All kinds of pets come through animal shelters. Young, old, large, small and everywhere in between. We see purebred pets, mixed breeds and Heinz 57 types where you couldn’t sort out their lineage without running a DNA profile.

We get pets who run the behavior gamut from highly social to independent to genuinely feral. There is a pet for almost every lifestyle and preference of interaction between a pet and their family, but sometimes, for reasons we cannot understand, a pet that we the shelter workers love takes a long time to find their home.

For over a year, a dog named Nina has been trying to find her new home. Taken in by Midcoast Humane after a rescue took in too many dogs to continue to care for, Nina’s origin story is a sad one. When the rescue took her, she was tied up to a pile of junk in a yard and sleeping on trash. Very underweight, Nina was covered in fleas and wounds and was fearful of her owner. Once with the rescuer, she became a different dog. She liked belly rubs and snuggles and bonded with her new person but not with the other dogs.

Knowing that Nina has been hurt by other dogs before, we understand why she needs to be an only pet, and we talk to adopters all the time who are fine with keeping their dog away from other pets to prevent issues. So, that’s probably not why she hasn’t gone home. Is it because she’s an akita? Perhaps, they’re big dogs with a lot of fur, but goodness, she’s stunningly gorgeous! Is it because she takes a little while to warm up to new people? Maybe, but I sympathize with that; it takes me a little while, too. Or is it just because she’s been overlooked for no real reason but random chance?

This is my plug for our lovely Nina, in hopes of finding her new home. At 4 years old, she walks beautifully on leash (unless she sees another animal), loves car rides, treats, bum scratches, being brushed and going for long walks where she can sniff to her heart’s content. She’d love to be a country dog, but because she doesn’t care for other animals, would not be an off-leash candidate. Please come meet her at our Brunswick facility at 5 Industrial Parkway! We are here every day except Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Jess Townsend is executive director of Brunswick Humane.