When Chip entered a shelter, he was a 7-week-old puppy in need of a caring permanent family. He then waited for the following fifteen years.

Before being allowed to leave the Save-a-Pet Shelter in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on Thursday, Chip, a small gray dog, had spent virtually all of his life there.

One of Chip’s admirers wrote earlier this week, “Chip has NEVER had a home, NEVER had a family to love and appreciate him, NEVER had someone to play with him or take him for walks, NEVER had a warm bed to sleep in or a human to cuddle up to.”

Finally, Chip will have every canine want. On Thursday afternoon, as Jaco Rademeyer and Chip were preparing to take the small dog to his first home, the shelter shared a picture of their triumphant adoption.

Due to his health difficulties, Chip might not have many years left with his new family, but he will finally experience all the love and comfort he longs for. Although animal shelters do great things to assist the most in need animals, nothing can replace the love and bond that animals may share with their human family. Chip will now experience what that’s like.