 |
| Pepsi |
Welcome to the life of a black shelter dog.
In animal shelters, black dogs are the last to be adopted... and the first to be euthanized. The question is... why??
Black Dog Syndrome is a dog shelter and animal rescue phenomenon, in which black dogs, especially large black dogs, are often overlooked by adopters for pets with lighter coats. There are several reasons for this...
During the pet adoption process, some families take a trip to the animal shelter to adopt a pet, while others browse online pet adoption websites first. In both cases, black dogs lose.
When a family goes to a shelter to adopt a dog, they will undoubtedly walk through rows and rows of simple black dogs... because statistically, there are more large, black mixed breeds in shelters than pets of any other color. Many of these black dogs look very much the same... there's nothing seemingly special about them... there's nothing that makes them stand out in a crowd.
 |
| Freddy |
Some families browse online pet adoption websites, like Pet Pardons, to adopt a dog. Sadly, black dogs have a major disadvantage here as well. When adopters view online pet listings, the photo alone sells the pet. But black pets just don't photograph as well as their lighter counterparts, so they're usually overlooked. Poor animal shelter lighting doesn't do their beauty much justice, large shadows hide their features, and obviously... the black mixed breeds look very much the same in pictures.
And so, the brown-and-white spotted pup is adopted. The black dogs are still waiting...
 |
| Pepsi & I |
In kill shelters... the black dogs don't stay as long... because they're among the first to be killed. Shelter euthanasia decisions are based on adoptability. Most black dogs are considered "unadoptable," and so, they're almost always the first to die. It's sad. It's heartbreaking. It's wrong. But it's true.
If you don't like it, adopt a black dog. I did. His name is Riley. He's awesome.
In no-kill animal shelters, black dogs are usually the last to be adopted. And they know it. They smile... while the families come through to adopt a dog. They hold out hope... even though the adopters never notice them. They watch... as the other pups leave for their new homes.
And when the adopters are gone, the black dogs just curl-up in the corner of their kennels. In truth, they knew they never had a chance. The families who came through yesterday didn't pick them. Neither did any of the families before that. Never noticed. Never different. Never special. Still confined to a shelter cage, the black dog accepts his fate: "I'm never going home."
 |
| Pepsi & Freddy |
In my head, I know the reason why... but in my heart, I just can't understand it.
Today is "Black Monday, " as Pet Pardons celebrates all of the black animal shelter pets with a day just for them. Today, we want to say: You are special. You are beautiful. You are deserving of life.
Each day, thousands of black pets die in shelters across the country. Please, help us save them. Join Pet Pardons today for "Black Monday!" CLICK HERE TO JOIN PET PARDONS!
thank you for the great educating post ! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for calling attention to this issue. It's sad, but true. Yet it does not have to be so!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am drawn to the black dogs; especially the black dogs with brown eyebrows. Both my rescued dogs fit that description. I also have a rescued black cat. They are all beautiful. The color of their fur has nothing to do with the love they have to give.
As a fosterer of dogs, I will continue to strive to pull the black dogs from the pound and take them into my home so they can find a family and have the life they so deserve.
We have eight pets, 4 dogs, 2 cats and 2 gold fish. Of those 5 are black, 3 dogs, 1 cat and one gold fish. Black is beautiful in all species! I have had a black cat my entire adult life (I'm 60) with no bad luck as a result and our full breed all black German Shepherd get compliments all the time on her beautiful coat even though she is now 13! You can put on any color color with your cat or dog and it looks beautiful and I would rather have black hair/fur everywhere because I can wear black and nobody notices! In the words of Bob Marley from "War" until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; ...can be applied to fur and hair. Black is beautiful but even more is that what's inside can and is a beautiful as any other color!!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for bringing more light to this very real situation of which alot of folks are unaware :)
ReplyDeleteVery true. We have a dark brindle puppy in our rescue that's been here for 6 weeks now -- unheard of for a pup in my rescue. He is ADORABLE and so sweet and mellow. I've had adult pit bulls and other puppies adopted out far before him. I am almost positive it's black dog syndrome. It couldn't be anything else! And it's true...it's harder to get a decent photo of darker dogs for sure. Definitely all things rescues and adopters need to be aware of. But, ultimately, what we all need to remember is dogs are individuals, and that's what makes the truly unique and special -- regardless of coat color.
ReplyDeleteI will soon be adopting a dog for myself, and after reading this, I will definitely be picking a black dog.
