Charley is adorable! You are a blessing to him for loving and caring for him. Rescue dogs always seem to understand that they are safe and loved. One never knows the full extent of the abuse and can only take a day at a time.
We've had 4 rescued dogs. Two were adults and two were pups. Both of the adults were abused. Our first rescue, Baby, didn't bark for the first 3 months we had her. Then one day there was one bark. It actually startled us! Then she started to communicate a little more each day. We never knew how old she was,nor exactly her breed... she was a mix but we loved her and she in return loved us for 7 years. Our second rescue was the pup, Ruby. She also was a mixed breed and grew to be a very large dog. The vet felt she was Rottweiler/German Shepherd/Newfoundland mix. She was an awesome dog. At 9 years old she became very ill. Our 4th rescue dog, Harley, actually gave her a blood transfusion! Ruby rallied back for a bit, but then passed. The 3rd. rescue dog is Sapphire, a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix. She was just a pup when we got her and so tiny. She is now 16 years old and is living with my daughter. I've called Sapphire my "honey bunny" ever since we rescued her. Our 4th rescue was Harley, a 6 year old Rottweiler/Bullmastiff mix. Another big dog and he had as much love as he was big! Harley was actually our last dog. I always said, "Save the best for last", and that's exactly what Harley was. The best! He was very mistreated. Threatened with guns ... left outside in rain & snow tied up ... no shelter ... no water or food. The man was the abuser. My daughter had worked at vet hospitals for years and that's how she found Harley. I cried the first day we had him at our home. It's so sad to see the damage a human can do to an animal. But we loved Harley and he returned that love tenfold. He left us at 14 years old. I miss my gentle giant.