Hello sweet Holly! I had tears in my eyes when I read your story. You see, I too adopted a Collie when he was 13 months old. He was kept in a small confined area until the breeder determined that he was not of breeding quality because he is exceptionally large for the breed standard. I knew he was the dog for me because when we took him out for a "test walk," I stumbled and the leash fell out of my hand. Instead of taking off, Jack turned around and licked my face to see if I was okay. He vomitted the whole way home, had never seen a groomer, and was underweight. For the first 6 months that we had him, he slept in our shower stall because it was about the same size as the "stall" that he had been kept in. He had never seen the inside of a house when he came home with us. It was quite an adjustment. He is now 6 1/2 years old and he still will not walk on the hardwood floors and it took over a year for him to bark. Even though he went through a lot, he is the sweetest, most gentle, loving dog I could have ever asked for. In fact, my friend's austic son used to take him for walks alone! It's amazing how Collies can endure so much tragedy and still become the most loving, sweet creatures. Thanks for sharing your story.