Respectfully, I disagree. My wife and I adopted a German Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix from a no-kill shelter many years ago. I'll tell you upfront that "he picked us."
He had been abused, beaten, had a bad right front shoulder, and was blind in one eye due to an injury from a cat. This dog was a mess, but he picked us. Call me a sucker. He was one year old, as best we could tell from his two or three remaining puppy teeth.
We went from the shelter to my Vet's home that day to have him checked out. It took some months for his injuries to heal, and for him to put on some weight.
It took alot of work to undo the damage this dog endured, constant reinforcement, training, and testing him to see if he trusted us. By the time he was three (two years later) I could take him anywhere without a leash, he wouldn't vary from my side.
When my wife and I had our first son, "Jerry" was 7 years old. We were worried how he'd behave after being our only "child" for 6 years.
I have to tell you that we were amazed at how gentle and protective he was of our son. Over time as family or strangers came into the home, Jerry would be right there to make sure our son was proteced, often simply placing himself between our son and whoever it was that was "new" in the house. Whereas Jerry spent his nights at the foot of our bed before our son was born, he slept in my Son's doorway during the nights and he'd wake us if our Son started crying.
When my second son was born, Jerry was 9 and he did the exact same thing. This dog bonded with me, my wife, and my children and he protected us until the very end of his life.
We had a house fire in 2000, Jerry was the one who woke us up early on before the fire got too big, and fortunately it only damaged our laundry room.
I could write stories all day about what a wonderful companion he was. If I had it to do all over again, I would. Sure it was alot of effort to "fix" this broken animal, but he was damn' sure worth it.
He lived with us for thirteen and a half years. Up to the two weeks before he died, there was nothing this wonderful animal wouldn't do for his family. The hardest thing I've had to do in my life thus far is say goodbye to him. He was that special, and I miss him to this day that much.
For me the bottom line is as much as you pour into your canine companion, they'll give you that much more x 10 in return.
Like Jerry, my current dog (Black Labradoodle) is a shelter/rescue dog. We got him at about 10 months old, and he's as wonderful of a companion as one could want. He's not Jerry, but he's unique and special in his own way. Try telling anyone that knows my family and our dog that he's not "bonded" to us and they'll laugh their behinds off at the statement.
He was a great dog, easy to train and a wonderful companion for his short time with me (8 years) but I have to say the bond between Sandy and I vs. Jerry and I were all things considered just as strong.
What I don't miss is the house training. ;-)
What a wonderful thing you did for Jerry.
And he for you.
Thanks for sharing that!
wonderful story and you are a wonderful person to do this for poor Jerry. He was lucky to get such a wonderful family that loved him so much.