A dog who overcame cancer and the heartbreak of being abandoned by her previous owner is still waiting to find a forever home, five years after first arriving at the shelter.

Kina was brought to Pet Rescue Solutions in South El Monte, California, back in 2019 in what was an all too familiar scenario.

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"She was surrendered along with another dog under the pretext that her owners were moving and couldn't keep them," Brittany Rainwater, assistant director at Pet Rescue Solutions, told Newsweek.

"This other dog was an Australian shepherd and considered the better looking dog, so within a few weeks she found a home. Kina was left behind and very depressed."

Five years on and Kina is still there and still wondering whether the next person to visit Pet Rescue Solutions will be the one to take her home. She's seen so many of her friends move on in that time while she remains at the shelter, hoping and waiting.

A number of factors influence a shelter dog's chances of being adopted. In 2012, a study published in the journal Animals saw 1.491 adopters complete surveys designed to identify the chief reasons for their pet selection.

Researchers found that appearance, social behavior with the adopter, and personality were the top reasons why a particular pet was chosen.

Rainwater attributes Kina's extended stay to a number of factors. "She's been with us for a while, partly due to her size, as larger dogs often take longer to place," she said. "While she used to be reactive to some dogs, she's calmed down with age. Kina gets stressed easily, so we aim for a smooth transition for her when placing her."

Some of Kina's issues have been entirely beyond her control though. "She also had cancer a few years ago, but has been in remission since and is doing well," Rainwater revealed.

Despite the difficulties she has faced in her life already, Kina has been able to find joy at the shelter. "I would say her favorite thing to do is pass her time inside and sleep on her bed getting treats," Rainwater said. "She also loves to play with the water hose."

Ultimately though, Rainwater wonders whether Kina's breed and her advancing years are also hindering her prospects of finding the happy ending her story so richly deserves.

It's certainly true that there is less demand for senior dogs. A study of Petfinder adoption data conducted by Priceonomics found that while 95 percent of puppies on the site end up landing a forever home, that proportion drops to 68.2 percent among senior pups.

Rainwater isn't going to give up on finding Kina that special someone, though, and making her "dream come true."

"Kina would do best in a quiet home, being the only dog," she said. "Not because she's horrible with other pets, she needs the transition to be as easy as possible. She gets stressed easily, but in a calm environment she is the calmest dog."

The hope now is that someone out there will be able to provide exactly that.