Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue

Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating Shelties that need a "Fresh Start" in life.

We are located in the Memphis, TN area, and take in Shelties that are abandoned, lost, mistreated, or no longer wanted. We do not have a shelter facility; therefore the dogs in our program are housed and cared for in our network of dedicated foster homes. Our special rescue Shelties will be available for adoption after they have been vaccinated, spayed or neutered, checked (and treated if necessar

y) for heartworms, checked (and treated if necessary) for parasites, and groomed. Prospective homes will be thoroughly screened before being considered to adopt.

Here is another 'alumni' Christmas pic. This is miss Bree who was adopted from Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue in May of 2018...
12/20/2025

Here is another 'alumni' Christmas pic. This is miss Bree who was adopted from Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue in May of 2018.

Come on previous adopters, send us some alumni Christmas pics!

How adorable is this pic? Katie was adopted from Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue in October of 2022. Her adopter sent us this...
12/15/2025

How adorable is this pic? Katie was adopted from Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue in October of 2022. Her adopter sent us this awesome Christmas pic of her, and we had to share it.

If you have a great Christmas picture of one of our Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue 'alumni,' please email it to us at [email protected]. You just might see your picture posted, too!!

NOTE - he is not with Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue. He is available through Sheltie Shack Rescue. We are listing him on ou...
10/09/2025

NOTE - he is not with Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue. He is available through Sheltie Shack Rescue. We are listing him on our site as a courtesy post. He needs a home :)

WATSON is a cute and young tri color male looking for his forever home with Sheltie Shack Rescue located in southwest Missouri (west of Branson). He was born on 7-28-24 and was recently released from a breeder. He was a bit shy upon arrival, and they have been working on his house training, walking on leash, and socialization skills. He will need to be adopted with another friendly canine companion, which should help him adjust to being a part of a household. FENCED YARD MANDATORY. For more information contact them at [email protected].

Woodrow went to a weigh in on Wednesday October 1st. He has lost 1.4 pounds since he came to us which is approx. 1/2 a p...
10/05/2025

Woodrow went to a weigh in on Wednesday October 1st. He has lost 1.4 pounds since he came to us which is approx. 1/2 a pound per week. That should be a slow and steady safe rate to lose the excess weight. We are thinking he has at least 25 pounds to lose. We would love to move him to another foster home since he might be with us for a while (plus his foster mom has several trips to take before the end of the year). If you have been thinking about fostering a Sheltie, let us know. It needs to be a female as his foster parent since Mr. Woodrow is very stubborn about doing things for his current foster dad when the foster mom is not home. When she is home, he will do anything she asks of him. He is a sweet boy but can be stubborn. Also, we would need someone would could take him into a vet clinic every 3 to 4 weeks for a weight check. At his current weight, that is not easy. It takes 2 people to hoist him up into a vehicle (or 1 really strong one). Our first attempts to teach him to use a ramp to get into a SUV weren't that successful. It will get easier as the weight comes off! With that being said, let us know if you aren't too far from the Memphis/Collierville TN area and would take Woodrow on as a foster. For more info, email us at [email protected].

Update - Miss Shiloh has found her forever home!This is Shiloh from the 2 Shelties we posted about 3 weeks ago - the one...
09/27/2025

Update - Miss Shiloh has found her forever home!

This is Shiloh from the 2 Shelties we posted about 3 weeks ago - the ones with life threatening anemia from having hundreds and hundreds of fleas literally sucking the life out of them. She is a miracle girl! Her hematocrit was so low that she would have not survived much longer if a good Samaritan hadn't come along. She is now a healthy approximately 3 year old under 20 pound girl looking for her forever home. Her favorite place to be is a lap. She absolutely loves people and wants to be near 'her person' as much as possible. She knows basic commands and does the happiest little tippy-toe dance at mealtime. She plays beautifully with her foster Sheltie brother and sister, and she will be a fantastic addition to a loving home! She is being fostered in Germantown, TN (near Memphis). Adopter must drive to meet her in person. She needs a fully and securely fenced yard in order to be safe and have fun - this is mandatory! As stated above, all inquiries need to go to [email protected].

ALL inquiries must go to sheltierescuekim@gmail.com!!!Meet Woodrow! He was surrendered to us last weekend by family memb...
09/12/2025

ALL inquiries must go to [email protected]!!!

