A couple adamant about adopting a specific dog breed waited over three years to finally welcome one home.

Tim and Victoria fell in love with the golden retrievers, but because they wanted to rescue only, they waited for this dog breed to become available at an animal shelter.

When shelter volunteer and advocate Rachel Oldenburger, who is known on Instagram as @rachels.dogs, posted about Shadow the golden retriever, the couple immediately jumped into action. They have been searching for over three years to adopt a golden retriever.

Oldenburger took in Shadow to foster. She told Newsweek via Instagram that the dog lived with his family for about four years. The family told the rescue that their children became allergic and they kept Shadow outside for about six months before surrendering him. He was dirty and covered in ticks.

“Tim’s sister actually messaged me, and she told me the whole story about how Tim and his fiancee, Victoria, had been searching for a golden from a rescue for years,” Oldenburger said. “I knew right when she shared the story that I had a good feeling about them …”

But as soon as the couple came to meet Shadow, Oldenburger knew it would be a perfect fit. She said that, the minute Shadow saw Tim and Victoria, he ran up to them as if he had picked them to be his new owners.

Oldenburger shared Shadow’s story in a March 23 Instagram video, which amassed over 1.2 million views as of Monday. In the clip, the dog happily greets his new owners with kisses, accepting all the affection and pets.

Oldenburger feels relieved that Shadow, who is now named Ollie, and the couple have found each other. It has been a perfect match.

“Shadow is doing amazing; they send me updates frequently!” she said. “He’s met their whole family, loves sleeping in their bed and playing with his toys.”

Instagram users flooded the comment section with praises for Rachel connecting the couple with Shadow, especially since she looked through hundreds of adoption applications to find the best fit.

“Wow, just gave me goose bumps. A sad story turning into a happy forever,” wrote one viewer.

Another added: “Aweee congrats to his forever family!!! The feeling of waiting years for your baby, you know when it’s meant to be. Great work, Rachel!!!”

Golden retrievers aren’t a breed most people would consider frequently end up in shelters, but an article from Adopt a Pet listed them as one of the 15 most-common. Due to the golden retriever’s popularity, there has been a rise in both intentional breeding and impulse adoptions, which leads to more families surrendering.

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