Shelties Available For Adoption
The adoption process begins when you submit the ADOPTION APPLICATION form to us. We cannot stress enough how It is important that you answer all the questions. There are no right or wrong answers and no trick questions. Your answers will help us match you up with the right rescue.
It is important, however, for you to understand that each of these dogs comes with its own life experiences. Some come from loving homes, whose owners may have passed away, or perhaps moved and couldn’t take their dog with them. Some dogs are given up for health or other personal reasons. Other dogs were abandoned and are looking for loving homes.
Once SSPSNJ gets a dog, the dog is examined by a veterinarian, spayed/neutered, and brought up to date on all its shots. With all this complete, we do our best to find the right home for the right sheltie.
One of these dogs might be your ‘furever’ friend.
Thank you for considering adopting one of our shelties.

With any dog we have in rescue, we have a process we follow when considering an adoptive home, and the dog’s needs ALWAYS come first. FOSTER HOMES, VOLUNTEERS and PRIOR ADOPTERS get special consideration. We keep applications on file and try to match the Sheltie with the best possible adoptive home. Thank you for understanding!
For Adoption...
Big Rescue Welcome to SPECIAL NEEDS little Amy
No worries, AMY, you are safe and sound and everything will be okay from here on out.
___________________________________
AMY UPDATE – she is doing well. Still extremely skittish but is never far away from her foster mom. She is playing with the other young dogs in the house and doing victory laps around the yard with everyone. She has found her bark and uses it a lot!
She still is not a fan of being handled but permits her foster mom to pet her sometimes. She also has jumped on the bed in the morning and woken up her foster mom with face kisses!
AMY is a nervous little dog by nature and then spent a couple months fending for herself with well-intentioned people trying to grab her and scaring the crap out of her. If she scoots away from people and you move at all she screams bloody murder. She is scared. This is going to take a lot of time and patience to work through. She is happy to coexist with her family and will interact at a distance. She gets zoomies and does a happy dance at mealtimes and will take treats from your hand.
She is absolutely an extreme flight risk and will need a securely fenced yard and home to keep her safe. No exceptions.
She would benefit from another confident, friendly dog in the home who can show her the way. She does have separation anxiety so a home with someone who is around a lot is probably best.
We think AMY is a sheltie/corgi mix and she weighs about 13 lbs. She is however 100% adorable. The vet’s age her at about 2 years old but of course we dont know for sure. She is really playful with the younger dogs in the home and does act like a young dog with the silly stuff she does. She likes playing with toys!
If you are interested in adopting AMY, send in an application.
Her adoptive home will need a very securely fenced yard and all exits from the home will need to be gated and/or have storm doors. NO EXCEPTIONS. This dog is a huge flight risk and likely will be for a while yet.

Big Rescue Welcome to Leo!
LEO is a 7 year old Shetland Sheepdog / Australian Shepherd mix. He is a bigger boy and is a bit overweight at about 35 to 40lbs.
Leo’s family has gone through a lot of changes in the past few years and it was getting harder and harder to give LEO the exercise and attention he really needs to thrive. This combination of breeds makes for an active dog. The family made the very difficult decision to send LEO to rescue.
We do know that LEO will need a more active home with a nice big fenced yard and lots of walks and/or ball chasing to keep him happy. He pulls on leash, and likes to chase cars, but we will work with him on these behaviors.
He has an off button and likes to snuggle on the sofa with his humans at the end of the day.
__________________________
LEO UPDATE … LEO is a 7 year old aussie / sheltie mix. He weighed 38 lbs at the vet last week but he needs to shed a few pounds. He is large sheltie / small aussie sized. And he is a VERY GOOD BOY!
LEO is very smart and learns quickly. We have been working on not chasing cars and loose leash walking. He is doing well with the loose leash walking and the car chasing is improving. He does have a pretty strong herding drive (so not surprised he likes to chase cars).
He is great walking past people walking dogs around the neighborhood and doesnt react to barking dogs behind fences. He is really good meeting new people either in his home or out on a walk.
LEO is a higher energy fellow and would do best in a home where he gets plenty of exercise and mental stimulation. I could see him doing really well with someone who wants to do rally or another dog sport with him. Or, with someone who likes to take long walks or even hiking. He is doing well with a longer walk every day and a few sessions of playing fetch in the yard. Currently we are feeding him in puzzle toys and slow feeders to give him some mental stimulation.
He absolutely LOVES playing fetch with his ball or toy. He is very good at it too. He will bring the ball back to you to toss it again and if its not close enough he gives it a nudge with his nose to be sure its within easy reach.
We are requiring a fenced yard for LEO so he will have room to run and play fetch.
The nice thing is that he does have an off switch when his exercise needs are met.
He is neutral with other dogs but he can be a bit possessive about his ball or current favorite toy with them. He could go as an only dog or he could go with another dog who is more laid back.
He is housebroken and crate trained. He is neutered and current on his vaccinations and vetting.
Because he has a strong herding drive, he is not suitable for a home with small children. He would really love to have a person who is around a lot. He adores his people and his ball lol.
No worries LEO, we will find you a new home when you are ready. And we love you already! If you are interested in adopting LEO, please submit an application.
Foster Care...
Dogs in Foster Care are not available for adoption at this time. They are lovingly
cared for as their medical, behavioral and social needs are evaluated.

Big Rescue Welcome to little Ruby!
ADOPTION PENDING.
RUBY is a 9 or 10 yr old teeny tiny little girl. She is about 12 lbs. Her family has 2 very young children and a very small apartment it was just getting harder to give RUBY the time she deserves. They loved her enough to know she needed a better situation where she will get more attention so made the difficult decision to surrender her to rescue.
We will post more about RUBY once she settles in and we get to know her better. She is not yet available for adoption, but the place to start with an adoption is by sending in an application.