Petey the rescue dog has always been a happy boy, despite the obstacles he’s faced. At just 1 year old, the sweet pup was already the longest resident at his county shelter in North Carolina.

The small shelter was over capacity and had already extended Petey’s stay longer than usual. With no potential adopters in sight, the shelter reached out to SPCA of Wake County to see if they could help give Petey more time to find his people.

The SPCA instantly agreed to take Petey in. While the situation was devastating, Petey didn’t seem sad at all. Instead, he was thrilled to meet his new friends.

“As soon as he got here, he was yanking on the leash trying to get through the door,” Samantha Ranlet, spokesperson for the SPCA of Wake County, told The Dodo. “He bounded into the building.”

The pup’s vibrant personality stunned SPCA staff at first, especially when they considered just how many times he’d been overlooked at his previous shelter.

“He was super friendly from day one and very playful,” Ranlet said. “We couldn’t believe that nobody wanted him.”

Petey’s friends at SPCA uploaded a picture of him to their website as soon as he arrived, but they were worried that he’d be ignored once again.

“We, unfortunately, expected that he might be overlooked for smaller dogs, like before,” Ranlet said. “But it only took about a few weeks for someone to fall in love with him.”

According to Ranlet, Petey’s forever family saw the picture of the sweet pup and instantly knew that he belonged with them. A month into his stay at the SPCA, Petey’s new family picked him up, officially ending his lengthy shelter stay for good.

It didn’t take long for Petey to settle into his new home, as he soaked up his new life with his puppy brother and loving human siblings. He loves playing fetch in his backyard already and giving endless hugs and kisses to his people.

And at the end of each day, Petey, the once-overlooked shelter dog, curls up on his warm bed and falls asleep with a huge smile on his face.

“That is the smile of a dog who knows he’s home,” the shelter wrote on Facebook.

Petey is just one of many shelter dogs who are overlooked for long periods of time. At SCPA of Wake County alone, there are between 8 and 10 pups who’ve been waiting to find their forever homes for almost a year.

But just like Petey’s story ends with a happy ending, Ranlet and SPCA staff are hopeful that their other long-term residents will soon get their happily-ever-after.

“We’re rooting for them to find their people,” Ranlet said. “That’s what they deserve.”