Six months in and Juniper finally played with a toy today - I actually cried

We adopted Juniper back in September. She came from a hoarding situation, had basically zero socialization, and was scared of EVERYTHING when we brought her home. The first two months she wouldn't even take treats from our hands, just kind of watched us from the corner.

This morning I tossed a rope toy across the living room kind of absentmindedly and she just... went for it. Picked it up, shook it, looked at me like "are you seeing this??" I completely lost it. My partner thought something was wrong when they heard me crying from the other room.

Six months ago this dog wouldn't have touched something like that. She wouldn't even walk near the toy pile. For anyone in the thick of it with a fearful rescue - it does get better. It just takes time and patience and letting them set the pace. Juniper is proof.