Frequently Asked Questions

Do you adopt to people without a fence?

Yes, we routinely adopt to people without a fence, but it depends upon which dog.

You said you adopt to people without a fence but you will not let me adopt a puppy because I don't have a fence. Why?

The Sheltie is a herding dog that needs exercise and space to thrive and develop properly especially when they are young. Behavioral research shows dogs that do not fulfill their physical needs misdirect their energy into problem behavior which may ultimately result in the need to rehome the dog. When a dog is returned to us, we have to expend more resources on rehabilitating the animal and fixing problem behavior. Meanwhile, the dog has lost its most adoptable asset, youth. Therefore, it is our policy not to adopt a dog three years of age or less to a home without a fence. Some dogs get along well without a fence. Others... do not.

Do you let people from out of state adopt your dogs?

We let people adopt dogs from out-of-state as time permits. Out-of-state adoptions are very time consuming and sometimes we are just too overwhelmed. We are more inclined to do an out-of-state adoption on a dog that is difficult to adopt rather than on a dog that is easy to adopt.

We need to find someone in your town that we trust to do a home visit. You will also have to send us pictures of your house and yard, and pass your vet check. In most instances, you will have to physically appear to meet the dog, in order to make sure you and the dog are a good fit. You will also have to sign legally binding paperwork, as for any local adoption.

This paperwork could be signed and notarized, and the dog shipped to you, but you would be required to prepay all of the costs of shipping along with leaving a deposit for the cost of shipping him back in case things don't work out. This would make costs prohibitive for anyone who was significantly out-of-town. The first thing for you to consider is that if the dog does not work out, you will have to pay for returning the dog to us. Your contract does not allow you to give, sell, or transfer ownership to anyone but us.

There are Sheltie Rescue groups in most all states. The American Shetland Sheepdog Association maintains a list of active Sheltie Rescue groups all over the country. Please check their list at http://www.assa.org/ and chose the menu tab "Rescue." Instead of spending the extra money on an out-of-state adoption, consider adopting locally and making a nice donation to ASSA's Rescue Fund.

You said you do out of state adoptions, but when I contacted you about the eight month old puppy you have you didn't respond. Why?

While it is extremely rare, we do occasionally get dogs in that are very young and easy to place. When this happens we will often get a mountain of applications on the puppy from far away places. In our not so humble opinion, these people aren't really looking to "rescue" a dog. They want to get a young perfect dog without paying full price to a breeder.

When the person from Timbuktu comes to us because they want to adopt a special needs ten year old with epilepsy, they get more attention. These are usually people who have some special connection to the special need of the dog and are looking to help a dog with that condition. This is an out-of-state adoption we are eager to do. When the dog the out-of-towner is interested in is a young, perky eight month old with no problems that we can easily adopt locally, out-of-state adoptions will not be considered.