Six years ago I adopted a female German Shepherd, who had been treated the same way as Joseph. She was chained outside,fed whenever they thought about it, and had heartworms,that almost did her in.
She had a terrible case of separation anxiety, whenever I left the house, and there were times I thought we would never get her through it.
She is now ten years .She is a good and kind dog and I am just glad that our paths crossed when they did.
See my post 7. If your experience is anything like mine we are both among the luckiest people on earth.