Meet Woodrow! He was surrendered to us last weekend by family members of his deceased owner. Unfortunately, the owner had let him get WAY OVERWEIGHT! He came in weighing a whopping 58 pounds! He should probably weigh close to 30 pounds. The family got him his annual checkup recently and got his vaccinations brought up to date. He was already neutered. This handsome boy will turn 9 years old on the 23rd of this month. We ran a full lab panel on him, and the results were great. He just needs a diet and exercise plan which we have started. He is good with other dogs and good with cats. The family said he became more shy and withdrawn after his owner became ill and then passed away. He is a little on the shy side but very sweet and will be a good addition to a family. They family did have his hair cut short, and it looks like it is growing back fine. We will NOT place him with anyone who currently has an overweight dog or has a history of overweight dogs. We see the sad consequences of that added weight just as we did when we got Ben in last year (who came in at 63 pounds and now weighs 30 pounds!). Woodrow would probably be fine as an only dog or be fine with other dogs (or cats) in the home. The main and EXTREMELY important thing is that an adopter be firmly committed to helping him lose weight!!! We *might* consider a foster to adopt situation since he could use a dental cleaning, but we don't want to put him under anesthesia at his current weight. We are not in a hurry to place him since he has quite a bit of weight to lose, but we wanted to let people know about him. He is being fostered in Collierville, TN (right outside Memphis). He would not be good for a family with young children. He would do well in a quiet home. We do not ship our dogs. Potential adopters must drive to meet him. If interested, please email [email protected].

A HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to Bill & Dot G, Nancy H, Paul M, Sasha L, Jean W, Meridith K, Suzanne B, Mary Ann R, Kim T, ...
09/05/2025

A HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to Bill & Dot G, Nancy H, Paul M, Sasha L, Jean W, Meridith K, Suzanne B, Mary Ann R, Kim T, Debbie R, Mark W, Deborah A, Joffa L, Betty W, Amy D, Sarah L, Jane T, and John B. Enough was donated to cover their original bill and the one from 2 days ago on Tuesday!!! Speaking of Tuesday, both Shiloh and Journey are doing fantastic! Their hematocrit levels are almost normal now. They have each gained about a pound and a half. They were healthy enough to schedule the spay for Shiloh and the neuter for Journey in the next couple of weeks. These Shelties are the sweetest and friendliest dogs! The vet clinic is used to us bringing in shy and unsocialized ones. These are a breath of fresh air!!! We kind of wonder what happened in their lives to have them land somewhere that they could have died from anemia caused by fleas. Someone has loved and cared for them or either they are just super appreciative of being saved from the brink of death. Either way, we are blessed to have been in the right place at the right time for them.

Update - Miss Chloe has found her forever home!CHLOE is a very sweet and laid back 6 year old female Sheltie looking for...
09/03/2025

Update - Miss Chloe has found her forever home!

CHLOE is a very sweet and laid back 6 year old female Sheltie looking for her forever home. She came from a commercial breeding situation and reportedly has had many litters. She is ready and deserving of retiring from a life of producing puppies. She is now spayed and up to date on vaccinations. She is fine with other dogs and cats. She is shy, so she would do better in a quieter home without small children or lots of activity. She likes going for walks on leash but also likes to be carried. She is housebroken and uses a doggy door at her foster mom's. She loves her crate and will go in on her own to take a nap. She says cookies are great but prefers to take them off the floor rather than your hand most of the time. A securely fenced yard and shy Sheltie experience is required - no exception. Chloe is being fostered in southern Mississippi. Adopter must be willing to go meet and adopt in person. We do not ship our dogs. We also want to place fairly close to where we have board members or adopters in case help is needed. Working with a shy Sheltie and seeing them bloom and become a wonderful and confident family member is very rewarding!!! Adoption process includes phone interview, vet reference check, and a home visit. We know miss Chloe's forever family is out there. Now to find them!!!!

As stated above, ALL inquiries need to be sent to [email protected].

