I was lucky, my first dog was an awesome Sheltie, changing my future. Active in Sheltie rescue, obedience, agility, herding, tracking & the breed ring with the #14 Sheltie in the US, #13 in Canada, earning an invitation to the 1st AKC Eukanuba invitational show. I believe knowledge would help keep a lot of Shelties out of rescue -Knowledge before a purchase, that Shelties are active, barky, smart, shedding awesome dogs, lol, & they are NOT for everybody. Yes, they are beautiful, yes SOME are awesome with children, and just as many are not. Knowledge that the cute behaviors as puppies like barking at cars, the phone, and the vacuum cleaner is NOT cute when they are grown, and knowing yourself whether you can really deal with dog hair on your dress clothes that you have to roller off every day before you go to work is what you really want to deal with. Oh, and forget black pants. lol, I swear, they are drawn to Sheltie hair like a magnet.