True, although rescued dogs that have been physically and/or tormented take a LONG time to recover. I've seen plenty of rescused Dobes that would just shake with fear upon seeing a human. Later, after years of having decent owners, they would recover somewhat. Very, very sad and cruel.
With any luck, this event , though extreme , was only a one time occurence . Though perhaps not. The phrasing of the article:
Police reports said Stephens was at the woman's home>.. suggests the POS may have been living with her, even though he was charged with burglary. Surely if he was a complete stranger who'd broken in, the article would have stated so clearly. If he was living with her, who knows what else he's done to the poor little guy? But if this is a one time thing,perhaps the pup will make a full emotional recovery .
I adopted an abused and neglected 5 year old dachshund. She still shows the signs almost a year later, but she's very friendly and she seems so happy to be in a decent home. Can't begin to understand how a person can mistreat a helpless creature.