I know exactly how you feel about leaving him at the shelter. I went through the same thing! We were looking for a companion for our 4 year old Dobie mix Gibson. Initially, I was looking at a pup that was about 8 month old and a mixed breed aussie shepherd. Well, when the pup started to hump Gibson, we almost had a problem. No go. There had been a pair of Rotties surrendered by a woman whose husband had just been incarcerated and she didn't want the dogs. Brandy and Rocky had been at the shelter for over 6 months. Well, Brandy being an 8 year old at least wouldn't need potty training, so I decided to try her with Gibson. We did a face-to-face greeting. She licked Gibby's face and he licked her ear. That was it, It was love at first sight. While I didn't know what her actual background was, I didn't really want to fully commit to adopting - thanks to the shelter staff, I was able to take her home and foster this wonderful animal. She does have some quirks - hates the cat - loves her tennis balls (which she will not cease to play with even at 3 am) - play growls which scared me half to death the first time it happened. Then I noticed she was actually wagging her little stump of a tail when she was growled. Truth is, she is becoming more and more of a loving dog and trusting more now that she has been with us for 2 1/2 months. It looks like she could become a permanent fixture! If possible, try and see if they will allow you to foster the animal. It frees up space the shelter desperately needs and still allows the animal to be up for adoption to a good home.
Shena
mom to Gibson and foster mom to Brandy, babysitter to Spunk