merry

Meet Merry - one of 12 staffie mix puppies with the world's cutest and shortest legs. Merry came to the Shelter via animal control after his previous guardians were unable to provide care for him and the rest of the canine crew. He spent some time in a foster home with 2 of his siblings. His foster parents report: ` Merry is the goofy, clumsy one! When everyone is playing, he’s usually the puppy rolling around, getting knocked over, or accidentally running into something. He’s silly and very entertaining. He is also the mouthiest of the three and likes to use his teeth during play, so he’ll need continued redirection toward appropriate toys.All three puppies are sweet, cuddly, playful, and did great in our home! They can all jump up onto the couch and love snuggling with people. They slept through the night in their indoor kennel and kept it completely clean — no pee or poop! They consistently went potty outside while they were with us. We introduced them to leashes, which seemed to be a brand-new experience, so they’ll need some continued practice. All three can be a little fearful when walking somewhere unfamiliar, but once they get some reassurance, they’re very willing to trust you and follow along. They also got baths and ear cleanings, which seemed new to them, but they did great! All three were comfortable being handled and didn’t have any issues with us touching their paws, ears, bodies, etc. They are VERY enthusiastic about food and eat quickly, so slow feeders or puzzle feeders would probably be great for them. They also get extremely excited when someone leaves or comes home. They would benefit from some practice learning that people coming and going is normal and nothing to worry about. They are all pretty vocal and have surprisingly loud barks for puppies! They liked pretending to be watchdogs and alerted us to many sounds around the yard. We loved having them & we’re excited for their future families who are going to have so much fun with them!”Merry is available for pre-adoption. Come meet him, fall in love and take him home after his neuter surgery. The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter Foundation is now offering “Pawsitivity Bucks” with every dog adoption. This $200 training voucher is a way for newly adopted canines and their guardians to connect with local positive reinforcement based behavior consultants and get their relationship started off on the right paw!Please note: Our Santa Cruz location’s Shelter hours are 11-6pm, 7 days a week! Although clients can walk through and see any animals in their kennels during open hours, we end “meet and greets” (aka meeting an animal out of the kennel) at 4:30pm every day. If you’d like to meet an animal out of the kennel, please arrive before 4:00pm to allow for time to discuss individual animals and meet them.