Adoption Application

Description and Instructions, Please Save and Read Carefully

Houston Sheltie Sanctuary, Inc. Rescue Program is a non-profit 501(C3) charity comprised of volunteers who give their time, talents, and homes to help save and place abandoned and abused Shelties where they will be well cared for and loved. We also take in Shelties from owners who can no longer care for their dogs. Our main goals are the protection of Shelties already here, the prevention of further over-breeding, and the education of any Sheltie owner who requests it.

Houston Sheltie Sanctuary feels that the responsibility of caring for lost, neglected, and abused Shelties must rest with those who know and love the breed. The volunteers in our program have many years of experience with this breed and understand the needs of the dogs. There are few better rewards than knowing that hundreds of beautiful Shelties which otherwise might have been put to sleep, left out to starve or to run loose in the streets to become sick, crippled, or killed in traffic, are instead now safe and adored in loving homes.

All Houston Sheltie Sanctuary Shelties have received necessary medical/surgical treatment, have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated, treated for heartworms/hookworms, fleas and other parasites, and have been tagged with our own ID Tag, recorded by name and rescue number in our files. Because of the often deplorable conditions they have come from; their intelligent, sensitive dispositions; double coats; and the Texas heat and humidity, we require that our rescued Shelties be indoor dogs, except for exercise and pleasant days outside with their families. Upon the dog's adoption, we recommend keeping our tag on the collar, and to further protect your beloved new Sheltie we urge you to make another tag with your name and phone number as well as have your Vet./Clinic tattoo and/or or microchip him or her. Be sure to keep collar and tags on your beloved dog at all times. Always keep your Sheltie indoors or behind a locked gate in a fenced yard when exercising, and on leash with a light choke or greyhound collar when walking. And for increased pleasure in your Sheltie's company, we strongly recommend obedience training soon after adoption, especially in classes where you both receive the guidance of professionals and the opportunity for the dog's continuing socialization. Most Shelties are outstanding obedience dogs and are also excellent in agility: working in these sports with your Sheltie can provide years of fun together and help your Sheltie to be in top form as well as become the enjoyable, well-behaved dog he or she is meant to be.

Points to Remember

  1. Potential Adopters: Must be 18 years of age, have verifiable identification (Driver’s License or other picture ID), provide written proof of authorization to have a pet if you rent your home or apartment.
  2. Adoption Fee: The only fee involved is to help cover our medical expenses. A minimum of $375 for adults ages 1-9; $475.00 for puppies under 1 year; ($250 for dogs age 10+) is required when you adopt a Sheltie and due immediately upon transfer of our dog to the new owner. No adoption is final until the paper work and fee are tendered, and no HSS dog will be left with the adopter until these requirements are taken care of. Some of our dogs require extra medical care or special rehabilitation, which will entail much greater expense; we do not require, but would appreciate an extra donation to help cover these extra expenses. The adoption fee may be paid by cash, check, or money order made out to Houston Sheltie Sanctuary.
  3. Spaying/Neutering: Any dog or puppy adopted from Houston Sheltie Sanctuary will have been spayed or neutered prior to release.
  4. Contract: All adopters of Rescue Dogs will be asked to sign a Final Adoption Agreement on the day of adoption.
  5. Health and Protection of Your Sheltie: We require you to follow a regular inoculation program established by your veterinarian to guarantee your dog stays healthy, as well as monthly heartworm and flea preventative. You will receive a complete medical history on your Sheltie, as can be determined or documented. If your Sheltie went through heartworm treatment in our program or tested negative initially, still have a re-test done in 4-6 months to be on the safe side. You must also have the dog licensed in accordance with the laws where you live, keep your dog indoors or on leash when being walked. To help protect against the dog's loss, your new Sheltie has been microchipped, and the adopter also agrees to keep our HSS and microchip tags on the dog' s collar and to provide a personal ID tag.
  6. Adoption Process: Since we do not know you personally, the information from the Adoption Request Questionnaire (which is requested of anyone seeking a rescued Sheltie) will help us to match the right Sheltie for your family. The adoption application puts the adoptive home in the 'hat' for one of our rescues, but since our first concern is a good match between family and dog, we do not adopt on a 'first come' basis, but on the best match for all concerned. If your application is not selected for the Sheltie of your choice, rest assured there will be more rescues in our program for you to consider, and upon request we will also refer you to our sister rescue organizations around the state. Please remember that we are a group of busy volunteers who depend on our adoptive homes to bookmark the web site and let us know which Shelties they are interested in adopting. Families who actively pursue a particular Sheltie through the application, home visit, and phone calls/e-mail are most successful in getting their first choice, given the appropriateness of the adoption for both family and dog.
  7. Additional Adoption Requirements: If at any time in the life of the dog the match does not work, or if for any reason the family must relinquish the dog, then the adoptive home returns the Sheltie to Houston Sheltie Sanctuary. Under no circumstances is our dog to be transferred to another party. If the family plans to move after adoption, the family must let us know the new address, telephone number, and e-mail if available. If one of our adopted Shelties is being considered for euthanization by the family and their vet for any reason, Houston Sheltie Sanctuary must be contacted about the dog's condition: see further explanation on the description page. If the adoptive home violates ANY section of the Program Description, the Adoption Application, or the Final Adoption Agreement, Houston Sheltie Sanctuary will take legal steps to reclaim the dog.

