Malcolm was brought to Michigan Animal Rescue League (MARL) as a stray, and no one knew much about his background when he arrived. It turned out that Malcolm was a quick study, though, and it didn’t take long for everyone to realize what an incredible dog he is.

“Malcolm is quite a character,” Tommy Sanfilippo, a staff member at MARL, told The Dodo. “When people would enter his kennel, he would often greet them with a toy in his mouth, prancing around in a circle with his whole backside happily wiggling. He was always an easy dog to introduce new volunteers to; just give him a few treats to break the ice, and he’s good to go.”

With such a stellar personality, everyone assumed that it wouldn’t take Malcolm long to find his perfect home, but unfortunately, that just wasn’t the case, and he soon became the shelter’s longest-stay resident.

Day after day, Malcolm watched other dogs get adopted while he still waited. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind shelter life and fell into the schedule of it all pretty quickly. He bonded immensely with all of the staff members and volunteers — and that’s how he ended up finding his forever home.

“He was already good friends with his new mom; she met him while volunteering with us, and had spent lots of time hanging out with him,” Sanfilippo said. “They even went on some outings together: going to the park, the pet store and even to her home.”

When the day finally came for Malcolm to head off with his new forever family, everyone was excited. Even Malcolm seemed to sense that it was a special day — and when it came time to take his very first family photo, his smile said it all.

“I think he picked up on the fact that something was different about that day,” Sanfilippo said. “His enormous smile as he posed for a picture with his new family really is worth a thousand words.”

Malcolm was so excited to finally have a family and clearly wasn’t taking the moment for granted. He smiled so big and happily trotted off into his new life, and while everyone at the shelter was sad to see him go, they also couldn’t be happier for him.

Malcolm is now all settled into his new home, and the 279-day wait for a family was definitely worth it. He loves his new parents so much, and can’t wait for so many more family photos to come.

“We’ve been fortunate to get several updates from his adopters, and they’ve all been great,” Sanfilippo said. “He’s gone on some fun adventures, enjoys lots of snuggles at home, and is getting the love and consistency that help turn a good dog into a great pet. It’s honestly a perfect fit for him.”