@sneakypete Over the years you have said some things that I disagree with and many things I heartily agree with. I think I agree with this the most. An older rescue will be the most loyal loving animal you can have. They just "know" when they have been pulled from the mouth of death, and will reward you with love an affection you can't imagine.
@verga And THAT,is the absolute truth. My dobie was a rescue. Believe it or not,but she followed my cat home one day. The cat ran free all day,and would come and scratch at the door when she wanted to come in. She did this late one afternoon,and when I opened the door to let her in,a fully-grown Doberman followed her into the house,jumped up in a chair,turned a circle,and laid down to take a nap.
To this very day I have NO freaking idea how that cat,who had the temperment of Satan,and that fully-grown doberman hooked up. I was living on a horse ranch outside of Denver,so I didn't really have any neighbors,and I had never seen the dog before.
The cat was a rescue too,and had lived with me for a few months before the dobie followed her home,and at that time I couldn't even touch her without getting scratched or bitten. Yet,when I came home from work and let the cat in the house,the dobie would lick her until she was dripping with slober,and the cat would be purring and doing figure 8's between her front legs.
People would come over that I didn't know very well and be afraid of the dobie but want to pet the cat,and I would warn them to leave the cat alone,but the dobie was safe to pet. Most didn't seem to believe me,and a few learned I was telling the truth the hard way.
BTW,the cat came from the only other house on the ranch. The people living there moved away,and left the cat locked inside the house with no food or water,so I broke a basement window so she could get out. And,of course,she followed me in the house and pretty much demanded I feed her,so I gave her some water and drove off to buy catfood.
Then,when she brought her "new friend" home,I had to drive off and buy some dog food.
I have never loved anything or anybody the way I loved that dobie. Best damn dog that ever lived. Her loss is why I can't own dogs anymore,so I rescue cats and find homes for them. For some odd reason,the dobie loved that nasty-tempered female cat as much as the cat loved her,and to this day that still remains a mystery to me.