Black Dogs Need Homes
Black Dogs Are Fur Kids, Too
Benny, a happy black Labrador Retreiver, waits with many other black dogs to be adopted from the Ashtabula Protective League.
It's a problem all across the country. People don't want to adopt plain black dogs. They sit in shelters longer, they are put to sleep sooner, and, when a dog is accused of bad behavior, people tend to blame a black dog. There are even myths and legends about scary black dogs. They create more fear in people than a light-colored dog. But they are just as sweet, loving and playful as any other dog. The story below describes the phenomenon and what one shelter is trying to do to help get their black dogs adopted. The next time you think about adding a puppy or dog to your family, please consider a black dog who needs a home.
From The Ashtabula (Ohio) Star Beacon
Black Dogs Need Homes
Margie Trax Page
Published June 25, 2007 12:00 am - KINGSVILLE - Noah and Wylie share everything. These happy dogs are buddies and littermates, friends to the end. They even share a water dish. But Noah, Wylie and 58 other dogs at the Animal Protective League shelter also share the same problem: They are just plain black dogs.
The shelter houses 157 dogs of all sizes, colors and breeds, but as potential dog owners stroll down the long, cage-lined aisles at the shelter, they pass over the black dogs, shelter manager Mike Riffe said. "No one knows why people pass up the black dogs. I mean, people will come in here looking for a black Labrador and leave with a spotted dog. The black dogs just get passed over," he said.
Shelters across the nation report the phenomenon known as "Black Dog Syndrome," where lighter colored dogs find homes faster than their darker counterparts. Some animal rescue organizations say turning a black dog into a kill shelter is a death sentence for dogs, Riffe said.
"Black dogs just get literally lost in the shadows. There is a sea of dogs to choose from, in this shelter and in others, and the black dogs just blend in and are passed over," Riffe said.
Even black puppies are difficult to place.
"Black puppies are the last in their litter to find a home. A lot of the time they just grow up here in the shelter. It's sad," Riffe said.
Hoping to find homes for the shelter's 60 plain black dogs, many Labrador mixes, the APL board members and staff held a Black Dog Sale in June. Only three black dogs were adopted.
"It is disappointing. These black dogs are every bit as fun and friendly and adoptable as a lighter colored dog," Riffe said. "They are happy, happy dogs that would make wonderful pets and even lowering their adoption fee isn't helping us place them with loving homes," he said.
The APL has extended the Black Dog Sale through July in hopes people will come to the shelter looking for the perfect black canine companion.
All 60 of the shelter's predominantly black dogs (70 percent black fur) that are six months old or older are now $50 each.
"There is a consensus among the shelter workers that we have to find these dogs homes," Riffe said.
While Noah and Wylie wait to be plucked from the shadows of their shelter cages, they wait in large company. Hope, Freedom, Woofie, Kazoo, Harbor, Chatter, Benny, Pamela, Maybeline, Sampson, Rhonda, Hunter, Frank, Butler, Rackett, Jamie and Reese are all black dogs without homes.
EMPLOYEES OF the Ashtabula Animal Protective League hold seven black dogs that would love to find a home. (From left) Theresa Davies, feline caregiver; Scott Arkkelin, assistant animal manager; Sue Druktenis, animal manager; and Mike Riffe, director, hope to find homes for many of the black dogs that are living at the animal shelter in Kingsville Township.
WARREN DILLAWAY / The Star Beacon
"We can only hope people will come through these shelter doors with an eye for a black dog," Riffe said.
Cats of all colors are also on sale. All full-grown cats are $100 for two, a savings of $40 off the regular adoption fee.
The APL shelter, located at 5970 Green Road, is open Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12:30 to 4 p.m. and Tuesdays from 12:30 to 6 p.m. The shelter is closed Wednesdays.
The APL Mall Adoption Center is open at the Ashtabula Mall every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information on the shelter or a specific animal, call (440) 224-1222 or visit http://ashtabulaapl.petfinder.org.
