Can a dog intentionally bond to a stranger?

I was listening to a scary story on Youtube. In the video, there is a story of a dog who was forced out of the street after his owner was mysteriously killed. At 1:40 mark, the author of the story detailed the dog coming after him and displaying some more-than-friendly behavior as if he was asking him to take him in (at this point the author had never seen the dog). I know this a made-up story, but the dog part really got me curious. I wonder how much of that part is true in real life. I have never heard of dogs displaying friendly behavior toward strangers so intentionally before. This behavior is just too sentimental for a dog’s brain. But then again I’m no dog expert.

So, dog experts on Fluther, what do you think?