I rescued my baby when he was 5yrs old, a month from his 6th birthday. He’s 9 now. He lived the same as house furniture and his world was living under a staircase. His previous owner had outgrown him and was just going through the motions of feeding/watering/taking outside for potty breaks. Otherwise he lived his life under the stairs. His new wife talked him into giving him to me because she knew he needed more and I was his perfect human to guide & nurture him back to a more stable place.
As a person who thought I really understood dog behavior, I really thought I understood him & his needs, esp knowing what all he’s been through. As somene with multiple sclerosis, I went into this rescue believing that I understood the assignment & figured it’d take maybe a few months to 6mo tops and he’d be well adjusted and settled in our mostly chilled, routine oriented home (we had 2 other dogs, one 7 and one under a year, a 14yr old chill af cat, one boomer adult & one gen x adult-no kids).
Man o’man was I wrong. It took him at least 3 years before he was able to completely grow his confidence enough to be able to form a genuine wholehearted strong bond with us.
This morning he was walking alongside me and was just so excited for me to acknowledge him. He tries not to show how excited he is but those chattering teeth tells me all I need to know 🥰❤️