I read this article last week too. I was so surprised by this issue! Who would have guessed?! Certainly not me!

"Those of us more likely to think rationally on the issue of coloration should perhaps actively seek to adopt darker colored dogs and cats."

I really like your words above! I have a big, black cat right now (and I do mean big - she looks like a panther, my Luna kitty!) And I have had black cats in the past too. If I ever adopt a dog - I'm going to make sure I rescue one of these big, black dogs!!

I have two rescued "big black dogs." Some people do give them a wide berth, but not always. Of course, they are retriever mixes, so they may not be as scary as some other "big black dogs." The reactions to my dog Ukiah vary a lot. He is shy and so sometimes nervous--that of course makes people nervous. But he also has lighter brown eyes (not the usual brown black eyes), which many people find strikingly handsome--and so they are very attracted to him and want to interact with him (he is now starting to allow that).

One reason they get adopted less often is that it is damn near impossible to get a good picture of a black dog. A dog can have a great personality, but if the picture on the shelter/rescue/whatever's web site shows a black lump they won't get as much attention.

I speak from personal experience. . .I have to take ten pictures of my black lab/cocker to get a decent picture of her.

I also found out that having a black dog in Phoenix Arizona is rather uncomfortable for the dog. When it gets into the triple digits (very soon now) my poor girl just about spontaneously combusts if she's out in the sun for any length of time partially because of her black fur. I'm on heat stroke watch for the next 6 months...mostly just night walks, and no more car rides unless it's to the drive thru!

p.s. I just got a 7-letter captcha that was all capital letters. Do I win a prize? :)

I'd never heard of that before - how sad! I love big, black dogs - it's just that happenstance has brought smaller, different colored dogs into my life.

I think a lot of it has to do w/media influence - I think more gets made out of stories w/big dogs like dobermans and rotts, who happen to be black-coated. And movies, too - if you're going to have a scary dog, it should be big and black!
Funny enough, big black dogs are not on my sh*t list at work. Min-pins, daschunds, poms, and chihuahuas are the most likely to have files flagged as "bites/scratches" (w/out provocation). That statement isn't meant to offend anyone w/one of those breeds (as I'm sure most that our hospital sees are fine at home and just upset in a clinic environment) - just to point out the irony that everyone I work with would probably take a big black dog over some of those lighter-colored small breeds any day.

I think that story seriously conflates the over-supply of black mongrels and the reactions some have to Rotty and Dobby mixes. I am nervous off Rotty mixes on a purely Pavlovian level because like many young adults I grew up when they were stupid aggressive male's macho dog of choice. As a result I was bitten by two such dogs as a child and can't help but be nervous of them to some extent. Unfair, no doubt. But benefit of the doubt means giving the big friendly dog the opportunity to bite you, not something I am keen to do. Big black lab, retriever, dane, mountain dog etc etc=no problem for me though.

I had a pure black 120 lb German Shepherd. I could understand some people's fear as we went for walks. Just being a GSD was enough for some to be scared. He was totally aloof when it came to other people and their dogs, yet I always came across somebody who asked that we steer clear of them because they had a fear of black dogs. It didn't matter if my dog paid them no attention, they just had this fear of black dogs. I now have a Belgian Sheepdog (pure black by nature) and I have yet to run into someone with this phobia. I think it's a combo of type of dog (as in large) and being black. One for sure thing is, a black dog's teeth definitely stands out better against their black fur, which would make anyone fearful of dogs in the first place even more so. I also think the idea of them not photographing well, (see Larry's comment) and thus not getting picked over, is true too.

Isn't there a similar phenomena with black cats and low adoption rates??? :(

My black cat is my sweetest girl. Not an aggressive bone in her body.

I think black dogs often fade into the background in shelters, too. The flashier dogs and light-colored dogs just naturally draw the eye more than black dogs do.

I have two black pit bulls. I didn't choose them on account of their color. I find other dogs more aesthetically pleasing, but they were the right dogs at the right times. They are dang hard to photograph though!

Ditto to Ali's comment-

I worked in a shelter for several years and the black dogs and cats were harder to place. We wound up making it a rule that the black animals had to be placed in the highest (for the cats) and/or most directly lit kennels that saw the most traffic so that people would just NOITICE them. It's too easy for dark animals to be passed over when they blend into the shadows. For me, this article was one of those, "Well, duh." sort of ones...I didn't realize that it was such an unknown idea to a lot of people. Whenever we had a mixed litter of pups (some dark, some light) the light colored puppies always got adopted first too.

I had read about this in a rescue blog in 2006, and was able to find a link. This persons idea, which worked then, was to give the animal a colorful name. "Jellybean"

http://journals.aol.com/mandy787/TalesTailsofNewYo...

I love the concept.

Very timely entry! The Mendocino County AC&C has named april black dog month and has dropped the adoption fee by 50% for all black dogs.

Interestingly enough, people around my neck of the woods who keep cats for vermin control at wineries, dairies etc... like dark or black cats, they have a better chance of coyote and other predator avoidance.

