Thanks for the ping, sometimes the accidental dog is the best friend when you need one :~)
Unconditional affection!
I'm a bit anti-social myself but Bubba is militantly social and has made a lot of friends for me on our walks.
He assumes that everyone loves him. If they are walking in his direction, he knows they want to pet him. If they are walking away, he knows they want to pet him, but have just somehow gotten turned around.
If they look determinedly away from him, he manages to get their attention.
When we pass any of our regular groups, particular the AA group that meets in the center we pass, someone always shouts there's Bubba, my favorite dog.
Dogs can change you...at least a little bit ... for the better.
You've got that right. When I was in my teens my dad, brother and I were driving back from Central Texas back home to the coast. We stopped in rest stop and while there a youngish dog (a mutt maybe 6-8 months old) came walking up to us as we were getting back into the car. He was skin and bones.
The rest stop was in the middle of nowhere and there were no other cars in the parking lot. Dad said that he was most likely dumped there and that we couldn't leave him there. We ended taking home with us thinking we would take him to the ASPCA when we got home.
He had such a lovable and loyal personality that we ended up keeping him and our dog at home accepted him unconditionally.
He ended living a good life for the next 10 years or so.