It's so sad to hear of an animal abandoned out in the cold....this one was lucky. I'm always reading about lost and found pets in my neighborhood app. People in my neighborhood are a caring bunch thank goodness and I always read a happy ending....usually. Cats are more at risk because they can jump the fences everyone has but even dogs manage to get out from time to time. Pickles did once....it was because the pest control guy didn't close the gate when he left. I let Pickles out thinking the gate was closed. A little later I hear scratching at the front door and it was Pickles...it could have gone badly...he's not street savvy and would get hit by a car.
Chipper is old and cranky, but otherwise sociable unless he thinks he might be getting trampled by the bigger dogs. Tootsie is around 12-14 lbs, so over twice his size, but she is his self-designated guard dog and escort dog. Chipper is pretty well blind and deaf now, and the sniffer doesn't work so good either, so an escort dog is a good thing for him. Elise and Tootsie are starting to play a little bit now, and Elise thinks Chipper is great, but she has those long legs and just hops right over top of the poor little guy and he does not know quite what to make of that. She does seem to be trying to be care ful and not hurt him though. I am sure that she is happy to have a real home !