I know from a good friend who maintains a small feral colony near a National Forest that light colored cats do not last long. I have to wonder if this is not the reason so many ferals and feral born kittens entering the shelter system are dark

Our family dog when I was a kid was a Belgian shepherd/lab mix, big beautiful black dog. I picked her out at the shelter because I thought she looked like a wolf, but then I was that kind of kid. People definitely were nervous around her on the street, even though she was the biggest marshmallow of a dog you could ever meet. When somebody broke one of our house windows during the night, this dog tried to climb under my bed rather than go bark at the person. But I remember when the movie Wolfen came out, nobody would go near her or the white German shepherd across the street ;-)

From what I've read up in the comments- a few things hit it on the head, in my mind.

First- people want to adopt an animal that 'pops' when they see it- I don't know how better to describe it. Someone said flashy- but I'm not sure if that's the exact word... I guess to people, color and markings add 'CHARACTER' to an animal when they are in the first initial process of adopting him/her. Place a big all black dog next to a Berner, which is predominantly black, and with the tan spots over the eyes and the tan on the cheeks that make them look like they are almost smiling- the Berner is going to be adopted first, hands-down.

Someone else mentioned pictures- yep, you've got that right. My foster babies over the years- taking photos of the colorful bundles wasn't too difficult. Getting a good photo of a black kitten- that took art and I'm no artist! So when it comes to shelter websites as well as rescue sites, black animals are probably passed over simply because there are no good photos of them.

I think superstitions play into it, but that's a minor percent. I really think people look at a black cat/dog as a blank slate and don't see the potential within that sleek glossy coat and within those beautiful eyes...

I'm sure there's a regional issue here. In Miami, black pets among Hispanics are not as popular. In my experience, black cats, in particular, suffer more Halloween atrocities than they do in the Northeast. Black and darker cats are often called "my ugly one" by Hispanic clients. I know of many people who fear them out of superstition. Black dogs suffer the same but not so commonly. I hope I don't sound as if I am stereotyping, but religion, typically the West Indian versions of VooDoo or Santería have specific issues with dark animals. I will also divulge again that I am Cuban American, which gives me some extra insight on this, I think.

I think lighting whether its in a photo or in person does have a lot to do with it. For a dog to get adopted, first the person has to be drawn in by their appearance. Like most things in life, the first impression is everything. Artificial and dim lights do not flatter the darkly colored dog. Black and dark brown dogs need bright or natural lighting to be shown to their full potential. I know I've seen a lot of terrible photos on Petfinder and wondered to myself how they ever expected to place that dog. For photos I recommend taking the dog outside either in full sunlight or late in the day, during what Hollywood calls the "magic hour" that time when the sun is low in the sky but its not quite sunset, and everything glows ... it makes for very flattering photos of just about anything :) Also (and this is true of any animal of any color) kneel down or squat to take the photo on the dog's level, don't stand up and take a picture with the camera angled down ... again, this just does not make for flattering photos.
There may be some underlying bias against dark animals ... but I tend to think that it's just that these animals are not given the chance to put their best paw forward. There doesn't seem to be any problem selling purebred black and dark brown dogs and I think that's because most breeders know how to market their dogs. Shelters should pick up a few tips from them. Nice photos and a little bit of personal information, maybe a little bit of a sales pitch, goes a long way toward finding would be adopters.

Many shelters don't have a "good" camera, or people whose primary skills lie in the area of taking good-quality pictures of subjects that are difficult to photograph well. On the Chinese Crested forum that I read, we recently had a shelter in TX that was pathetically grateful to receive someone's cast-off old, cheap digital camera, just to be able to photograph the dogs at all.

That's a non-obvious donation someone could make to a shelter or rescue--photography services. Take good pictures of the animals, to upload to Petfinder.

If you can commit to a year, I'll bet a lot of shelters would jump at the services. I started to volunteer at our small city shelter when I noticed that there were no cats on the adoption website. Believe me, I am no Amanda Jones. The volunteers who photographs the dogs just left, and there's no replacement yet. (I would do it, but I socialize the kitties as well, and in 3 hours I can barely get to all of them)
I mention the commitment just because we have a lot of volunteers who burn out for one reason or another, or have trouble with the shelter policies, and drop out after a few months. You probably have to go through volunteer training, even if you're experienced with animals, just so you get familiar with the shelter rules. Offering your services is better than training people, because they could leave a few weeks/months afterwards.
Each place varies with how they handle adoption postings. I use my own camera because I crop and fiddle with them at home. I've both e-mailed the photos to a volunteer coordinator or posted them myself. Again, depends on shelter policies.
Approach a couple of your favorite or closest shelter/rescues. Some may be prickly (maybe the director takes the pics!)) and others will be grateful. I truly hope it works out, CofH, because they could use your talents!

I think it's as much about getting a good picture and marketing as anything else. But then, I obviously have no problem with black dogs:

http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/04/19/laund...