Tara, it is hard to comment on the dog when I cannot see the dog myself.
I have seen many dogs like this become AWESOME AWESOME PETS. However, this is what is going against the dog.
Granted, I would never allow ANY DOG (ANY DOG) that I adopt at adulthood near my own children. I feel that there is too much crap people do to their dogs.
Would you say this dog's aggression comes from courage or fear? There is a HUGE difference. One is good. The other deserves a quick death.
Let me put it this way. Will this dog, in a neutral setting (like a park) act aggressively (in any mannor) to a small child? A small child in anyone's books is a non threat. If this dog is aggressive, then it is fear based or it is just mentally unstable. If it is aggressive towards a child, it would BE TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DEPT TO let this dog live. He is taking up space that could go to another deserving dog. it is negligent.
Now, if this dog's aggression is courage based (I doubt it.), then it deserves a chance. A courageous dog will not get aggressive with a child.
I actually test every one of my own dogs with a small child. When the dog is about 6 months, I get a small child to grab my dog's feet (hard) and touch/poke the dog's eyes. A dog should act as if that is the best thing in the world and ask for more, in my opinion. It should NEVER shy away or show teeth. To do so would be death.
Some say this is harsh, but ask yourself this. Kids do strange things. What if a dog was eating his raw bone and a kid came from the back and tugged on a dog's wagging tail? Do you think this is unusual? No, AGAIN I REITERATE THAT A PET DOG MUST HAVE NERVES OF STEEL. A PET DOG MUST BE MORE STABLE and I believe breeders should cull to prevent bad nerves to proliferate.
The point is, is your dept willing to take a chance on placing a dog like this? EVEN IF HE WAS A COURAGE MONSTER, which I doubt, I find it would be very rare for a shelter to have trainers experienced in dealing with very hard dogs. These are dogs that require a leather gauntlet underneath your clothes to work with. They can be GREAT dogs. However, can your dept deal with it?
By the way, for a doberman to be 'somewhat' courageous, I highly doubt it would end up in a shelter. A working doberman is a very expensive animal and VERY rare.
Good luck and be careful. Don't stare at it. You will probably scare it. If my guess is right, it is probably a fear biter that has been agitated (backyard work) to show aggression when it sees pressure or stress. So, when it is under stress, the dogs shows aggression. People go away. Pressure is gone.
Good luck.