When a Good Samaritan noticed someone in the bottom of their empty recycling bin in the dead of winter, they were concerned. They quickly realized it was a tiny dormouse attempting to hibernate in the wrong spot.

“Usually curled up and snoozing in hollow tree branches or dense shrubs until around March, the bottom of a bin is no place to dwell in these freezing temperatures, so the caller got her to us,” Wildlife Aid Foundation said in a press release.

Wildlife Aid Foundation immediately agreed to take in the tiny mouse and named her Walnut. They made sure she was in good condition, giving her lots of food and fluids, before placing her in an artificial nest, where she could comfortably reenter hibernation.

That’s exactly what Walnut did — and for 102 days, she was dead to the world.

Finally, after a very long snooze, Walnut started to stir and finally opened her tiny eyes permanently again.

“Over the last two weeks she has become increasingly active,” Wildlife Aid wrote on Facebook.

After giving her a safe place to hibernate, Walnut’s rescuers made sure she was healthy and ready to head back to the wild. Then, they let her go.

“It was only right that the Surrey Dormouse Group gave our adorable, red-listed dormouse her freedom day into a hazel dormouse-friendly site, giving her the best chance of success back in the wild,” Wildlife Aid wrote.

It was hard to say goodbye, especially after calling her their “cutest patient of the year.” It was time, though, and little Walnut will always be grateful to her rescuers for giving her a chance.