Have you heard of this? I hadn't until our family met an unbelievable big black greyhound rescue a few days ago.
It's called "big black dog syndrome" and it refers to the record numbers of big black dogs in animal rescue centers waiting for homes. Apparently there was a lot of media surrounding the phenomenon earlier in the year as most of the news articles from major publications I have just read were dated March or April of '08. Google it. It's even in Wikipedia. And in case you are too lazy to actually click on that link and scroll down for the proper paragraph...this is what it says...
Big black dogs (BBDs) are consistently the hardest dogs to place — even if they’re friendly, well trained, and in perfect health. This may be due to a number of factors, including fear stigma against certain breed types, attraction to ads and the fact that black dogs do not photograph as well as lighter coated ones, and the fact that black dogs are often portrayed as aggressive in film and on television. Organizations have started campaigns to educate the public about BBD syndrome.
So if you are considering rescuing a pet anytime soon I figured you could keep this in mind.
Monday, November 17, 2008
BBD
3 comments:
Read that - was a little surprised. So how 'bout you? Are you ready to be a black dog owner - little black dog. :-)
I've never heard of that! We adopted a BBD almost 5 years ago from a pet rescue league! He's the best dog for our family! It breaks my heart seeing all the animals that need homes!
How did you know I'd be too lazy to click on the link? It's no joke about BBD issues. When I was 15 we went to the shelter to pick out a dog. I liked the black lab but my mother wouldn't have it. Her cousin got attacked by a BBD when they were walking home around age 8. My mother left her cousin and the dog in the snowbank and fled. She might have some guilt in addition to the residual fear. We got a yellow lab named Cesear. He was so aggressive even after we got him fixed that we had to take him back. Should have gotten the black lab.
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