ReplyDeleteI saved a black lab/mastiff mix from being drowned as a puppy. The mom (Fawn mastiff) got pregnant by a yellow lab and ended up with 6 black puppies. The owners were going to drown them, but I took them, found homes for them with friends and family, and kept one myself. We named her Venus, after the goddess of love.....shes my oldest sons best friend (therapy for anger management) and the best dog we ever had :) PS the easiest way to take good pictures of a black dog is outside in the sunlight.
ReplyDeleteThis is why 5 or our 7 rescues are black!
ReplyDeleteThe best, most special, loving dog that I had that passed away was my Black lab mix Casey.
ReplyDeleteThank you all: we had 2 cocker spaniels, but I have never really notice BLACK ANIMAL. except for cats TY
ReplyDeleteI have a Black dog and Cat of seven, they are affectionate and great, never judge a book by its cover...
ReplyDeleteI adopted a black lab mix from the pound she is a very sweet an affectionate dog. I like the color black on a dog she will have a forever home with me.
ReplyDeleteI found my black minpin @ petfinders and chose a black dog for that very reason! black is beautiful! it is very sad and inhumane that black pets r passed up for stupid reasons :(
ReplyDeleteThank you for another wonderful post, Ashley! All 3 of our adopted furkids are black. They are bright, sweet funny and loving. We are hoping to have #4 by the end of the month. She, too, is black! =D ♥
ReplyDeleteMy best friend of 15 yrs was a BLACK lab/setter mix named Sidney. His found brother was a sweet, wonderful BLACK lab mix w/epilepcy named Ted. I had him for 8 yrs. My BLACK lab/border collie mix named Nick also a rescue was a joyous handful who kept us laughing for many wonderful yrs. They got along together-dogs and cats alike. They never messed in the house and they loved me so unconditionally I miss them every single day I live. Black dogs are unbelievably loyal and loving and deserve the best that life has to offer!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have 4 black cats and they are beautiful loving animals (well maybe not Sienna on the loving part, she just doesn't like humans). LOL! I still love her so much because she is so cute. My other cats are wonderful, but the black ones hold a special place in my heart because they were cast offs due to their color. No one wanted them. I took them and added them to my little animal family. I could never imagine a life without them. They are all so different in the type of fur they have, their faces are all different and they all have their own personality. I love my black cats!
ReplyDeleteI love black dogs. They are the best. Here's to black dogs everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThat is very surprising to me! I volunteer at a small shelter in WA (and when I say small, I mean small.) and I am always shocked at how fast the big, fuzzy black dogs get adopted. We have a woman here who raises "sled dogs" but has no money to feed or fix them, so we always end up with them. They are large, furry, black Newfoundland crosses and they are the sweetest, best tempered, mellow dogs we have, hands down. We just had someone who had adopted one a few months ago take another one, sight unseen. It's too bad people don't take the time to get to know the dogs before choosing just on looks. But almost all shelter/rescue dogs are wonderful, so no matter why you choose them, you're getting something wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWow, since this was hurtfully (like honestly hurt my feelings, thanks) deleted off fb I'll try again here. Adopting a half black lab half rotty was the best thing I've done in the last 3 years! I looked my Lily girl in the eyes and knew I was gunna take her home. I even said to the person with me, "If I'm taking a dog home with me today, she's the one."
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, an ACO kept a black hound mix because he was such a great dog. When she finally found my sanctuary, I thought he was a great dog, too, but expected to have him for years. I posted him the night I got him including information about black dog syndrome. His adopters saw him online the next day, had no idea about black dog syndrome, were appalled by it, brought their Puggle who played and played with this large hound mix; he was home in a week! An exception to the rule, similar to misti_hope's comment about the Newfi mixes.
ReplyDeletethis is cool .. i like dogs ..
ReplyDeleteNot quite true on my part, I like the darker dogs...All the ones I've ever seemed to own are so much more laid back and chilled out then dogs with lighter coats. My 3 fave breeds are Rotties, Dobies, and German Sheps. All of which have a darker or black coat. My 1st two rotties were the best boys ever when I was growing up! Went with me EVERYWHERE!!!
ReplyDeleteIronically black is one of my most favorite colors! I think it's beautiful and elegant! When I get a house the first thing I'm doing it adopting a dog! And now I know even more surely than before that black is going to be my first pick!
ReplyDeleteBlack dogs are just as good as any other dogs!
ReplyDeletewww.truthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com
I have three black cats (all rescues). They are my babies. As a little girl, my parents took me to the animal shelter and I had a choice of any cat there - I chose a tiny black cat named Mia. Since then, I have always had a soft spot for black cats.
