There’s no mistaking Eldin in the line of dogs penned at Kootenai Humane Society. His athletic frame, painted with a golden, black-speckled coat, is the one that springs off the cement floor and bounds around his pen when a human approaches.

There’s no mistaking Eldin in the line of dogs penned at Kootenai Humane Society.

His athletic frame, painted with a golden, black-speckled coat, is the one that springs off the cement floor and bounds around his pen when a human approaches.

Balancing on his hind legs, he pushes off the side of his 4-by-6-foot kennel to propel himself into a spin.

“Eldin likes to dance,” explains a KHS staffer with a smile.

He also likes to jump and run. A lot.

The 4-year-old German shepherd mix would be a good fit for a jogger, maybe, or someone with a yard and a little free time.

But strangely, Eldin has never found the right match.

The longest running boarder at KHS, Eldin first came to the shelter in March 2007, transferred from the Post Falls animal shelter.

“He’s just one of those unfortunate dogs that gets overlooked,” said Eric Hess, animal behavior specialist for KHS.

Hess doesn’t understand quite why.

Maybe it’s because of the information card on Eldin’s pen that dates how long he’s been there, which prompts some people to assume he’s somehow flawed.

It could also just be looks. Even with floppy ears and a jaw that curves into an eternal smile, he’s a little on the ordinary side, Hess said.

“Eldin was a little chubby at first, so someone looking for a German shepherd might have preferred to have a more purebred one,” he said. “It would be more appealing than our chubby little wild boy.”

The effervescent pooch was adopted once in April 2008, after his first year at the shelter. But he was returned a few days later, described as “too strong a dog,” said Phil Morgan, former KHS executive director.

“I guess that means he was too energetic,” Morgan said.

Eldin was adopted again in June ‘08. But he was found running loose in the streets a month later by Coeur d’Alene Animal Control. KHS staff found the contact information for his adopted family was no longer current.

So Eldin is now nearly 300 days into his third stretch at the shelter, where he watches with still unpaled excitement as strangers drift by his cement kennel.

He gets walked every day for roughly 30 minutes, Morgan said, and has playtime with the other dogs while their pens are cleaned each morning.

But it’s not the same as having a home.

“Every dog needs a home, a person to call their own,” he said.

Long stays in the confining space can effect animals, Hess said.

Especially high-energy ones like Eldin.

“It’s a very stressful environment for any animal,” Hess said. “Most kennel dogs aren’t getting enough socialization and not enough exercise.”

He added that though Eldin is a little rough, he isn’t violent, and the playtime with other dogs has improved his attitude toward other animals.

“He’s got a girlfriend he plays in the field with every morning,” Hess said.

He has learned some manners, Hess said, but isn’t fully trained.

KHS has a no-kill policy, so animals stay until they are adopted.

The shelter has a 3 percent return rate, which Morgan attributes to the careful process of matching animals and humans with questionnaires and meet-and-greet sessions between the species.

Owners who return a dog have 30 days to choose another, Morgan said.

There are no refunds on the $85 to adopt a new dog, or $42.50 for a dog who has been there past 90 days.

“What we do is try to provide lifelong loving homes,” Morgan said. “We believe there is a perfect fit for Eldin. Time isn’t a factor. It’s our job to find him a home.”