and said that she was going to try to get him,” Hall said. “She said she was gonna go with her children.”

The neighbor brought her family over to the area where the pup was hiding and tried to coax him out herself. The dog responded the same way to the woman as he had to everyone else who’d gotten close before, but as soon as he saw her daughter, he had a change of heart.

“He was growling and barking, but then her 8-year-old daughter went up to him, and he literally just jumped into her arms,” Hall said. “He just melted.”

To everyone’s surprise, the pup totally let his guard down with the little girl.

“She spoke softly to him, and it was like he thought, ‘OK, you’re good,’” Hall said. “He was not the same dog anymore. He knew he was safe.”

The girl cradled the puppy in her arms, then carried him to their car. As the family drove to meet up with Hall, the little girl gave the dog a fitting name for his look: Snoopy.

Snoopy was sound asleep on the front seat when Hall walked up to their car. She expected the dog to be defensive towards her, since they’d never met before, but his demeanor was the complete opposite.

“He just let me pick him right up,” Hall said. “I just went softly and got my slip lead around him, then he started kissing me and hugging me.”

Instead of barking or growling, Snoopy happily welcomed Hall into his life as another helper. The rescuer drove the pup to the vet, where he received a clean bill of health, then brought him over to her friend’s house for temporary foster care.

Since being in his foster home, Snoopy’s personality has truly blossomed.

“He’s a total sweetheart,” Hall said. “He loves kids so much, and he loves other dogs. He’s so cute.”

Snoopy’s still searching for a forever family, but, for now, he’s enjoying his exciting new life. On top of having a warm and cozy place to sleep each night, Snoopy gets to enjoy the company of his kids and other dogs every day.

It’s no question that the sweet pup has never been happier, and he has no idea that the best is yet to come.