Group finds Shelties shelter

Local student enjoys her special sheltie

By Dawn Giffen and Luke | Animal Talk

Posted: 08/03/05 - 10:58:29 am EST

Abby Alvey will be a seventh-grade student at Noblesville Middle School this year. She is a very special former student of mine. Abby often told me about her special sheltie and proudly spoke about her mother's efforts to support Indiana Sheltie Rescue. I thought you might enjoy her story this week.

"I have a 6-year-old dog named Riley. He is a sheltie. My family got him from a sheltie rescue in Ohio called Precious Secrets Sheltie Rescue. We got him in the year 2000, when he was 1 year old.

Riley is blind in his right eye. He was born with Collie Eye Anomaly, which caused the blindness. Before he became a member of our family, he lived with a family in Ohio who wanted to use him as a show dog. But when they found out that he had a blind eye, they gave him to Precious Secrets so they could find another home for him. Even though he can only see with one eye, he gets around very well and is a normal dog. He loves to go for walks, bark at the UPS truck, eat ice cubes, play with our other dog, Emma, and lie at my mom's feet.

After we adopted Riley, my mom became interested in helping homeless and unwanted shelties find their forever homes, so she became a volunteer for Indiana Sheltie Rescue. Some of the things that volunteers do are foster shelties, provide transportation for them, provide training, do fund raisers and, most of all, try to find nice loving homes for them.

If you would like to find out more about Indiana Sheltie Rescue go to www.indianasheltierescue.org or you can call Teresa Cotton, who is the director, at 984-5737."

This is my reply:

Good job, Abby, on your well-written article! I encourage anyone who is looking for a bright, energetic and very trainable pet to check out the Indiana Sheltie Rescue Web site and read about the dogs that are up for adoption! The Web site also contains some really good information about the breed and some wonderful rescue stories.

Group finds Shelties shelter
Woman, rescue coalition aid dogs with homes, love

By Joanna Hensley

NOBLESVILLE -- Lucy was not happy. The 10-year-old Shetland sheepdog had been stuck in the kitchen all day Wednesday, and when she finally got a chance to go outside, an energetic young dog, Champ, was ruining her petting time with all that moving and fetching a ball. Lucy has had a rough life. Two weeks ago, she had a cancerous tumor removed from her chest. Before that, she was trapped in a cage at the Humane Society for Hamilton County.

But things are getting better. Despite her fit with Champ, a 2-year-old Sheltie, and the stitches on her chest, Lucy is getting lots of love from foster mom Julie McCullough, and -- with any luck -- the 22-pound dog will find a permanent home with help from Indiana Sheltie Rescue.

The program is comprised of volunteers statewide that place orphaned Shelties in foster homes until they can be adopted. To date, the program has adopted 18 dogs from Hamilton County and currently has 18 dogs up for adoption. The rescue group is looking for foster families to care for orphaned dogs before they are adopted. McCullough learned about the adoption program after buying Champ from a breeder. She has fostered several dogs since then and adopted Kari, a shy, older dog that no one else wanted. Kari came from the animal shelter very sick and spent three weeks at the vet with a digestive problem, contracted from eating too much people food, McCullough said. While Champ, Lucy and Prince, another foster dog, were playing outside, Kari retreated to her spot under the deck. But as things calmed down, she came out and, with a little bark that showed she meant business, asked to be petted. "They are one of the most intelligent breeds, friendly and tied to their owners," McCullough said. "It's one of those dogs that bonds to you very easily."

Being a foster mom is very rewarding, but it can be tough when a dog you really like gets adopted, she said. McCullough really got attached to Cooper, an energetic 2-year-old, which neighbor Marj Hopper adopted this spring. Hopper came over for dinner one night and fell in love with the dog because it reminded her of the dog she lost two years ago. Cooper came over for a successful visit with her three children, so Hopper filled out the detailed adoption application and hoped for the best. "The application makes it clear that this is a long-term commitment," she said. "It was nice because it gave us pause to think about it." Cooper was the perfect fit. Since spring, he has learned a few tricks and is forgetting the years he spent mostly tied to a fence, Hopper said.

McCullough doesn't know much about Lucy's past, but she hopes the dog will soon get the chance to do the same.