I adopted a beautiful Dalmatian who had been rescued from an apartment where her ‘owner’ was arrested. The dog sat in the shelter for three months waiting for the SOB to be sentenced. She was badly abused in her first 12 months of life and petrified of men.
With a lot of work, and with help from my other dog, she grew into a loving, graceful, sweet, trusting dog.
I often thought about the SOB who beat her and hoped that when Bubba was making him his bitch in prison, he might reflect on how he had treated that dog. I can only hope.
A neighbor has two dogs that were rescued. One was a German Shepherd who bounced back just great. The other was a dog that was obviously badly beaten by its previous owner, likely a male since she shows a lot of fear toward males. So she sees me, gets very defensive, but once in a while it just clicks - “You mean you’re a person who wants to pet me and love me, not beat me?!?!” (I have to use the squeaky voice when talking to her). That’s when she gets really hyper and starts jumping. The previous owner of that dog needs tire iron therapy.