After eight months at the City of Ballarat's animal shelter, Sarge has finally found a home, and a forever family.
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The three-and-a-half year old Great Dane cross was first given to the shelter in May 2022, and as of January 2023 had been staying at the shelter the longest of any animal there.
Sarge's new owner Isabella Collins said it was "love at first sight", when she made the trip to the animal shelter.
"I sent some photos to my partner and my partner also fell in love with him straight away over text. I brought him back the next day," she said.
Ms Collins decided to get a new dog after recently moving house.
She said she had always wanted to get a big dog after having experience with her father's support dog, a bull arab and mastiff cross.
"I have grown up around big dogs, and ever since my dad got his support dog, with how much time they spent together, I have always wanted that too," she said.
"Within a couple of days of us getting all of the furniture in we decided it was time for us to get a dog. I couldn't wait any longer."
After keeping an eye out for available dogs at the shelter online, Ms Collins said she finally decided to adopt Sarge.
She said he has fit in nicely with the couples lifestyle, working as an "intern" at Ms Collins' home company BigMouth Creative.
"He has about six toys on rotation and he takes care of all of them. He will play with us all day, every day. He sleeps right in the middle of the bed with us," she said.
"He is full of energy, but just like us he has his high and lows. He does sleep a fair bit during the day, but morning and night he has bursts of energy."
She said the Ballarat Animal Shelter had made the process seamless, and encouraged more people to consider animal rescue.
"Rescuing animals I think is really important. Wanting to give a little pup or kitten a home, and a better life than what they had," she said.
"He literally never leaves our sight, and we never leave his. He is very, very loved."
The Ballarat Animal Shelter has also just completed its kitten adoption drive, which saw 54 cats and kitten find homes in just one week .
Prior to the adoption drive, the Ballarat Animal Shelter had 229 cats. A special adoption rate of $50 per adult cat, and $80 for a bonded pair was offered during the drive - down from the standard adoption fee of $140.
The adoption drive ran from January 30 to February 4.
For more information, call the Ballarat Animal Shelter on 5334 2075, or visit the Ballarat Animal Shelter's website.
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