Rejected for being ‘boring,’ shelter dog finds home with no nap limits
Duke’s family had expectations of him: to enthusiastically greet everyone, provide entertainment, and stay awake for at least parts of the day. It’s a lot to ask of a 4-year-old rescue pup.
The family took Duke back to the shelter a few weeks after adopting him, complaining that he was “boring, sleeps all day, and doesn’t get up and greet them when they get home.” It made Duke the first dog to be returned for being “too boring,” according to the shelter that had taken him in.
The 87-pound rescue had first been put up for adoption in late June. He was scooped up in less than week. But on Aug. 7, Duke was returned for his “apparent lack of enthusiasm,” the Animal Foundation, a Nevada animal shelter, said in a Facebook post.
“So if anyone has ever told you, ‘you must be fun at parties,’ Duke is your guy,” the shelter said. Under the post, more than 100 people commented wanting only the best for Duke, and more than 200 shared the post to help him find a home.
The Labrador mix didn’t have to wait long at the shelter. Within hours, the sweet-looking dog found a foster home — which turned into a forever home in less than week. In his new Las Vegas abode, Duke is allowed to slack off as much as he wants, said Sue Marshall, his new owner — though she prefers to be known as his “dog mom.”
Marshall, 69, a retired city planner, had been searching for a dog to adopt when she read in the local news about Duke being returned to his shelter for “constantly napping.”
Duke instantly reminded her of Storm, her black Labrador who died a year and a half ago at age 14.
“Towards the end of his life, Storm was laid-back and chill,” she said. “It sounded like Duke would be like him.”
The shelter granted her five minutes with Duke and then asked if she wanted to adopt him. Even though Marshall felt a connection with Duke in that moment, she couldn’t make a commitment without knowing if he would fit into her family, especially with her grandkids and their dog.
She asked if she could foster him first, and the shelter agreed.
Duke was so well-behaved, Marshall said, that for the first few days she didn’t hear him bark. He was too busy sleeping, with his head in her lap, she said.
Over the next few days, Marshall’s qualms about Duke subsided — he got along well with the family dog and received hugs from her grandchildren all weekend. That was all Marshall needed in order to accept Duke into her life; on Tuesday, she told The Post she was about to start his adoption paperwork.
“I just love his personality,” she said. “He’s such a sweet, laid-back boy.”
In Marshall’s experience, a dog of Duke’s age should be able to walk for three to four miles before getting tired. Duke managed about a mile and a half with Marshall, then “was pretty much done,” she said.
She did offer possible explanations for his alleged “laziness” — it was 91 degrees in Las Vegas that morning, and Marshall can tell that “Duke’s never been taught how to walk properly on a leash.”
But the joyous new dog owner acknowledged, “I mean, he is also pretty lazy.”
To many on the internet, Duke has become the “boring dog,” but if it were up to Marshall, she would re-crown him the “laid-back dog.”
When a Post reporter requested more videos of Duke, his dog mom took him to the backyard for a photo shoot — but the dog doesn’t appear to have the grit it takes to be a model.
“He kept going back into the house and won’t come back out!” she told The Post, adding that it wasn’t the weather making him weary this time. “It’s not that hot outside.”
The Animal Foundation was not upset at Duke’s return.
“We don’t want to shame anyone,” said Kelsey Pizzi, the communications manager at the shelter. “Returns do happen, and they help us learn more about the dog.”
Duke’s return caused “a buzz” for the shelter’s communications team, Pizzi said. They received at least 80 emails and a handful of messages on social media from people interested in adopting him, but by then Duke was already making a home for himself with Marshall.
Returns also help the foundation learn more about the people looking to adopt; shelter staffers now know that if a really energetic dog comes around, they can call up the family that returned Duke.
“Shelters have all kinds of dogs, with all kinds of personalities,” Pizzi said. “We have to remember, there’s a dog out there for everyone.”