Las Vegas dog returned for being ‘too boring’ has new foster home

A 4-year-old dog who was returned to an animal shelter in Las Vegas for being “too boring” has found a loving foster home where he can nap all he wants.
Duke, whose breed has not been identified but appears to be a lab of some sort, was returned to the Las Vegas based-Animal Foundation this week. Within hours of the foundation posting about Duke being returned, a woman arrived to foster him.
Now Duke is at her home enjoying some down time, apparently his favorite pastime.
Kelsey Pizzi, a spokesman for The Animal Foundation, told USA TODAY on Friday that she met with Duke on Thursday and that “he was just relaxing the whole time.”
Pizzi added that Duke appeared to be very comfortable in his new space.
Duke first arrived up at The Animal Foundation shelter on June 23 after he was found wandering lost in a Las Vegas neighborhood in the southwest part of town. Just a few days later, on July 6, a family adopted him and took him to his new home.
But the family’s vibe did not match with Duke’s, and they brought him back to the shelter earlier this week on Wednesday. The pup’s former family said he is “boring, sleeps all day, and doesn’t get up and greet them when they get home,” the shelter said in a post on Facebook.
“His constant napping and apparent lack of enthusiasm made him the wrong fit for his last family,” the foundation said in the post. “And that’s okay. We’re confident that there’s plenty of people who would vibe with 4-year-old Duke’s lack of energy.”
Duke’s new foster mom, Sue Marshall, told USA TODAY that Duke “seems to be adjusting to his new home.”
“He is doing well, he climbed up on the sofa with me last night and put his head in my lap,” Marshall said. “He and I took a long walk this morning before it got too hot to be outside. He did well last night, has been using the doggie door and has not barked at the neighbors.”
Marshall added that Duke is a “very laid-back dog and does spend a lot of time sleeping.”
Marshall told USA TODAY on Monday that she is planning to adopt Duke and is currently working to find out the steps involved.
“He is a real sweetheart and loves attention,” she said. “He has been getting plenty of attention from me.”
Pizzi told USA TODAY that about 5% of the animals adopted from the shelter end up getting returned.
“It’s OK,” Pizzi said. “We want to be realistic that does happen. We don’t want to shame someone. We’re here to support and help them find the right fit for their family.”
The Animal Foundation said that Duke, who is 87 pounds, walks “well on a leash” and is “most likely potty-trained and will wait until he can do his business outside.”
Pizzi said Duke also enjoys his treats, especially pepperoni.
The Animal Foundation is one of the biggest shelters in America, according to Pizzi, and has taken in about 13,000 animals so far this year. The summer season is the busiest for the shelter, with almost 100 animals coming in each day. The shelter currently houses almost 675 animals, including dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, pigs and guinea pigs. Of those 675 animals, 456 are dogs, Pizzi said.
“Most of those animals are lost animals that probably have a family out there,” Pizzi said. “Unfortunately, most of them are never reclaimed so they end up being adopted by other families.”
She said that “larger dogs do always take a little bit longer to get adopted.”
“Puppies, smaller dogs get adopted quickly, but for large dogs it can take weeks, sometimes months for them to be adopted,” she said.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.