On February 3rd, 2022, Stray Rescue St. Louis updated their Facebook followers with an optimistic message:

“We’re out searching for a female pittie we’ve been tracking. Hoping we can find her today and get her into our safe, loving shelter where she will be warm and dry!”

The group, who works to not only rehome dogs but keep them safe during the area’s harsh winters, knew they were up against a challenge.

The neighborhood has plenty of abandoned homes that offer precarious shelter and are difficult to navigate. If they wanted to keep this pittie safe, they’d need to get to her, wherever she was, and coax her out.

Combing through a home whose front door was completely caved in, the team waded through ankle-high snow and overturned timber, as they shared on Facebook:

Rounding a corner into a room with a beaten-up chair and an overturned door, the team saw what they were hoping for. Waiting for them in her makeshift nest was the pittie they’d been searching for!

She was hesitant to go with them; they needed to wrap a lead around her neck and guide her to the car.

Once she hopped into the warm backseat with a blanket on it, she knew she was where she needed to be. Her tail started wagging, and she even gave her rescuers happy kisses

Once she was safe, they cleaned her up and gave her a name — Bejing.

Watch Bejing’s rescue below!