"Just like with people, some simply don't get lucky in life — the right one just doesn't come," shelter director Annika Mölder said, explaining why Pennu spent so many years waiting for a home.

In the end, he was taken home by shelter volunteer Elisabeth Kaldvee. Kaldvee has been a volunteer at the shelter for seven years, but with Pennu it was not love at first sight at all. At first, her heart was won by the dog boy living next to Pennu.

"Pennu kept jumping like a bat onto the fence and waited for scratches under the arm. Then I just tossed treats to him, but didn't pay much attention. He wasn't my main dog to work with. I went walking with him for the first time about three years ago," Kaldvee recalled.

Dog arrived after bite incident

Pennu arrived at the shelter from a home where he had bitten another dog and a child. "Right now it seems impossible," said Mölder. "The situation was probably such that the child was with the dog, and the dogs got into a conflict with each other, and maybe the child ended up in between. The owner then decided that he did not want to keep such an aggressive dog — too big a responsibility, which is also true."

Kaldvee recalled that when Pennu arrived at the shelter, it was clear that not much work had been done with him, because he had no habit of walking on a leash, he didn't know tricks, and contact with people was minimal. He was also very reactive toward other dogs. "A lot of work and training has been done."

Kaldvee has loved dogs her whole life. As a child, she constantly asked her parents to get her a dog, but it never happened. Now she sees that her parents acted correctly, because at that time it wasn't the right moment and she didn't know enough about dogs.

Volunteer becomes owner

"But the interest has always been there. A classmate invited me to the shelter when I was 18. We went together. For her it was the last time, I kept going. Especially when you choose one dog there to focus on, it's a bit like cheating, because you start feeling like you have your own dog," Kaldvee smiled.

Becoming attached to an animal waiting for a home at the shelter can also bring great heartbreak.

"I always like to say that my first heartbreak was at the shelter, when the first dog I seriously fell in love with was adopted. His name is Bruno. I mourned him for three months and took a break from the shelter. It's a bittersweet moment, because you're happy, but on the other hand he was a dog I invested so much in. It's hard to accept that he's no longer at the shelter," Kaldvee admitted.

Years of attachment grow

Why no one wanted Pennu, Kaldvee has thought about for years. At one point she even began to hope a little that no one would take Pennu, so she could adopt him herself at the right moment.

"He is such a cool‑natured dog. He is super friendly," the owner praised. "He is the first shelter dog I have seriously trained. It was a bit sad to think that all the work I had done would go to waste and I'd have to start from scratch with another dog. And also, when you work with a dog for three years straight, you grow together. He became my dog some time ago already. The shelter workers had long been asking when I would take Pennu home."

Pennu has accepted his new home very well.

Kaldvee encourages others to adopt older dogs too, because then you don't have to worry about puppy‑like mischief. "Once they get used to the home environment, they practically sleep the whole day."

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