Here is where you will find questions we have gotten that don't really have a good spot in the rest of the site, but still need to be addressed. This is a "living document". If you have questions that you don't see here, please feel free to contact us and if we get asked your question often, we will add it to our growing list.

• Are your dogs purebred Collies?
  
  While we do try to take in and rescue Collie dogs, we can make no warranties or representations as the breed or mix of breeds of any of our dogs. The vast majority of the time, they do not come with pedigrees or even histories. The type of breed as represented by Collie Concern Rescue is an approximation based upon the physical characteristics of the dog.
  
  

• Where are you located?
  
  We are a completely foster based rescue with no physical shelter building. All of our dogs are housed in individual foster homes. Collie Concern has foster homes in East Tennessee and Georgia.
  
  

• I don't see a dog I connect with on your website. Should I wait until I see a dog I like to apply to adopt?
  
  No, you should not wait until you see a dog you like in order to apply to adopt or you may miss out on the dog you like if more than one applicant likes one dog! Applications take time to process. They are dependent on so many factors outside of your control, such as when your references will respond to the reference requests and if your interviewer's schedule is free to do the phone interview and when a home visit can be arranged. We have more than one interviewer and we cannot promise that all of their schedules will be the same. Only fully approved applicants can be considered in line for a dog. We look at each potential home in the order the request was made by a fully approved applicant and decide if the home is appropriate for the dog and for the family.
  
  

• We were thinking about adopting a Rescue Collie, but we really wanted to do Agility/Junior Showmanship/Herding with the American Kennel Club. We feel torn. Do you get rescue dogs with papers so that we can compete in AKC events?
  
  The AKC offers a solution for you! It is called the "Purebred Alternative Listing/Indefinite Listing Privilege" (PAL/ILP). It gives ALL purebred dogs a chance to compete and only costs $10 to sign up! It gives you a PAL/ILP number that you can use when registering for AKC Performance and Companion events. More information is available here:
  http://www.akc.org/reg/ilpex.cfm
  
  
  

• Your adoption fee is higher than the shelter. Don't you make a large profit on the dogs you "sell"? What happens to that profit? Aren't you getting rich doing this? Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?
  
  We are unpaid volunteers. We are not getting rich, no. In fact, it is quite the opposite, with many of our volunteers donating much of their personal time and money to the dogs we take in. Very occasionally we will take a dog in from a shelter and the dog will be healthy. This is the exception and not the rule. Lets take two examples. Example one will be a healthy looking puppy and example two will be a 5 year old owner give up. The healthy looking puppy came to us neutered, dewormed and with his first shots. He had a microchip handed to us that our vet had to insert. He did come with a vet exam from the shelter vet. His "pull fee" was $85, which is fairly standard. We still have to get him his second shots, insert his microchip, and have our vet do a comprehensive exam and heartworm test. If he is heartworm positive, we will have him treated. He also has coccidia - bloody diarrhea and came to us getting over kennel cough. His vet bills plus pull fee will come to just under our adoption fee and any responsible owner doing the same amount of vetting would find that their vet bill would far exceed the adoption fee we charge. Now, the other scenario - the 5 year old owner surrender - came to us without vetting. She came up as positive for heartworms and we had to have her treated. This would normally cost a new owner several hundred dollars and require complete cage rest for the dog for 6 weeks. She is also drinking excessive amounts of water and is possibly in kidney compromise which will also be addressed prior to her going home. She will receive another full vet check and bloodwork, deworming and heartworm medication, food and love during her stay with us before going home to her forever home. We make no monetary profit on these dogs; we are not a business (not a profitable one at least) and we do this in our homes, in our spare time, many of us juggling full time employment and our own lives and the raising of our own children. We charge as little as we can and still remain a viable entity. In fact, we rely on fundraisers and donations to provide the difference between the amount of money it really takes to run a rescue (bear in mind that website fees, crates, collars, leashes, behavior modification training, boarding fees for when we are full, office supplies, phone bills, etc, all cost money!) and care for these dogs and the amount of money that their adoption fee covers.
  
  
  

• My dog is afraid of thunderstorms/crates/men/pigeons/etc so I think I need to give him up. Can you help?
  
  Before you give up your dog, try the suggestions on this great website: http://www.fearfuldogs.com/