Terms of Adoption

  1. Care of Our Rescues: Our dogs are adopted to loving homes who want a Sheltie for the intelligence, charm, and companionship they offer. As rescued Shelties, our dogs have already been through enough heartache in their lives. Dogs adopted from Houston Sheltie Sanctuary will not be used for animal research or experiments, breeding, attack training, or dog fighting; they will not be tied up or chained, confined exclusively outdoors, abused, neglected, given to another owner, or abandoned to the streets. Obedience training will be reward based; shock collars will never be used on our dogs. Houston Sheltie Sanctuary reserves the right to check on the status of our rescued Sheltie and to request updates, removing our rescued Sheltie if we discover these terms are violated by the adopter; there will be no refund of the donation.
  2. Return: The adopted dog may be returned to Houston Sheltie Sanctuary within two weeks of the date of adoption for full refund of payment if the adopter is not satisfied with any aspect of the adoption. We will accept return of our dog at any point in the dog's life; however, after two weeks from the adoption date, no refund will be given.
  3. Transfer of Ownership: The adopted dog may not be transferred to any other person for any reason. If the undersigned adopter is forced to relinquish custody of the dog at any time, said dog will be relinquished only to Houston Sheltie Sanctuary, Inc. Rescue Program.
  4. Refund: There will be no refund or reimbursement for any expenses incurred by the adopter for the adopted dog, even if it is returned to Houston Sheltie Sanctuary.
  5. Health Program: The adopted dog will be cared for humanely, including adequate food, shelter, water, heartworm preventative, flea medication, vaccinations, and any other necessary veterinary care and will be licensed in accordance with the laws in the jurisdiction in which he resides. The dog is to be exercised in a fenced yard or on a leash and shall NOT BE FREE TO ROAM THE STREETS.
  6. Loss: If the adopted dog is lost or stolen, the adopter will notify Houston Sheltie Sanctuary immediately so we can use our resources to help locate the dog as soon as possible.
  7. Reservation of Rights: Houston Sheltie Sanctuary reserves the right to enforce this contract in order to protect the welfare of the adopted dog. It is understood that Houston Sheltie Sanctuary may examine and may make inquiry about said dog at any time after adoption and will do so. We appreciate updates and photos of our adopted Shelties. If the terms and conditions of the Adoption Agreement are not upheld, Houston Sheltie Sanctuary reserves the right to terminate the Agreement and to reclaim the dog; there will be no refund of the donation.
  8. Liability: If the dog develops behavioral or serious health/medical problems in the new owner's care, the adopter may return the dog to us but will not hold Houston Sheltie Sanctuary responsible for such sudden changes or expenses.
  9. Return Check Charge: There will be a $25.00 charge on all returned checks submitted by the adopter. If the check is not covered, our Sheltie will be relinquished to Houston Sheltie Sanctuary.
  10. Right of Refusal: To determine what is best for our dogs, Houston Sheltie Sanctuary reserves the right to refuse any application.

Your Contact Information

Your Name
If joint application, name
[We do not adopt outside of Texas]

[Privacy Note: The requested information is for the private use of Houston Sheltie Sanctuary and will never be made public.]

Name(s) of HSS Sheltie(s) You are Interested In Adopting

[In the interest of the dogs and fairness to applicants, we do not hold dogs for applicants, nor do we have time to contact applicants about dogs that come in. Each applicant needs to monitor the web site and let us know about dogs they are interested in.]

Questionnaire
[Due to the many health benefits accruing from spaying and neutering, as well as to prevent accidental litters, we require that all resident pets must be neutered/spayed.]
[Because our Shelties are rescues needing special understanding and care, to protect both the dogs and very young children, we do not adopt to homes with children under age five.]
[For safety reasons, HSS does not adopt to mobile/trailer home environments]
[Note: due to the popularity of Blue Merles, we do not see them often in rescue.]

[N.B. Please let your clinic(s) know we will be calling to make sure your pets have been kept up to date in their vaccinations, heartworm preventative, and annual heartworm tests. Additionally, please read carefully: if dog owners purchase their Heartworm preventative on line rather that at a clinic, we will need proof of purchase such as a receipt. Furthermore, dog owners need to know that most heartworm preventative manufacturers will not cover the treatment if the pills are purchased online and fail, as they have no way of knowing for sure those were actually their products.]

hereby authorize the veterinarian(s) named herein to release information about me or my pet(s) to Houston Sheltie Sanctuary, Inc. as necessary to evaluate this application. [In order for the application to be considered, all veterinary records for current resident pets must be complete and up to date; all resident dogs and cats must be vaccinated, and dogs must be on heartworm preventative. There are no exceptions to this requirement, so if the records indicate the pets are not up to date, HSS will not proceed with the adoption process.]

Please provide two references other than your veterinarian (Examples: groomers, dog trainers, rescue organizations, other pet owners).