ReplyDeleteBlack animals are beautiful, and I really hope that animal advocates can make this way of thinking a thing of the past.
I've had my foster who is a large black Shar Pei mix for a few weeks now and I am starting to get nervous. I have never met a sweeter more cuddly dog, but I haven't had a single person express interest in her. We came back from a super adoption weekend where we did 42 adoptions! And she wasn't one of them, no one even wanted to walk her. I wish everyone knew more about this.
ReplyDeletefureverbuddysdogrescue.com
Oh I can completely relate although we have the same issue re-homing Dark Tortoiseshell cats. They are so gorgeous and no one seems to want them. It is a love or hate thing with the colour of their fur.
ReplyDeleteBoth the dogs that we had were predominantly black and they were fabulous!
I never knew that black dogs were so unadoptable. I've personally always loved black dogs and cats. My rescue, now 2, is a beautiful shiny, happy black lab - Couldn't imagine my life without her.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand. I am drawn to the black dogs. My little Murphy, a rescue dog, is black - and perfect. God bless you, Ashley, for all you do. You are a hero to me.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear this. We have adopted only black dogs...we have rescued several schipperkes. We love the breed. We've helped place several fosters in forever homes.
ReplyDeleteWe're very aware of this, and in an effort to do our small part we're holding a Comment-A-Thon through the 17th. All commenters will be entered in a random drawing and we'll be donating $100 to the rescue or shelter of the random winner's choice.
ReplyDeleteI have five black dogs of my own and foster dogs for rescue. I always look for the black dogs to bring up from SC where we pull our dogs from a high kill shelter. I am in upstate NY and so far we have had good luck finding homes for our black dogs.
ReplyDeleteI have two Awesome black dogs. One is from a shelter where he had been overlooked for months. "Gill" came into our home a PERFECT gentleman with absolutely no bad habits or manners. Too bad for all the families that passed him by but lucky us! Our other big black shaggy dog "Willis", came from Black Dog Animal Rescue and is the sweetest most loving soul. He is now a therapy dog and shares this love with hospital patients, nursing home residents, and teenagers living in a rehab facility. I can't imagine not having both in my life and I'm so sad that people can walk right past the beauty and loving potential of so many black dogs.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Sharon Gordon
Fort Collins, CO
I just discovered your blog...
ReplyDeleteRescued my first dog - a black girl - Molly - from the back of a cage outside a big "chain" store. She had been in rescue for over five months and, no doubt, had seen countless humans pass her by in that cage in favor of another dog. But until reading this post, I have never given thought to how she might have "accepted" her life would involve spending every other Saturday afternoon in that cage watching the other - lighter - dogs get to go home. Bless their hearts. And bless you.
We have a rescue dog that is black, and as far as I am concerned, she is the best dog I have ever owned. We got her when she was just 10 weeks old and a fluff ball...but, no one wanted her because of her color. I fell in love instantly. I had tunnel vision when it came to her, and no other dog in the rescue was able to enter that tunnel, only her :) I will always look at black dogs first, there is something about them that speaks to me :) They are beautiful and have the most loving eyes!
ReplyDeleteI love black dogs, 2 of my 3 are black and they're beautiful, awesome dogs! People just don't know what they're losing...
ReplyDeleteI've been reading your blog for more than two hours now, sobbing like crazy, left my laptop to hug my dogs, being grateful for the love we shared, to realized that all my life, I've been accompanied by dogs. I've been in those devastating moment when they died. Then am back to my laptop, reading another story..and sobbing, then a need to hug coming..back to my laptop and this back and forth repeated. my husband came home and asked why so many tissues, did I catch a cold or..? *sigh..I will never understand about this black-dog syndrome. 3 of my 5 dogs are black. They're my favorite, and sleep with us in our bedroom. My brother have one black dog and he slept with him on the same bed. Black dog for me is the best guard, truly loyal, fun, and what I like the most, they 'know' what they want (that's a real challenge and entertaining at the same time), and never giving up. Mine can sit for a very long time, staring at the door, seems like trying to hypnotize the door, utter magic spell for the door to be open.. Thank you for you blog and sharing me your awesome life with them, they're indeed the most beautiful creature living on earth!
ReplyDeleteI once had a black cat, Peeper, and he lived for 18 years. He was my entire life! I personally love the black animals- I think they are the prettiest! At the animal shelter I volunteer at, almost all of my favorite dogs are black :)
ReplyDelete