Rocky Mountain Collie and Sheltie Rescue, Inc.

About Us

Our Organization

Rocky Mountain Collie and Sheltie Rescue, Inc. (RMCSR), originally Pueblo Collie/Sheltie Rescue, is a tax-exempt, 501(c)3 non-profit, volunteer-operated organization founded in 1979. We are a dog rescue organization certified with the Colorado Board of Agriculture's State Veterinarian's office.

Our mission is to promote and provide for the humane treatment of Collies and Shelties. We accomplish this by rescuing, rehabilitating and placing lost, abused and abandoned Collies, Collie-mixes, Shelties, and Sheltie-mixes into loving, responsible homes.

All of our rescue dogs live in foster homes. They remain in foster care and receive complete veterinary care until they are ready for adoption, at which point we match them to carefully screened and approved adopters. We do not adopt out dogs at public events.

To meet one of our dogs (or become a volunteer or foster), please read our Adoption Policies and fill out an Adoption Application (or Foster Application). Our application process includes a vet reference check, an initial phone conversation with our director, a follow-up call with the dog’s foster family, and a home check by a RMCSR volunteer.

Please visit our Animal Browse page and bring happiness home! If you know of a Collie or Sheltie in need, or if you have lost yours, please contact us. We help dogs not only in Colorado, but throughout the Rocky Mountain Region.

And please give us a call if you need to relinquish your Collie or Sheltie. We want to help. Contact our Executive Director, Hope, at 719-547-4008.

History

The Early Days

Rocky Mountain Collie and Sheltie Rescue is rare among U.S. dog rescue organizations in that we were founded long ago. That is, "long ago," in rescue standards, as the burn-out rate can be high. The first variation of a Collie rescue in Pueblo started in the late 1960s with volunteers from the Pueblo Humane Society. Key members were Bill and Barbara Skinder and Jerry Litvack, followed shortly by Harry and Dawn Amick, who lived near Pueblo in the mountain town of Beulah. As Harry recalls, "Dawn's thing was always Collies. Dawn and I were married in 1979, and that was the time she and I started working together placing and doing Collie rescue together, just the two of us." From these small beginnings in 1979 came Pueblo Collie/Sheltie Rescue (PC/SR), now called Rocky Mountain Collie and Sheltie Rescue (RMCSR). 

Sadly, Dawn passed away in July of 1990. After that, Harry continued their important volunteer work on his own. In 1992 his rescue began helping rescue Shelties as well as Collies. Harry's mountain property in Beulah was a true haven for the dogs he rescued. The dogs had plenty of room to run, and there was an out-building in case a dog came in pregnant and needed to be quarantined. For six years, Harry was also President of the Pueblo Humane Society and volunteered on a regular basis at the Pueblo Animal Shelter.

Transition to PC/SR

Transition slowly came about at PC/SR when Hope and Doug Hemperly of Pueblo adopted a rescue Collie from Harry. Hope began helping Harry with rescue efforts, and became more and more involved. Hope eventually took over the reins of PC/SR, and the organization adopted the standard that each dog rescued would receive thorough vet care, including spay-neuter, vaccinations, dentals, heartworm tests/meds, and any other medical care required to help rescued dogs get healthy. Hope fostered most of the dogs, while a handful of foster homes cared for dogs as needed. PC/SR began requiring an adoption fee to help defray veterinary expenses.

Incorporation

PC/SR changed again in 2002 when the organization unveiled its new website and contact information, which allowed potential adopters to find the rescue from anywhere online. The organization formalized policies, such as guidelines for adoption, foster care, and transport, so the website would contain clear information for adopters as well as volunteers. Two years later, PC/SR was incorporated and became a non-profit 501(c)3, tax-exempt entity. The organization established a mission statement and by-laws, and recruited a Board of Directors.

Regional Reach

Yet another transition began in 2010, when the Board officially recognized the greater geographic scope of the organization that had evolved over the years. The Board formed a new non-profit 501 (c) 3 corporation, Rocky Mountain Collie and Sheltie Rescue, Inc., our present-day organization which continues to operate solely through volunteer efforts. Hope's full-time (and non-paying!) job as Director includes coordinating incoming dogs, fostering dogs and arranging for foster homes, arranging vet checks and medical treatment for dogs, reviewing adoption and foster applications, and much more.

Other volunteers, including the President and members of the Board of Directors, devote countless hours to committee work, marketing, fundraising, fostering, doing transport, website maintenance, bookkeeping, and data organization, as well as fostering, transporting and all-around loving dogs. Our volunteers range in age from teenagers to seniors.

To meet one of our rescue dogs, please read our Adoption Policies and complete an Adoption Application. The application process includes a vet reference, a chat with our Director and the dog's foster family, and a home check by a RMCSR volunteer.

Thank you for visiting our website and caring about our rescued Collies and Shelties.