Adoptions Gallery

[These are the stories of our adopted Shelties in their new homes.
See additional portraits in the Forever Home Album and the Before and After page.]

[Search Archives by Dogs' Names]

A   B   C   D   E-G   H-J   L   M   N-O   P-Q   R   S   T   U-Z

"Lassie looked brilliant, in part because the farm family she lived with was made up of idiots. Remember? One of them was always getting pinned under the tractor, and Lassie was always rushing back to the farmhouse to alert the other ones. She'd whimper and tug at their sleeves, and they'd always waste precious minutes saying things: "Do you think something's wrong? Do you think she wants us to follow her? What is it, girl?", etc., as if this had never happened before, instead of every week. What with all the time these people spent pinned under the tractor, I don't see how they managed to grow any crops whatsoever. They probably got by on federal crop supports, which Lassie filed the applications for."
~ Dave Barry

	KATIE (formerly Spring) -- Fall 2003. An adorable 2yo mahogany S/W who had been a runner at Spring Valley Golf Course for over a month. They called us for assistance; and we put them in touch with Harris County Shelter who provided a trap. The kind folks there were successful in capturing Spring and then relinquished her to our program. Spring was extremely underweight, had bacterial and yeast ear infections, hookworms, and was HW+. She was also very emotionally traumatized and needed extended recovery period in foster care. But she slowly came out of her shell: coming to her foster mom and dad for her own attention, which was a major step for her; playing with toys. Because she was such a sick baby, and so small, we split her HW treatment; then discovered she was pregnant. We of course stopped the HW treatments, and she had 4 beautiful Sheltie mix pups; Spring was a wonderful mom. Two pups have been adopted, and the last two of Spring's pups are available for adoption. After the pups were weaned and moved on to other homes, Spring then completed her HW treatments with no side effects and was spayed. Her coat is coming in nicely, and she has gained the needed weight: Spring is becoming the beautiful Sheltie we always knew she would be. She rides well in the car, and now that she is well, she is enjoying her walks and does well on leash, though needs to learn to heel. She does well in her crate, loves to play chase with resident dogs and is very fast. She will probably always be a bit shy, though, and is helped greatly by having another doggy companion. She is afraid of storms and needs to be close to her humans during them. Despite her shyness, she actually got in bed with her foster family during the last one. She is also an excellent watch dog: nothing gets past her eagle eyes. Adorable Spring was joyously adopted by her thrilled family, re-named Katie, and has already been on a camping trip with them. This valiant girl has gone from being a lonely runner at risk with heartworms and pregnancy to a happy mom in loving foster care, and an adored member of an active family who pronounce her the perfect girl and will give her the security and devotion she always deserved.
	KAUZE (formerly Buddy 2) -- Summer 2002. Handsome 2yo S/W Male OR. His family was transferred out of the country and turned to us to help him find a new home. Buddy has been joyfully adopted and renamed Kauze, which is Japanese for "like the wind," which his new mom thinks fits an agility dog just perfectly. The family is working him in obedience, and Kauze got 1st place, with a qualifying score of 182, in Sub-Novice A at the Happy Tails 4-H fun match. They look forward to future shows and plan to compete at the State 4-H dog show in July. He has become an outstanding performance dog. Additionally, he responded well from the beginning to his new family, other pets, and forever home. Kauze has become the perfect companion and sporting dog, and he is dearly loved. Update: His mom and Kauze recently placed first at the state 4-H dog show in pre-novice A with a score of 195. They were also High in Trial in the junior division (ages 11-14) in all classes.  Kudos to Kauze and Lindsey!
	KC -- Fall 1998.  Our first rescue and extremely ill, almost dying. But our clinic saved his life and he was adopted after he was cleared by the doctor. The family brought him to the next picnic and were members of HSS for a year. But they have apparently moved and not maintained contact with us to update us on how he is doing as our program stipulates. We know that he had developed health problems and only hope he is okay.
	KELSEY -- Winter 2005. This lovely 6yo Tri girl was an OR due to family illness. She is a wonderful girl: a very happy, outgoing Sheltie with lots of energy. She gives kisses very freely--ALL the time. She really enjoyed the resident Sheltie in foster care; they loved to play chase in the house and fetch balls  and Frisbees outside in the yard. She also wants to be involved with her humans. Kelsey got exactly the home she needed: she now has a loving mom, dad, and human sister; and she was adopted along with Prince.
	KIKI -- Winter 2003. 4yo OR; S/W; 16", with a beautiful broad blaze, full white collar; one ear tipped.  He came into the program very healthy. His foster mom says he is super sweet, a perfect gentleman who is house trained, easy going with kitties and other dogs. He was a bit confused about what had happened to him, but responded well, enjoying tummy rubs and cuddles. Kiki is a barker: protective of his humans and home, but he should settle down when he's more secure, and his barking can be trained to appropriate signals. He also needs to lose a bit of weight, but he is a beautiful, gentle boy who will be a wonderful companion dog. When they visited him, Kiki's new family immediately fell in love with him, and he with them; Kiki let them know he had been waiting for them and happily went to his new home.
	KIP (aka Skipper) -- Winter 2001. Kip is a beautiful 2yo, strawberry blonde sable who was rescued from a League City breeder. He has a slight skin allergy which will possibly recur seasonally, but careful diet and care along with occasional medication help him just fine during any flare-ups. Very smart boy who loves his walks, talking, playing, and trying to coax his Sheltie siblings into playing chase. He loves squeaky and plush toys, esp. his beloved piggy; but when play time is over, he's a cuddler who sleeps like a baby in his parents' bed. Kip has a great disposition and loves to please. He had a ball at our recent spring picnic. Kip's mom and dad, Debbie and Colin, say he's one of the best rescues they've every taken care of in the years they've been with us; that he "is such a sweet soul and gets along with any person, and any pet or stuffed toy." His new family have fostered for us many years, but this time they knew their foster was already home and have made it official. Kip went on his first adventure to the Hill Country this summer and had a wonderful time with his parents and brothers.
