COURTESY POST This would be a straight adoption between applicant and owner. We are asking anyone interested to fill out the adoption application on our website at www.k9orphans.org. Please be aware that any training done needs to be positive based and we will not adopt out to anyone who plans a board and train.
ZEKE
Breed: Dutch Shepherd
Age: Approximately 5 years old
Weight: 80 lbs (he was found as a malnourished stray at 50 lbs, but we have gotten him back to a healthy weight)
Vetting Status: He is neutered, microchipped, and fully vaccinated.
Zeke’s Rescue Journey: We believe he was dumped in a nearby park, where he survived on his own for three weeks before we found him. He then spent three weeks with Animal Control, followed by a week at a shelter that ultimately deemed him unadoptable. We followed his progress every step of the way and stepped in to adopt him to give him a fair shot at life.
Personality, likes and quirks: Inside the home, Zeke is the most incredible, intelligent, and loving dog you could ever ask for. We have had him for two weeks and he is settling in beautifully.
Likes: He is a total cuddle bug and very loving. He loves getting pets and playing fetch.
Quirks: He loves laying on his back, either right between your legs or right alongside you for cuddles. He is incredibly sweet and gentle with us.
Training: He is fully crate-trained (it is his safe space) and obeys commands like “come,” “sit,” and “drop it.” He walks very well on a leash and does a great job running on a leash (he stays right by your side). Because of his high intelligence, we feel he will learn absolutely anything the right person is able to teach him.
Dislikes & Behavioral Challenges (Full Transparency): The only negative is that he is overprotective of his owners. We believe this is due to his breed, but also because he is experiencing love and a real home for the first time in his life, and he feels he needs to protect us at all costs. He does not like busy residential environments or unexpected strangers approaching his handlers.
It is important to note that prior to the incident with our neighbor, we had successfully introduced him to 8 different people and a child with absolutely zero issues. However, recently, his protective drive kicked in during a leash walk, and he lunged at our neighbor. He did not bite, but his paw scratched our neighbor’s face.
We do not have experience with this breed, and we are uneasy about keeping him due to our home’s location in a busy neighborhood and the incident with our neighbor. He is not a bad dog at all, he just has high working-breed drives and needs an environment where he doesn’t feel the need to constantly guard, and owners that know how to handle this breed.
Kids & Other Pets:
Kids: We have successfully introduced him to our 2-year-old niece with zero issues, and he was gentle and sweet with her. We obviously have to be protective of our niece and have concerns due to the incident with our neighbor, but we feel he very well may be fine in a home with kids. We don’t have children of our own, so right now we are the only owners he feels he has, but we believe if a child lived in his home, he would be completely fine with them.
Cats: He has no experience with cats, so we are unsure how he would be with them.
Other Dogs: We were told he did well in socialization groups with other dogs at the shelter.
Ideal Home: He needs an experienced handler, someone familiar with working breeds (like Shepherds or Malinois), or someone with a quiet property/working setting where he can decompress safely.
Please share Zeke to give him a fair shot at finding the right fit. Thank you!
