We have a sheltie that we got from a rescue shelter.
We got her after seeing her on a story on the news. The local news station did a story on a puppy mill that was raided by the police because they were starving and abusing the puppies.
Gidget was kept in a small pen outside, exposed to the elements with no shelter and she was not being fed. No shade to get out of the sun and no shelter to go under in the rain. Worst of all, no food or water. She was slowly starving to death.
She was about six months old and only weighed five pounds.
When we got her, we took her to a veterinarian friend of ours and he said that she was perfectly healthy, but terribly malnourished. She was so malnourished that her hair had all fallen out.
He gave us a special diet to put her on and she literally doubled in size in a week and her hair started to grow back right away.
We've had her about three months now and she's about twenty pounds. When we got her, you could run your finger along her back and feel each vertebrae. You could feel each rib. Now, she's actually got a little roll of fat for the winter. She's one of the most loving dogs I've ever had and she's certainly one of the sweetest and smartest.
We have a large farm and plenty of room and love for another dog, so we're actually getting another dog next week. This one is going to be an abused sheltie, too. When I went to visit her at the shelter, she was so afraid that she cowered when I walked to her.
I've gone over to play with her a couple of times and she's warmed up to me a little bit and now, she likes it when I hold her.
The people from the shelter just came to inspect the house and they approved us.
So, we have one dog and one on the way.
We also have a couple of sheep (I won them in a raffle at the fair and now I don't know what to do with them), about twenty chickens, and some baby rabbits that my daughter found in the woods.
They're not exactly pets, but the deer are so docile and will come right up to us, that we consider them pets.