Lukie Husky & Australian Shepherd Mix Cincinnati, OH

NEW ARRIVAL. Picture Lukie (pronounced Luke-y) as a little pup, with those ice-blue eyes and gorgeous markings, and it’s easy to imagine why his former mom was unable to resist bringing him home. Even tho her husband didn’t like dogs, much less want one of his own. And even tho so much of her time and energy was already devoted to caring for four human kids. For puppy-Lukie, it was a formula for failure from the start … a scenario we see all too often in the rescue world … and a perfect example of why we put so much time and effort into facilitating the right match between families and dogs.

Now two years old, just shy of fifty pounds and in search of his FOREVER family, Lukie has a lot going for him in addition to his striking looks:

* He is house broken and will go to the door to be let out. (If you don’t, he will even come nudge you!)
* He’s crate trained and sleeps through the night.
* He is medium-high energy, making him a great and willing sidekick for an active family.
* He is very food-driven, which is a great advantage for training purposes.

With husky and Aussie (hussie?!) in the mix, Lukie's family-to-be will need to provide him with plenty of exercise, mental stimulation, opportunities for socialization, and fair and consistent training to help him become a well-mannered member of the family. With a husky’s tendency to roam, he needs a good, secure fence or a family dedicated to daily leash-walking.

In his previous home, Lukie loved playing with the kids, whose ages ranged from 3-12. But with no training, not enough exercise and aussie in his mix, he would sometimes get mouthy, try to heard them, or get overexcited and inadvertently knock them over. He also exhibited food-guarding issues around the kids. Until he gets the training and direction he’s missed out on for the first couple years of his life, he’ll do best in a home with adults, teenagers or older kids.

We’ll share additional information as we get to know Lukie better. In the meantime, if he sounds like a good fit for your family, we’d love to hear from you!

Please visit www.STAF.org for visiting hours, a downloadable application, and additional information.

• All of our animals are spayed/neutered and current on shots.
• We do not do same-day adoptions; we ask that you return for a follow-up visit before taking an animal home.
• You must be 21 years or older to adopt from STAF.
• We require a 4-foot-tall physical fence for homes with children under the age of 11. We also may require a physical fence for specific dogs on a case-by-case basis, depending on each dog’s behavior and exercise needs.
• Invisible fences: Due in part to increasing coyote activity/incidents in the area and the difficulty of predicting how a dog will respond to invisible fence training, we cannot adopt to homes with invisible fences unless otherwise noted in a dog’s profile.
• We do request vet and personal references.
• We can facilitate adoptions within a 75-mile radius of our Cincinnati-based shelter.