HUGE kudos to our 'village' that jumped into action when we heard about 2 Shelties that had been rescued from 'deporable...
08/23/2025

HUGE kudos to our 'village' that jumped into action when we heard about 2 Shelties that had been rescued from 'deporable conditions' by a Good Samaritan and were in bad shape. Luckily, we had adopters near where they were, and they assisted getting them seen by a vet pronto. These Shelties were so anemic (verified by blood work) from a staggering flea infestation that they had to get blood transfusions and IV fluids. The female was in the worst shape, and the vet clinic said it was touch and go, and they didn't think she would have made it much longer had she stayed where she was. Their gums were printer paper white! Repeat blood work this morning showed both dogs have much improved and were able to be moved the 250 miles to near where our main rescue vet is. Their hemocrit still isn't where it needs to be, but at this time we think they will be able to beat this. It is sad that in 2025 that these 2 relatively young Shelties could have died from fleas!

The tri is Shiloh, and she is about 3 years old. The bi blue is Journey, and he is about 2 years old. They are both very sweet dogs, and we are so fortunate to have been able to save their lives. We aren't taking any adoption inquiries at this time because it will be a while before we can get them healthy enough to do their needed vetting (vaccinations, spay & neuter, etc.). They both also had hookworms, and Journey has ehrlichia. If you would like to donate to help with their already $1,300 vet bill, we could use your help. Ways to donate: 1) snail mail a check to Fresh Start Sheltie Rescue, c/o Kim Fike, 9255 Forest Wind Drive, Collierville, TN 38017, 2) PayPal a donation to [email protected], or Venmo a donation to . THANKS!!!

Update 7-20-25: ADOPTED!!!  ALL inquiries need to be sent to info@mysheltie.com Meet miss Gracie! She came into rescue a...
07/10/2025

Update 7-20-25: ADOPTED!!!

ALL inquiries need to be sent to [email protected]

Meet miss Gracie! She came into rescue a few days ago. She is 10 years old, and her owner was moving and could not take her with her. Gracie is good with other dogs and with cats. She is a sweet and well behaved girl. She does need to lose weight and will be started on a diet and exercise program. She is already UTD on vaccinations and spayed. She will be seeing a vet soon to determine if she needs a dental cleaning. She is being fostered in the Huntsville, Alabama area. Who has room in their home and in their heart for a sweet senior Sheltie girl?

Meet miss Buttons! She came into rescue on Sunday. She is 12 years old and was rescued from a bad situation. She has had...
06/27/2025

Meet miss Buttons! She came into rescue on Sunday. She is 12 years old and was rescued from a bad situation. She has had many litters of puppies with little to no vet care. During her vet visit on Monday, the vet told us she has a couple of oronasal fistulas. What is that you ask? When a tooth would rot and fall out (because she wasn't taken to the vet for any type of dental care), sometimes the hole would not close up. Those holes extend from her mouth to her sinuses! On top of that, she has more loose teeth that will definitely need to be extracted during her dental cleaning. There is a chance she might lose all her remaining teeth. The vet will try to repair the holes with flaps if she can. What we do know now is that her mouth is VERY painful, and she has suffered for too long. She also has some concerning issues with her kidneys that we are addressing as well as a current urinary tract infection. She also has a small mammary nodule that will be removed when we spay her. We hope to get her healthy enough in a couple of weeks to get her dental and spay. It will be expensive, that we know.

Even with all her medical issues going on, she is a very happy girl! To see her tail wagging a million miles an hour and have her paw you when she says please don't stop petting me is priceless!!! She is now clean as opposed to stinking to high heaven when we got her. Removing the large amount of f***s matted to her back end, getting the mats out, cutting her nails (back dew claws were grown into a complete circle) and bathing her made her feel (and smell) so much better. Her legs, collar, and tail tip weren't anywhere near white. They were stained brown and yellow, so we know her living conditions had to be gross. Even after scrubbing with regular shampoo and then scrubbing with whitening shampoo, those areas didn't improve much; it will take quite a while to get back to white. Miss Buttons won't be available for adoption any time soon. In fact, we have someone already interested in fostering to adopt her after her vetting is done. We are working hard to give her much needed care! She deserves it!

Guess what today is??? It is our 'Beniversay!' It was on this day one year ago that Ben came into rescue. He was 63 poun...
06/22/2025

Guess what today is??? It is our 'Beniversay!' It was on this day one year ago that Ben came into rescue. He was 63 pounds, could barely walk and needed assistance getting up into a standing position and walking up or down stairs, and was almost hairless.

One year later - today - and he is 30 pounds, can walk fine and even trot, and is growing hair!!!

Thanks to our wonderful donors that helped us with testing, medication, hock surgery at the specialty center, etc. He is flourishing and loves life!!! Go Ben!!!

Address

Collierville, TN
38017

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