FOREVER FOSTERS

Kansas City Sheltie Rescue successfully re-homes hundreds of Shelties each year, but occasionally we encounter special cases that will need forever-care. These gentle souls suffer from circumstances beyond their control, and are unable to be placed with a new loving family. A variety of reasons can lead to this situation, including the need for long-term medical attention, being in the final stages of a serious illness, severe abuse or neglect, or just advanced old age. Senior dogs make great companions, but they can still be difficult to place.


The dedicated foster parents of Kansas City Sheltie Rescue provide safe homes for these beautiful creatures for their remaining years. This commitment has allowed many dogs to live out their last chapter in a loving and caring foster home, cherished until they cross over the Rainbow Bridge. Care for these Shelties includes a financial responsibility for the rest of their lives, often involving surgery and medications, special diets, and routine vetting and grooming costs.


We have had some exceptional challenges in terms of health-care costs, but we cannot let these dogs down. Donations from everyday people just like you enable us to continue to give these special Shelties the care they deserve. Thank you for your compassion and support!

 

MEET OUR FOREVER FOSTERS

 

  Eli is a beautiful 12 year old blue merle sheltie. He came from a breeding kennel and spends all his time in his crate with the door open.  He will go outside to potty on his own but does not interact with his foster parents.  He has a beautiful coat. Shorty after he came to us, our vet determined he had severe dental disease, and he lost all his teeth.  He will be in our forever  foster program. 

 

Sophie, 12, came to us from a breeder.   Sophie is learning to enjoy life as a spoiled dog.  She recently had her teeth cleaned and a tumor removed which was a MCT with clean margins.  Sophie is learning what love and being spoiled is all about and will join our forever foster program.  

 

 

Lexi is a nine-year-old girl who came to us from another rescue.  She originally came from a large dog breeding facility and was extremely shy.  She wouldn’t come close to her foster parents but would circle in the yard.  Finally, her foster parents sat on a stool in the yard and let her run around it.  Gradually her circle became smaller, and she would get close enough to have her back petted and the whole exercise would start over.  She has made great progress since that time but absolutely will not walk on a leash.   She is still untrusting of strangers. 

 

Paris,  Four-year-old female Mixed breed. I think the Japanese have a saying “more beautiful for having been broken”.  I think this saying is applicable to Paris.  We were told she started life in a home with many dogs and eventually ended up in a shelter.  She was adopted but after a year was returned.  She then came to us as a sheltie mix.  She isn’t a good candidate for placement, and we have her in our Forever Foster program.  She would crawl on her tummy when leashed.  She now will only go out when we are in the yard, or she is on a leash.  She has made progress, but we do not expect her to make much more.  She will come for affection and like most dogs from a hoarding situation is very alpha.  She will push other dogs away to get attention, but her attention is short lived.  She likes tummy rubs and petting but is very afraid outside her comfort zone. 

 

Max is a treasured eight-year-young  “forever foster” in the care of Kansas City Sheltie Rescue. He has a rare, terminal condition called hepatic hyperkeratosis (also known as hepatocutaneous syndrome). It develops when the liver can no longer properly produce or regulate amino acids. While this is truly a rare condition for any dog, when it appears, unfortunately Shelties are more predisposed to it than some other breeds. Many of us in the rescue who have worked with countless Shelties over decades have never seen this illness before. It took time and the diligent work of several vets, and ultimately a specialty veterinarian and specialized tests, to ultimately diagnose him.

The disease causes severe hyperkeratosis of the paw pads. They thicken, crack, and overgrow until they resemble little “baseball gloves.” Without careful management, this would make walking extremely painful and eventually impossible, and his skin could develop widespread lesions. To keep him comfortable and mobile, Max occasionally receives all-day IV amino-acid infusions from a specialized veterinary dermatologist, along with prescription topical and oral medications and a strict, high-protein diet (his favorite part is the raw egg yolk he gets morning and night!).

Thanks to the dedicated support of KCSR, Max is thriving in palliative care. He cannot be adopted out due to the advanced nature of his condition, but he is living a full, joyful life. He loves car rides, wagon rides, having adventures riding in a shopping carts at dog-friendly stores, just anything that helps him feel the wind on his face. He loves it when on his outings, new friends give him ear-scratches (to Max, everyone is a friend.)  Max is happiest when he’s with his foster family, always asking to be lifted onto the couch so he can be part of whatever is going on.

Max is loving, grateful, patient, and a joy each day. KCSR is there to give him the comfort, dignity, and companionship every dog deserves for the rest of his life.

 

 

 It was late on a Saturday afternoon when we received an urgent message about a Sheltie at a shelter. The animal control officer found him as a stray in an area known for dog dumping, and the Sheltie was visibly terrified in the shelter.  We quickly went to the shelter early on a Sunday morning, picked up Caleb, and brought him into our program. It was evident that he had been a pet in a home before. It's heartbreaking to think why someone would abandon such a sweet boy. Then we found it - a concerning cyst on his abdomen. Subsequent tests and pathology reports revealed that Caleb has aggressive Mast Cell cancer. The decision of whether to proceed with surgery, potentially followed by chemotherapy, or to focus on keeping Caleb comfortable is a difficult one. Currently, we are providing medication to try and reduce the tumor size while consulting with the oncologist. Rescue can be very hard.
 
 
 
Lizzie was surrendered by her owner where she had been living outside in a dog run with little socialization.  Upon arriving at her foster home, Lizzie became very withdrawn, seeking comfort in her bed in the living room and rarely leaving it. Due to her fear of humans from past neglect, she would only go outside if the back door was  propped open and her foster Mom was not nearby. Guiding her back inside often took up to 30 minutes, with the door propped open. Lizzie would only eat when alone at night.  Over time, she began to warm up to her foster Mom, especially when high-value treats were tossed to her.   After a few months, it was believed that Lizzie might be ready for adoption into a calm environment. However, she was returned less than a week later. This pattern repeated in a new home a few months later, where she was returned the next day.  Despite these challenges, Lizzie found comfort and security in her foster home, where she has been for seven years now, still needing to be put on lead when going outside.  Her favorite spot is behind her foster Mom's chair, where she spends most of her time. She responds when called, enjoys playing with other dogs, and occasionally greets visitors.   We will call her progress a success, although she has no intention of leaving her foster home.

Jasper came from a hoarding situation we called the “Springfield 64” in 2015.  Our rescue received 10 of these shelties.   Jasper was adopted and came back last year as his owner was ill.  He is still very shy in the house but loves to be outside.  He still is uneasy around people.  We were thinking he was around 4 when we got him.  Due to his age and shyness he will stay with us as an forever foster.