“2. A “senior” in the large breed such as a Great Dane or German Shepherd”.
I met an elderly man a few years back walking a HUGE GSD. We had one at the time so we struck up a conversation. He had recently lost his GSD and wanted another dog so contacted a GSD foster group. The man told me that having this dog kept him young and healthy. He walked him (albeit slowly) and had a buddy to watch television and eat ice cream with at night. He was widowed and his kids lived far away. The GSD group asked him if he was sure he could handle such a large dog and he just grinned. Made my heart feel good. In a way.. the two somewhat rescued each other. The man rescued the dog and gave him a home. The dog rescued the man from being lonely.