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Who We Are
Pueblo Collie/Sheltie Rescue, Inc., is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization run solely by volunteers. We help collies, collie-mixes, shelties, and sheltie-mixes. We also help other breeds and mixed-breeds upon occasion. PCSR was founded in 1979 by Dawn and Harry Amick. Our director is Hope Hemperly, and we operate thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers. We are a certified rescue organization through the Colorado Board of Agriculture's State Veterinarian's office. We are members of Denver All Breed Rescue, the Collie Rescue Foundation and Best Friends Animal Network.
We are based in Pueblo West but have volunteers around Colorado. We also have volunteers in other states, as well as a volunteer/board member in South Dakota. Having this widespread network of support allows us to save the lives of dogs from areas far beyond Pueblo County. We help dogs from all over Colorado, as well as Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Texas, Wyoming, the Dakotas and New Mexico.
Rescue dogs receive complete vet care while in our program -- including vaccinations, spay/neuter, dental care, bloodwork, worming, special diets, and even alternative care as needed. We do not have a shelter or kennel. All dogs live in foster homes with loving families, who help gauge a dog's personality and behavior in order to help make the right match with an adoptive home. Dogs receive basic obedience training in foster homes, as well as more thorough training through positive reinforcement, as needed. The adoption fee of $200-plus helps defray veterinary expenses and support our overall rescue efforts. We adopt to families mainly from Colorado, but are open to adoptions from other states, providing that potential adopters come here to meet dogs and fit our adoption criteria.
A Brief History
Pueblo Collie/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 indeed 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; and then Harry and Dawn Amick, who lived in the mountain town of Beulah, which is near Pueblo. 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."
PCSR considers 1979 to be our true "birthday." Sadly, Dawn passed away in July of 1990, but Harry continued their important volunteer work on his own. In 1992 his rescue started helping shelties, and not just collies. Harry's mountain property in Beulah was a true haven for the dogs that he rescued. The dogs had room to run; and there was even an out building in case a dog came in pregnant and needed a place to care for her pups, or in case a dog needed to be quarantined. For six years, Harry also was President of the Pueblo Humane Society and volunteered on a regular basis at the Pueblo animal shelter.
A transition slowly came to PCSR when Hope and Doug Hemperly of Pueblo met Harry, wanting to adopt a rescue collie. Hope started helping Harry with rescue efforts, becoming more and more involved. Hope eventually took over the reins of PCSR; and it became the standard for each dog to have thorough vet care, including spay-neuter, vaccinations, dentals, heartworm test and meds, and anything else required. Hope fostered most of the dogs, but a handful of other foster homes helped. An adoption fee was required to help defray veterinary expenses.
PCSR changed again around 2002 by taking a place on the world wide web. A new website and email address allowed potential adopters to find us from anywhere. Policies, such as guidelines for adoption, foster care, transport, etc., also were formally worked out so that the website would have clear information, as would volunteers. Two years later, PCSR was incorporated and became a 501(c)3, tax-exempt non-profit entity. A mission statement and by-laws were written, and a board was formed.
PCSR continues to operate solely due to volunteer efforts. Hope's full-time (non-paying) "job" is being the director; and many volunteers devote countless hours to fostering, doing transport, fundraising, maintaining the website and email, bookkeeping, and organizing pertinent data. Our volunteers range in age from teen-agers to seniors. Harry is our senior-most volunteer and our President Emeritus.
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