Fenced Yard Required: Shelties need a place to stretch their legs and be able to exercise, play, and explore in a safe environment. A securely fenced yard is a requirement for adoption. An electric fence is not a secure fence. The dog can over run the electric field with great pain to them, then can't get back inside. Predators, both human and animal, can get to your dog with no problem.
Many of our dogs have been through multiple homes in their short lives. Many have experienced abandonment in overcrowded, noisy shelters. Many have experienced hungry days and nights on the run, living in terror as they avoid traffic, and people chasing them on the streets. We want our dogs to go to the very best homes possible where they will live out their lives in safety and kindness. In order to help us find the very best homes for our dogs, we follow the process listed below.
Submit an Application to Adopt (under Forms). Then, please have patience -- we are an all-volunteer organization. We also have lives, jobs, dogs and families, too; not to mention procedures within our group to follow. We will get to you just as soon as possible -- usually within 2-3 days.
Your application will be reviewed and you will receive a phone call from one of our volunteers. During the phone call we will learn more about what you are looking for in a companion for your family, and can answer any of your questions. This information will be shared with our Placement Director and kept on file. If we do not feel that a Sheltie would be the best breed of dog for you, we will let you know at that time. If we feel that a rescue dog would not be the best option for you, we will let you know that as well.
When the Placement Director identifies a dog that would best match your lifestyle and physical requirements, you will be contacted to schedule an appointment to visit with the prospective dog in their foster home. All family members attend the visit.
You are not required to adopt the dog you visit. This visit is a compatibility check to see if you feel that particular dog is the right one for you, and for us to assess whether we feel the dog is a good match for your family. We do not do an adoption during the visit. If we feel the dog is a good match for your family, and if you want to adopt the dog, the next step is a home visit by a volunteer in the applicant's area. The purpose of the home visit is to verify that you are who you say you are, have a secure fence, and to identify any potential safety hazards in your home or yard that may need attention before an adoption is completed.
Once the home visit is complete, then the Placement Director will arrange for a date and time for the final adoption. A volunteer will bring the Sheltie to the applicant(s) home to help the dog get settled. At this time the adoption contract is signed and the donation is collected. Information is provided as to how to help your Sheltie adjust with minimal disruption, along with basic care and grooming procedures. Any additional questions the new family may have are answered. The President makes the final decision on ALL adoptions.
Please read the following -
An average Sheltie will live 13-16 years......so what age dog is best for you?
- Puppy through 1 yr. old.........Lots of chewing, not reliably housetrained, needs much attention and training, not good choice if you are gone all day.
- 1-3 Yr. old........ Still acts like a puppy, may or may not be housetrained, will still chew, needs lots of playtime to burn energy, will become bored easily if left alone too long…..will chew or dig from boredom. Good choice for someone who is home only part of the day.
- 3-5 Yr. Old.......Able to be trusted alone in the house for short periods, needs several hours of playtime daily, will become bored easily, will chew or dig from boredom.
- 5+ .... A perfect dog. Past the chewing stage, reliably housetrained, content to sleep while you are gone, will want to play for a few hours, but will be ready to sleep again when you do. Best choice if you are gone all day long.
Rescue dogs range in age from puppies to 13 yr. olds. Everyone seems to want the young dogs.....so please consider opening your heart to an older dog. They are so much harder to place, and most often are the best behaved. They need homes just as much, if not more, than the younger dogs.
Adoption of dogs as gifts: We do not permit dogs in our rescue to be adopted by anyone other than the "forever" home. We strongly discourage pets as presents -- please understand, in most circumstances, giving a dog as a gift is often not in the dog's best interest -- rescues and shelters frequently receive owner turn-ins of dogs who were given to the owner as a present and "things did not work out".
If you wish to gift a rescue dog to family members, we understand but will require the intended recipient of the gift to go through the entire adoption process, as the intended adoptee. This includes the application, phone interview and any subsequent visits, according to our procedures. The entire process must be performed by the family member(s) receiving the dog as a gift. As with all adoptions, the rescue reserves the right to disapprove any application. As with all applications, the best interests of the dog are what we have at heart; we can make no promises that every or any dog we have in the program may be suitable for any applicant.
