Hallee Fuqua, a young woman from Oklahoma with a deep love for dogs, had been volunteering at a local dog shelter during her Thanksgiving break.
There, she formed an immediate and close connection with a particular rescue dog.
Recognizing this bond, her father decided to give her a Christmas surprise she had been longing for years – a dog of her own.
But not just any dog, it was the very rescue dog she had grown so fond of at the shelter.
The moment Hallee first saw her new canine companion was captured on video by her father.
It was a heartwarming scene that beautifully encapsulated the joy of a young woman being united with her beloved pet.
Hallee’s journey with the dog, named Rambo, began at the Humane Society in Stillwater.
Rambo, a mix of Plott Hound and Mountain Cur, was the first dog Hallee would visit whenever she volunteered at the shelter.
“She would come in and just sit with him,” said Jackie Ross-Guerrero, the shelter’s director, in an interview with ABC News. “They connected from day one.”
Despite her deep affection for Rambo, Hallee was aware that she wouldn’t be a part of his life forever.
She knew that eventually, a family would adopt him, and she wouldn’t be able to care for him anymore.
But she was determined to cherish every moment with him until then.
Meanwhile, Hallee’s father, Lance, had a secret plan.
He decided to adopt Rambo without Hallee’s knowledge and surprise her on Christmas.
However, keeping this secret while Hallee was working at the shelter was a challenge.
It involved a few harmless deceptions.
“We pulled a little white lie when she would come in so she would think he was still under adoption,” Jackie revealed.
When Hallee discovered through social media that Rambo had been adopted two days before the surprise, she was heartbroken.
Little did she know that the dog now belonged to her!
On the day of the surprise, Lance managed to capture Hallee’s reaction on video and shared it on Facebook.
The post quickly went viral, garnering thousands of likes and shares.
The video shows Lance sitting with Rambo as Hallee enters the room, completely oblivious to the surprise awaiting her.
As she sees her father with her favorite dog, she stands in shock.
When Rambo excitedly runs over to greet her, Hallee breaks down in tears, hugging her new pet.
She repeatedly asks, “Is he mine?” and “Are you joking?”
When she finally realizes that Rambo is indeed hers, she can’t hold back her tears of joy.
Using his newfound internet fame, Lance encouraged people to donate to the shelter in a Facebook post.
He wrote:
“Our daughter Hallee Fuqua has been asking for a dog for Christmas for years. We told her she should wait until after she graduates college. She began volunteering at the Humane Society of Stillwater. She fell in love with a dog named Rambo and visited him often.”
He continued:
“My wife and I decided to secretly adopt him 3 weeks ago. With the help from the Humane Society, we kept it a secret. She found out this weekend that Rambo had been adopted and she was broken. So Sunday night we surprised her with her early Christmas present. We captured the moment on video. Merry Christmas Hallee! #onehappygirl #onehappydog.”
He then asked for donations to go towards the shelter.
This is definitely a Christmas that Hallee will never forget. Watch the video below to see the sweet surprise for yourself!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
Source: YouTube – Hallee and Rambo, ABC News, Facebook – Lance Fuqua, Humane Society of Stillwater
