Four years ago, Joao Pereira de Souza, a 71-year-old Brazilian resident, found a South American Magellanic penguin covered in oil and about to starve to death on a beach on an island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, according to The Independent.

After being rescued by Pereira de Souza, this penguin regularly swims 5,000-8,000 km every year from its habitat on the coast of Argentina and Chile to live for 8 months in the retired fisherman’s island home.

“I love the penguin like my own child and I believe he loves me the same way,” Pereira de Souza said. “He doesn’t let anyone else touch him. He stays in my lap, letting me bathe him, feed him and hold him.”

Pereira de Souza named the penguin Dindim. According to Pereira de Souza, Dindim became attached to him after he took it home, cleaned its oily feathers, and fed it fish for a week. Pereira de Souza released the bird back into the sea when he saw its health improving.

“The bird did not leave. It stayed with me for 11 months. It only disappeared after it molted. People said it would not come back, but it has been coming to visit me regularly for the past four years. It appeared in June and left in February. Each year it became more affectionate and happier to see me,” Pereira de Souza recalled.