In rescuer Suzette Hall’s experience, lost dogs will typically roam around, while those who are abandoned will stay and wait for their owners to return.

So, when a group of Good Samaritans told Hall that a dog was hiding under a construction sign along a busy road for three days, Hall knew that trapping the scared dog would be a challenge. Not only was the pup in a difficult-to-reach location, but she wouldn’t want to be taken from the place where she hoped to see her family again.

And, despite an entire neighborhood’s efforts, Hall was right.

“She was so afraid of people,” Hall told The Dodo. “People would try to go sit with her, or walk past her with their dogs, and she would just bark at them.”

Some neighbors who couldn’t get physically close to the dog still contributed to the rescue effort, like the person who volunteered to cook hot dogs for Hall to use as bait.

But still, even with warm hot dogs in the trap and an empty stomach, the dog would not go in.

So, after hours of trying to catch the dog to no avail, Hall decided to leave her trap at the construction site overnight and go back first thing in the morning to try again.

When Hall returned to the construction site the next morning, the dog was exactly where the rescuer had last seen her, but something was different. This time, the neighborhood was quiet and the dog seemed less spooked.

“I freshened up the trap and pretended I was leaving,” Hall said. “I drove down the street, and then I saw her get up and start circling the trap.”

When Hall drove back to the construction site, she found the dog safely in her trap.

“Once I got her out of my trap, she was so scared,” Hall said.

“She was frozen like a pancake. But she was so sweet,” she added. “So I spent a lot of time with her just loving on her and rubbing her.”

Hall then took the dog to the vet, where they’d set up a quiet, private room just for her to decompress for a few days.

And, together, they gave the dog a name that suited her. “We named her Bella,” Hall said. “She just looked like a Disney princess to us.”

According to Hall, Bella started to come out of her shell as soon as she knew she was safe and loved.

And, since a loving vet tech volunteered to foster Bella, Hall knows that the sweet pup will continue to thrive in her care and finally get the happily-ever-after she deserves.

“That little construction sign doesn’t have to be her home anymore,” Hall said. “And she doesn’t have to wait anymore.”