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I adopted Tessie when she was just over a year old. She came from a hoarding situation with over 600 dogs and we think she had very little contact with humans before she was rescued. Once in a shelter, after weeks of training, she was deemed unadoptable and was scheduled to be put down. Luckily, her foster mom took her in and we adopted from her. She was terrified when we first met her but I am a sucker for saving the damned.
She is now mostly rehabilitated and doesn't mind humans but would prefer they stop reaching out towards her. Because of her breed, she is wicked smart, and after spending some time with my family's dogs she picked up on normal dog things like begging, "sit", drinking from the toilet, and belly rubs. She was learning so quickly and as I have RA and had developed severe panic attacks, we decided to train her to be my service dog. She now is public access trained and will jump up and lick my face during panic attacks, lay on me while I am anxious, and massage my back when I have muscle spasms.
She has a kind of malleable energy where she can jump and run in circles for an hour, hike up the flatirons, or just lay in bed with me all day.
Unfortunately, she is not the best with kids just yet. She isn't aggressive at all, but she does jump up and nip at their ankles to herd them. And if they run she wants to run too and play and bark; which I've found, does not look great to parents. She has never hurt anyone but she just doesn't understand they can't play like dogs. During her service dog time out and about, though, she doesn't seem too interested in them unless they come straight up to her or she is particularly unexercised.
She is absolutely devoted to me, affectionate as can be, and hikes perfectly off leash. She is the best trained dog I personally know, and honestly, I don't put that much effort in. She is my best friend and I wouldn't ask for anyone different.
10/10 would recommend!