	KIRBY -- Spring 2005.  Kirby and Bridget are OR's from family who could no longer care for them. Lovely Kirby is around 7yo, has a beautiful, large white collar; she is very sweet and laid back. She had hookworms we treated her for but was otherwise healthy. Kirby was adopted by one of our volunteer families who, being committed to helping older Shelties, moved quickly to give a home to her. They feel very blessed to have her in their family, and Kirby now has loving mom, dad, and two Sheltie siblings (she is in the middle). Update to Kirby's foster mom, Jeany, form Dad, Tony: " Kirby is a real joy to us and we appreciate everything you did to help us. She is a svelte 22 lbs now and is in great shape from walks and runs up at the school. We started calling her Kirby-do and have nick named her Helper-do because no matter what you are doing she will be there to help you. She still has trouble getting the limes in my Coronas though (kidding). In the morning she brings me her toy to play fetch with her. Also if we ask her to get her toy she is all over it and ready to go sheltie spins and all. Her other playtime activity is to race me across the pool. I will be on the diving board and she waits for me to jump in then races to the other end to great me. Also because of you we decided to foster and must say it is wonderful to be part of the program."
	KIRBY 2 -- Fall 2005. This beautiful 6yo Shaded S/W was OTI for euthanization to a local shelter. Kirby is now UTD in our clinic but tested HW+ and had to go through the treatment. He is a very sweet boy. His foster mom writes, "Kirby is so easy to take care of, very calm and laid back. He goes into the crate when you want him to. He's content to lay around so it's been easy to keep him quiet during the heartworm treatment. He had no problems with the heartworm treatment, not even a single cough! His appetite is good. He is not food aggressive; he's not aggressive at all! He gets along with our own Shelties, goes along with the pack but otherwise not much interaction and not much playing. He's mostly a quiet Sheltie, but he is starting to join the others in barking at people walking by. In the evening he rests his head on my knee so I can pet him and he looks up at me with his beautiful brown eyes. He doesn't get up on the sofa. He sits on command." Kirby is now recovered from HW disease and happily adopted to his joyous family.
	KIYA -- Winter 2002. 3yo, 15", 21#, HW-, S/W owner relinquishment, Kiya is house and obedience trained; very sweet, gets along well with other dogs. He had a urinary tract infection in prior care, which we are monitoring with medical treatment. Kiya is a bit shy at first, but warms up quickly; perfect Sheltie personality with tons of Sheltie love in his heart. He completely captured his foster dad's heart and has now captured his new owner's heart as well. Kiya has been adopted by friends of his foster parents and is adored by his extended family.
	KORY (formerly Shakespeare) -- Winter 2002. (born on April 23, Shakespeare's birthday). Kory came into the program as a 10mo S/W from New Caney, an owner relinquishment.  At that time, he was well coated, with a beautiful blaze and full white collar, well-nourished with no signs of abuse. He was young, beautiful, alert, and very intelligent, proving to have a sweet disposition soon after rescue, even though he was understandably worried and afraid. This boy's story became particularly sad because after he was successfully rescued and fostered, he was adopted to a home that did not take care of him as promised: he was returned to us months later, underweight and ill, so thin and scraggly all our hearts were broken. After careful vet. care and fostering, we found a terrific home for him, and he is now being properly loved and cared for by his new mom and dad, whose hearts went out to him when they saw him at the dog show. On his mom's special home-cooked meals for him, Kory has gained weight, his coat has come back in and is shining. He has been on road trips to meet the rest of his extended family who all adore him. Our deepest thanks to this family for falling in love with our boy and wanting to help him recover. Kory's fairytale continues, as his mom just got a faculty appointment at a major midwest university: this boy and his Bichon siblings are now going to become snow bunnies.
	KYLE1 -- Spring 2002. Adorable 4yo, Sable Merle male from Bastrop who came into the program seriously underweight; this sweet boy had been missing a few meals. He was healthy except for hookworms which he was treated for. His foster home reports that he is perfectly housetrained and very receptive to loving cuddles, coming back for more hugs now that he knows they are for him. This precious, playful boy had been adopted along with Travis by a family who felt like they were having Christmas in May. Tragically, he lost his brother a year later and misses him.  But Kyle has mom, dad, and kids to continue loving him at the end of his long journey to his forever home. He is in Sheltie bliss with a family that adores him, spending time playing with him, taking him for walks, to the pet store for toys and grooming -- he is finally getting the care and attention he always deserved.
	KYLE2 (Formerly Charlie) Winter 2003. AKA "The Quick Study" because he's so smart. Beautiful 2yo light S/W male from Bay City Shelter. Rescuers there convinced owner to relinquish Kyle because he was allowing him to run loose after neighbor complained he was being left alone in the backyard. Bay City called us for assistance; took care of his neutering, grooming, vaccinations, and HW test. Kyle has a pencil blaze and full collar; is a bit oversize at 17" but only 25#; needs to gain 5-7#.  He was also HW+.  Throughout his adventures and heartworm treatment, Kyle was a perfect gentleman; very sweet and mellow; kind to children in the clinic; fine with other dogs. He walks well on leash and prances, so despite what he's been through, that confident Sheltie is in there. His coat was short because he'd been suffering from exposure and HW disease, but his mom reports he has already come in, and he is now fully coated. He just enjoyed his first Sheltie picnic, where he found his new mom and dad.  Kyle is now safely home, adored by his family, and best friends with his new GSD brother, Quince.

Before Adoption, all HSS Shelties are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and treated for initial ailments as possible within the scope of our rescue program.