Face of Dog Adopted After 5 Years in Shelter Melts Hearts: ‘Going Home’

A dog affectionately known as “Crazy Nelly” has found her forever home after five years waiting—and screaming—in a shelter in Greece.

Nelly captured hearts in October 2024 when the shelter Foundation for the Strays—Paws of Greece shared her story.

The lovable husky mix, known for “screaming” with excitement every time she saw a human, has now embarked on a journey of love and companionship, thanks to a couple from the U.K.

Shelter cofounder Petra Brouwer told Newsweek: “In the past couple of days, Nelly has been traveling from Greece to the UK with her adopters, Mick and Ange, who went to incredible lengths to bring her home.”

Mick and Ange first discovered Nelly through a Newsweek story about her, and felt an immediate connection.

Determined to give her the love she had been asking for, the couple embarked on a cross-continental adventure to make it happen. From their home in the U.K., they traveled to Greece to meet Nelly. In a follow-up post on TikTok, the rescue said: “Remember Nelly?? Waited 5 years. She’s going home today!!!”

It was love at first sight and the couple adopted her, and the shelter said an emotional goodbye to Nelly as she left the premises for the last time. “We waited for them to welcome them, and say our goodbyes to Nelly,” Brouwer said.

Nelly and the couple made the journey back through the Channel Tunnel to return to the U.K. After an overnight stay in a hotel, they are now back home with Nelly in tow.

“I am incredibly happy, and these are the moments we know why we do this,” Brouwer said. “So often, rescuing and managing a shelter is hard, and we encounter many setbacks. But this is why we hold on.”

In the first half of 2024, 3.12 million animals entered U.S. shelters, according to Shelter Animals Count, a decrease from the same period in 2023. Despite this, the number of animals in shelters remains high—in the first half of 2024, 322,000 more pets entered shelters than exited them.

While the U.S. grapples with large numbers of pets in shelters, Greece has one of the largest stray animal populations in the world, with an estimated 3 million strays and potentially growing to 4 million in the coming years.

While the Greek government did vote for and passed new legislation making animal neutering mandatory in 2021, there are still a huge number of animals struggling on the streets of the country, prompting organizations such Foundation for the Strays—Paws of Greece to help.

While Nelly now has her happy ending, Brouwer highlighted the ongoing needs of the shelter: “We have more, too many, like Nelly—senior [dogs], long-stayers, pups.” The shelter hopes that Nelly’s story will inspire others to consider adopting dogs who have been overlooked for years.