My friend, Katie, wrote up a great paragraph from the dog's perspective about being a big, black dog. She knows all too well about the plight of the big, black dog because she is one of the countless, dedicated volunteers who spends hours each week helping dogs find their perfect families. My favorite thing about Katie is her sense of humor. If you ever meet her, she'll crack you up. Anyway, she likes to pick a "Project Dog," who she'll sit with in the lobby or outdoors to tell anyone who crosses their path about that particular dog. Katie is partial to black dogs because she has seen the way they get passed over for the other homeless dogs. Recently, she tried to organize a "lock-in/sit-in" for Wayside until we got all the dogs adopted. Sadly, her idea was shot down by the powers that be! I'm hoping that one day it will happen.
Big, black dogs have the most difficult time finding homes. When I tell people this, they are always surprised to hear it, but it is true. Walk through the aisles of homeless dogs in your local animal shelter; I'm betting the good majority of them are black. Sad, but true! I'd like to share the short paragraph Katie wrote about BBDS (Big Black Dog Syndrome)! Enjoy!
"I, like many of the dogs in shelters across the country, have what I hear people refer to as "Big Black Dog Syndrome." Have you heard of it?
BBD Syndrome describes the very real statistic that big black dogs like me have the hardest time and are the last to be adopted out of a shelter. For whatever the reason, whether it's because we don't photograph as well, or we look spooky, or our black color is just too monotone, people just pass us by. Our fluffier, lighter colored dog friends sometimes just fly out the door with new adopters, but as BBD’s, we are left to wait and wait for someone to come for us. Truly, most people don’t even stop to look at us in our kennels. It is so depressing for us - because if you would only stop to look, you would see how truly beautiful we really are."
So find a big, black dog and give him/her some love. But only if you ask the owner and the dog first. We want you to be safe too, you know.
