My name is Zuri!

Zuri, short for Missouri, is a neutered male Beagle that is probably between 2-3 years of age. He was adopted into a home for a few months but was returned because it was not a good match. We are as honest as we can be with these dogs and Zuri was a completely different dog in their home than in our foster home and he picked up some pretty bad habits. So here we go with our full disclosure.

Zuri almost never barks in his foster home. The only time he barks here is when he is playing with other dogs. However, when he was in his adopted home he barked every night. He would go through the doggy door at all hours of the night and bark. It was to the point that they put a citronella collar on him to prevent barking. He sleeps quietly in his crate every night and has not barked one time at night since he has been back in his foster home since the beginning of December 2015. He does sometimes whine, as many beagles do. He was particularly snivelly when one of the other dogs was in heat and he sorta lost his marbles and was whining in his crate and when he was loose in the house. Having a dog in heat with a male dog, even a neutered one, can sometimes make them quite nutty, so we are not really faulting him for that. When he first came to us he would whine a little in his crate in the mornings when he wanted out, but he doesn't do that anymore. We did not hear if he was a whiner in the adoptive home.

We don't know Zuri's whole story but we do know some of it. He was from Missouri and most likely lived outside his first year of life. When he came to California he lived in a kennel for around 6 months to a year before he came to live with us in a foster home. He was probably never socialized as a puppy and was not a house dog before he came here and it definitely shows. He often looks intimidated, depressed or some people have even said he looks scared when meeting new people but it is simply the signs of a very undersocialized dog. He actually seeks out attention from people and even wags his tail when he is excited to see you. This is sometimes a hard one to overcome for people because they think he is afraid. He is just overwhelmed and very submissive when interacting with people. The difference is that a fearful dog would not seek out attention from you, this dog does, he just cows down when he does it. He does like children and will sit with them and seek out their attention even more than adults.

Ok, here we go rolling out the honesty. No holds barred. Zuri is new with the house dog thing, only 6 months of his life. He is also a Beagle so his nose will often lead him astray. In his foster home they often have dogs that have never lived in a home so the foster home runs a tight ship. They know that if something is dragged into the back yard it was because no one was watching the dogs, if a sandwhich was yanked off the table then it was because no one pushed the chair in or had someone watch the sandwich to prevent issues. Before adoption he had no problems with this and we would simply tell him NO if he even came near the table and he would quickly walk away and not go near it. One of the biggest complaints the adoptive family had about him was stealing food/items when they weren't watching him. He stole food from the table and even a wallet that was left out. He did not chew the wallet, just spread it around the yard. Now that he is back in the foster home he is a little pushier around food than he used to be and will sniff around the table when they are eating. They are working again on telling him NO when he comes near them while eating. So, the perfect owners for Zuri will be willing to crate him when he can't be watched to prevent him from Beagle sacking the home while unattended as well as put in some training and dog management when they are home so that he will learn his manners in the house.

Zuri likes to spend time outside. He likes to lay in the sun in the dirt and sorta be a dog. He also likes to spend time in the house with his foster family and goes through the doggy door to come in and lay on a pillow, seek out attention from his foster owner, but he is equally happy hanging out outside. He is not one of those dogs that is going to gush over you, he just doesn't know how. In his foster home he will sit quietly by his foster owner for an hour while she watches tv. If she sits on the ground he will lay down by her for even longer. He has had no interest in getting up on the couches in his foster home. If she strokes his head he goes into a love coma and stays there forever. He was a little more reserved with one of the owners in the adoptive home and had a hard time bonding. He did get on the couch a lot with them and was often on the couch even when they were not in the room.

Zuri loves to play with other dogs. We adopted him into a home without any other dogs and we think that was very detrimental to his success. We will only adopt him into a home with another dog who will like to play with him. He just loves other dogs and we really think we are seeing way more potential in him then they saw in him without a second dog.

So, we really think Zuri is a great guy who is crate trained, quiet, good on leash, affectionate in his own way, good with people including children, good with other dogs and an easy little guy. But, we are going to be picky on where he goes so that he has the best opportunity for success. We really thought that he was basically a plug and play dog but it appears when given given too much freedom, at least right now, he becomes like every other shelter dog that has had no training and he blows it. If you are ready for a housebroken adult dog that is good with kids, crate trained and needs some guidance then this is your guy! This description can fit many dogs in shelters and rescue groups.

Zuri's adoption fee is $175 plus $10.99 microchip registration fee. He is chipped, vaccinated, neutered, free of parasites and heartworm negative.