After more than 300 days waiting for love in the Hunter RSPCA shelter, Zali the seven-year-old mastiff cross has found her forever home.
Last month, Margaret and Ken Wicken from Rutherford walked into the shelter, newspaper in hand, desperate to meet her.
After playing her weekly game of bowls in Cessnock, Margaret picked up a copy of the paper to take home, and as Ken was flicking through a picture of Zali caught his eye.
Margaret said after going to meet her, they fell in love with her "and that was that".
"She's settling in really well, she's a dear thing," she said. Zali has fit in well with the family, and her calm and loving personality is already shining through.
Sadly, the Wickens previously lost their dog, Dozer, who they miss dreadfully, to cancer, and had been thinking about getting another pet.
Although she's a bit bigger than what the Wickens initially wanted, Zali certainly thinks she's lap dog sized; she loves cuddles and on her first night home she tried her luck jumping into bed.
"She has the run of the place," Margaret said.
"She's got a very pretty face and we just took to her, she's quite happy here, she hangs around Ken; Ken just adores her." Margaret said she and Ken are very glad to give her a happy home, especially being an older shelter dog.
They have figured out what treats she likes and she has put on a good amount of weight since being adopted.
"We just think she's lovely," they said. Zali was adopted during the RSPCA's 'long termer' and 'golden oldie' adoption drive campaign.
In total, 25 dogs found loving homes over this campaign, resulting in a 56 per cent increase in adopted canines across the Hunter RSPCA (Rutherford) and BARC Somersby (Central Coast) shelters.
