diff --git a/zk/conn.go b/zk/conn.go
index da9503a2..60bd4779 100644
--- a/zk/conn.go
+++ b/zk/conn.go
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ func Connect(servers []string, sessionTimeout time.Duration, options ...connOpti
 	}
 
 	// Randomize the order of the servers to avoid creating hotspots
-	stringShuffle(srvs)
+	srvs = stringShuffle(srvs)
 
 	ec := make(chan Event, eventChanSize)
 	conn := &Conn{
diff --git a/zk/dnshostprovider.go b/zk/dnshostprovider.go
index f4bba8d0..a50f71d2 100644
--- a/zk/dnshostprovider.go
+++ b/zk/dnshostprovider.go
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ func (hp *DNSHostProvider) Init(servers []string) error {
 	}
 
 	// Randomize the order of the servers to avoid creating hotspots
-	stringShuffle(found)
+	found = stringShuffle(found)
 
 	hp.servers = found
 	hp.curr = -1
diff --git a/zk/util.go b/zk/util.go
index f40a5b15..e7476f45 100644
--- a/zk/util.go
+++ b/zk/util.go
@@ -47,11 +47,12 @@ func FormatServers(servers []string) []string {
 }
 
 // stringShuffle performs a Fisher-Yates shuffle on a slice of strings
-func stringShuffle(s []string) {
+func stringShuffle(s []string) []string {
 	for i := len(s) - 1; i > 0; i-- {
 		j := rand.Intn(i + 1)
 		s[i], s[j] = s[j], s[i]
 	}
+	return s
 }
 
 // validatePath will make sure a path is valid before sending the request