It took six days for Hope to let Linnelle Takeuchi pet her. The dog had mothered countless puppies and lived cooped up in a small cage with three dogs for years before being rescued by the Hawaiian Humane Society.

Takeuchi, a 13-year animal shelter volunteer and retired elementary school teacher, slept, ate and worked in the same room with Hope while fostering the timid, fearful mixed poodle that wasn’t used to being bathed, petted or receiving affection.

Takeuchi was supposed to house Hope temporarily while she was being rehabilitated, but ended up adopting her two years ago. The dog, who had been returned twice to the humane society by her adoptive families, was among dozens of dogs seized in 2016 from a puppy mill in Kahaluu.

“She’s still not normal. Like playing toys, she’s still learning that you can play. I see her now and I’m just happy for her,” said Takeuchi, 69. “I try to think, ‘OK you have a better life now with me.’”

She tries not to think too much about what might have happened to many of the animals before they were brought to the humane society.

“I don’t let it get to me otherwise I don’t think I would survive here. I would be wondering, ‘Where did you come from? You have that cut on your head, this must have happened. Instead of dwelling on that, I like to dwell on what can be,” she said. “I saw one day a very skinny dog, bones all showing. Probably neglected. It was just, like, so friendly. It still had that spirit and spunk in it.”

Today, she describes Hope as the “love of my life.”

“She’s my baby. We’ve gone through a lot. She was scared of everything when we went walking — every noise, every person or dog, the wind, movement,” she said. “When I see animals in that special circumstance, I don’t feel sad as much as I think, ‘What can I do to help the situation?’ And so for her especially, I had to kind of put myself in her place to understand her. She wants my attention and she wants my love.”

Takeuchi has always been a lover of animals, though she didn’t have any as a child. Besides Hope, she has a cat and rabbit and is fostering a chinchilla.

At one time, she had a “zoo” with six rabbits, six chinchillas, three cats and a guinea pig, she said.

“We call them foster failures. We’re supposed to be fostering them to be adopted but we adopt them,” she said.

The Kaimuki resident, who volunteers at least four days a week, has done just about every volunteer job at the humane society, from sorting through donations to manning the help line giving advice to families that have challenges with their newly adopted pet, to working at special events like the PetWalk and Hawaii Pet Expo.

She gives families ideas of how to solve problems at home, including housebreaking cats and dogs. On days she works in admissions, she sees animals brought in that are surrendered, lost and sometimes sick.

“I love it. I feel useful. It’s a sense of satisfaction,” she said. “I’m helping the people and I’m helping the animals. For me animals provide peace and serenity and tranquility and they don’t judge you. It’s unconditional love.”

Takeuchi not only helps animals at the humane society, she also supports the staff with small gestures like sewing fresh pakalana lei and baking treats, said Allison Gammel, the humane society community relations director.

“She opens her home to foster animals, she opens her heart to the animals here at the shelter, but she also really supports the staff. She’s so special and we’re fortunate to have her,” Gammel said. “It’s a drive that I love seeing in the volunteers — their desire to give back and make a difference.”