Application Process and Safety Requirements

After we rescue a Sheltie, we immediately get him or her to one of our clinics, where the dog is assessed and treated for whatever ailments/parasites he or she may have, then vaccinated and neutered. After medical care, the dog is placed with one of our foster homes who rehabilitate, socialize, and assess the dog for temperament, helping him or her get ready for adoption. The dog is in our foster program for a minimum of two weeks -- up to two months if going through heartworm treatment or surgical recovery. Once the dog is made available for adoption on our adoptions page, then we begin trying to match him or her with the best home for both dog and family.

In order to adopt, a prospective family first reads about our program and available dogs, completes and sends the ADOPTION APPLICATION, and allows a home check by one of our volunteers. One of our members will visit the home to meet the family and check on safety, recommending any needed changes before one of our dogs would be adopted to the home. Examples of our safety requirements are as follows:

The home is not directly on a busy major intersection or thoroughfare.
There are no dangerous objects or containers with anything poisonous within the dog's reach in the home or yard.
The back yard is fenced with at least 5' height, with no holes in the fence, low spots, or broken boards; or a 4' wrought-iron fence with narrow spacing -- we would need to match that with the dog, as some of the larger Shelties could jump over it. We recommend a padlock for the gate(s). There is no exception to the required fencing of yards, including country homes. Our dogs live indoors only; we do not allow them to be kept exclusively in the yard or in outside pens or in the garage. If there is a doggy door, it must open from the house (not the garage) into the fenced yard only. We do not place our Shelties in mobile/trailer homes because of the danger from high wind storms. If you live in an apartment / town home, there must be a safe place to exercise the dog on lead.
If you are renting an apartment, condo, or single-dwelling home/duplex, you must provide written, signed permission from the landlord to keep this Sheltie on the premises. If there is a pet deposit required, it must be paid by the prospective adoptive home with copy of both the permission and the deposit receipt included with the application. We will not contact the manager for these required documents.
Food and water dishes must be available and clean; dog's sleeping area must be shown to our volunteer.
Unless the adopter is a professional breeder, all resident pets are neutered or spayed. All resident dogs and cats are vaccinated; all dogs are on heartworm preventative.
Please understand that our dogs are very precious to us, and many have been through terrible experiences in their lives we never want repeated if we can prevent it. So please do not request a home visit unless you meet all of the above requirements before the visit.
This program is about our dogs and a great match with wonderful families who want and need them. We are committed to adopting our dogs to loving, carefully chosen
homes; therefore, because of the efforts we take, 99% of our adoptions are successful. However, Houston Sheltie Rescue will refuse adoption of one of our dogs if we feel the home situation would not be a safe or happy one for our dogs. We will reclaim our dog for the same reason if we discover the applicant has misrepresented the conditions or is not taking care of our dog as promised.