@himalayangypsy
I suspect, as with most abused dogs, that the underlying issue is an unsound temperament to begin with. Most people assume a dog has been abused, when it really was simply a fearful dog. Severely abused dogs with stable temperaments come around pretty fast. That said , because the rescue got her from filthy deplorable conditions (it took nearly 5 hours of soaking to get the feces soaked loose enough to shave her down), in a dark basement, living there nearly 5 yrs... well, unstable or not, I had to give her a try. If Sally went in and said "walkie walkie" and Hannah came to her, she took her for a walk. If she growled, she came back later. She loved curling up with the cats, they loved her, and Sally had a heart of gold. If she'd been a large dog, I'd have had to put her down. As it was, she was manageable.