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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBlack Dog Syndrome Why do people discriminate against dark pets?
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/06/black_dog_syndrome_are_people_racist_against_black_pets.htmlWould you adopt this dog?
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Black dogs get euthanized at higher rates. They linger at pounds and adoption agencies for longer than light-colored dogs, and they are less likely to find a home. Marika Bell, director of behavior and rehoming for the Humane Society of Washington, D.C., says the organization has been tracking animals that have stayed at their shelters the longest since March 2013. They found that three characteristics put a pet at risk of becoming one of these so-called hidden gems: medium size, an age of 2-3 years, and an ebony coat.
What kind of nefarious psychological quirk would prevent someone from adopting a dog based on fur color?
Animal welfare experts believe the discrimination arises from a pack of factors. The mythology around black dogs is grim. (The Grim, from Harry Potter, is a large, black, spectral dog that haunts churchyards and augurs death.) A 2013 study by Penn State psychologists revealed that people find images of black dogs scarier than photos of yellow or brown dogsrespondents rated the dark-furred animals less adoptable, less friendly, and more intimidating. And while the association between obsidian and evil is more explicit for cats, dogs have to contend with a culture, post-Samuel Johnson and Winston Churchill, that symbolizes depression as a coal-colored hound.
Its not all superstition, though. With the ascent of image-based sites like Petfinder and Petango, much of the adoption process takes place before you even arrive at the shelter. And glamour shots of black animals are harder to imbue with the requisite sparkle. Their faces look less expressive, and their eyes get lost, says Fred Levy, a photographer whose Black Dog Project attempts to give jet-hued canines the star treatment they deserve. (Photography lighting problems can also drive fashion glossies to subtle racism.) Because of the way the camera averages out exposure levels over the entire scene, Levy explains, often all youll see of the dog is a black silhouette and a big tongue. He solves the problem by arranging his models against a charcoal background. And Horowitz has found that videos work better than photographs at capturing a dogs lovable personality. But for adoption programs without video equipment or access to professional photographers, shots of black animals remain harder to sell than those of lighter-colored pets.
RKP5637
(67,032 posts)have a black cat as a very close pet and friend. I though WTF, are we back in the dark ages. For a number of reasons, we don't talk much anymore.
JustAnotherGen
(31,688 posts)Once we get the major renovation work done in our home - we are going to adopt a mini poodle (NOT a teacup) and I want a black one. There are lots folks just don't want - and I'd prefer at least 3 years old . . .
Husband has never had a puppy and I don't think he could make it through ANY breed's adolescence.
KurtNYC
(14,549 posts)conditions which will show the texture of their coat and the whites of their eyes. They are easily as beautiful as any other coat color.
Always photograph a dog from the dog's eye level or slightly lower (same as humans).
I also like to have the collar off of their neck; that is a red harness in the lower shot.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)maybe 1? 2?
He's a mutt, but looks exactly like a mittel spitz, and is the apple of my husband's eye. He's been known to cry with happiness when my husband returns from a long trip, and has leaped up into his arms more than once to lick his face. (Did I mention my husband is 5'11"? That's quite a leap!)
mnhtnbb
(31,320 posts)from the animal shelter in Lincoln. She was a sweetheart, and we always thought
that Mouse kitty considered Tanya his mommy.
From years ago:
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Tanya looks so much like my late, great Mac!
Mac was a shelter dog that we fostered from a small pup. He bonded with a special needs foster pup and we bonded with BOTH and kept them. He grew up to look like a Flat Coated Retriever and was smart, gentle and sweet and an excellent communicator, LOL! (He did a perfect Chewbacca at appropriate times!)
He left us in 2012, 3 months after our special needs lab.
I still miss him.
mnhtnbb
(31,320 posts)to hear about Mac.
Tanya actually looked very much like a black Golden Retriever. She was a bit mischievous about
coming when we first got her--she loved to run--and her real name was Titania, for the Queen of the
Fairies from Midsummer Night's Dream. You could not find her if she went and hid at night!
She was estimated to be from 1-3 when we got her (1995), and we had her until she left us in 2008. We brought Mouse
and his brother, Simba, home as kittens about 6 months after we got Tanya. Both Mousie (2009)and Simba (2013)
are now gone, too. We still miss all of them.
LibertyLover
(4,788 posts)and love them dearly. We adopted the 2 blacks deliberately because of this attitude. Our rescue organization head thanked me for taking another black dog - just last week as a matter of fact - because I take them to greyhound meet and greets and will be able to show people how lovely they are. And believe me, they are just love sponges.
greytdemocrat
(3,299 posts)A Black and a Grey. And it is true about the blacks, our
oldest girl sat in a cage for a year before my wife found her
and she is a blackie. Super sweet but people pass them by.
Some people just have a distrust of black dogs. I've heard it
a million times.
Happyhippychick
(8,379 posts)I would adopt her, she's adorable!
TDale313
(7,820 posts)A woman who volunteers at a local cat rescue mention that black cats have a very hard time getting adopted. Which frankly kinda surprised me. I live in the SF Bay Area. Didn't necessarily expect a large number of people here in this day and age to actively not want a black cat.
exboyfil
(17,857 posts)is keeping them cool in the summer. My border collie is mostly black and his coat does heat up. Same with my in laws black lab. Definitely not a reason to avoid adoption, but something to keep in mind. Find shade where you can when out with your darker furry friends.
On the flip side it is nice to solar heat in the winter.
Fawke Em
(11,366 posts)My son loves black dogs. Rescued them both.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)It's the ears.
<a href=".html" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt=" photo 107_0710_zps0e9f92b7.jpg"/></a>
randome
(34,845 posts)I think the same misconception carries into race relations on a very subtle level. But just because something might have a psychological basis doesn't mean we shouldn't work to overcome it. We're supposed to be intelligent creatures, right?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]
joeglow3
(6,228 posts)We had a black lab and now have a light colored dog. I admit I was ready to leave the mess of a black dog behind. What I have found, however, is that the light hairs sucks, as it is much harder to see to clean up. They both shed the same, but the black hair is easier to see and, therefore, easier to clean up.
mnhtnbb
(31,320 posts)We had Tanya (black) when I had light color carpet, and now I have Snowy (guess!)
and black area rugs.
One of these days I might get my dog matching the rugs!
el_bryanto
(11,804 posts)I don't really get this - but I have seen the phenomenon. White pets just seem kind of dull - unless they are white owls and then they are bad ass.
Bryant
greatlaurel
(2,004 posts)I would never have believed that anyone, no matter how ignorant, would subscribe to such nonsense. One day while driving around in a rural area of Ohio, the only radio station that would come in was one of the wacko religious stations. The station had an extended story about how the devil was walking in a neighborhood and was coming to people's homes disguised as a black dog. They even had people calling sharing their stories of seeing the devil dogs near their homes. It was the first time it dawned on me how perverted these evangelical ministers are. To promote that kind of hysteria among these people is abuse.
This was around 2000-1, and this was the first time I had ever heard such nonsense about black dogs and I have lived and worked in rural areas all my life. I have heard it more and more since then so it must be crawling out of the corners of ignorance and racism to control people by fear.
It is too bad progressives cannot afford to set up low power radio stations in these rural areas to combat this nonsense.
kysrsoze
(6,010 posts)My two fave breeds, Dobermans and Black Labs, are just the sweetest dogs in the world.