Quote:
Originally Posted by OKCCrime
I saw this article after learning about big black dog syndrome from the Rottie Rescue at Wolfstock. Very interesting.
"An interesting phenomenon in the dog adoption world has recently become very apparent. Dogs that are large and black, especially labs, shepherd mixes, pit bulls, and rottweilers are passed over time after time for smaller, lighter colored dogs for adoption."
"Big black dogs have a negative connotation to some potential pet owners, who mistakenly assume they are mean and aggressive."
"Owning this type of dog may lead people to believe that the owner has the same negative characteristics that are associated with big black dogs."
"Animal shelters attempt to explain the reasoning behind this problem, stating that black dogs of all sizes are difficult to photograph for online listings, and that they are easily hidden in the dark shadows of their cages." |
I swear this is true. Even little black dogs are difficult to photograph, so if you're looking online for your dogs, you're probably unlikely to pick a black one. I have numerous pictures of my black Schnauzer, but none of them do him justice. He never looks good in any of his pictures, but in person, he is incredibly cute.
I adopted him from a shelter. In fact, I actually found a different dog on PetFinder out at the Bethany shelter, but they had the weight of the dog listed wrong. I'm told he was about 10 pounds heavier, and I'm convinced they combined the records of both the dogs in that particular kennel, because there never was a PetFinder record for the dog I eventually took home. When I went to go look at the dog they had in the picture, he was gone, and only his "cellmate" was left, a little black Schnauzer with a really big personality. He looked like a little Brillo pad, but he was very insistent to go home with me. Two years later, I'm very happy I took him home. But I would never have driven all the way out to Bethany to look at this little dog based on anything they might have had online. I was just lucky someone else had gotten to the other dog first.