Friday, March 7, 2008

Black Dog Discrimination

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23472518/

This is an interesting article about how dogs with thick, dark black coats usually take longer to get adopted at shelters. Apparently, the phenomenon is commonplace enough to have earned its own name: "black dog syndrome."

According to one quote in the article, "They're the hardest to adopt out, they're in the shelters the longest and therefore, they're most likely to be euthanized if nothing happens."

But what are the reasons?? Could it be a subconscious thing (like the fear of black cats?). Could it be that in some black dogs (the black pug comes to mind) that it's harder to see the dog's true features? Is it because they just look scarier?

Other theories include:
-Some people turn in their black dogs to the shelters because they've gotten new furniture and don't like the dark fur their pet sheds.
-their black coats can make them invisible in poorly lit kennels.
-Same problem happens with amateur photos on shelters' Web sites, which is how many people find the dog they intend to adopt.
-If people see a lot of black dogs at a shelter, they might think there is something wrong with the dogs.

I'm curious to hear from people with black dogs. Even a lot of the pet stores I go to don't offer a lot of black dogs for sale, so this is quite an interesting topic of discussion.

5 comments:

Jan said...

Some time ago a human society had a "sale" on black pets. Then some idiots decided that it was "racially insensitive." Go figure.

Anonymous said...

I don't know why it happens but it's true. Both of my dogs are black, the male was suppose to be whole black but some the the brown started to show up :) and the female is totally black with white boots, I bought her a glow in the dark collar because i can't see her at night and always stepping on her.
My neighbor has 2 black to, and his are completely black with no spot.

Black pets are beautiful!

zodiapet said...

The same happens with black cats. It's a whole thing where black cats and black dogs are bad luck.
I say it is all about the pet's personality.

Anonymous said...

For me, it's the features of the black dog. You really can't see their faces that well and they just have a mean look to them..even if they are the nicest dog in the world.

Anonymous said...

It's unfortunately proving true. I have both a Black lab and a Chocolate Lab. More people approach and express positive, warm acknowledgments towards my Chocolate. While they are both loving and well-trained dogs, the Black's spirit and soul is the most gentlest of any dog I have owned. Yet, he is more often ignore and even feared when meeting people the first time. What a shame.