Black dog discrimination
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
When I picked out Ebony, I didn’t really understand that I was doing something to reverse Black dog discrimination. I picked her for several reasons, and one of the important reasons was the fact that she was black. Being disabled, price was a factor and the black goldendoodles were less expensive. MaryAnn at Starview Kennels explained that the demand wasn’t as high, so she discounted the black puppies. The black goldendoodles were hundreds of dollars cheaper than the golden ones. Didn’t make sense to me, she was cute as a button and I wanted black to contrast with my golden guy at home.
Part of the reason that I named her Ebony was the whole play on a black Goldendoodle. Ebony is constantly being misidentified as a Portuguese Water Dog or a Labradoodle. When I correct people and say that she is a GOLDENdoodle, they are surprised. One customer in Home Depot even argued with me and told me it was impossible to have a black Goldendoodle and that if I was too stupid to know what kind of dog I really had, that I had no business owning her! Although not as rude as that one customer, I have had many strangers question me as to why in the world would I want a black goldendoodle. I have been shrugging it off but today I came across a couple of articles on black dog discrimination that really opened my eyes to the severity of this problem.
Kim Intino, the director of animal sheltering issues for the Humane Society of the United States states that black dogs stay the longest in shelters and are the hardest to adopt out. Madeline Bernstein, the president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Los Angeles agrees. “They’re the hardest to adopt out, they’re in the shelters the longest and therefore, they’re most likely to be euthanized if nothing happens.” There can be a number of factors contributing to Black Dog Syndrome, including superstition, visibility, folklore and the stigma attached to some breeds like Rottweillers.
Black Pearls of the Dog World is a web site devoted to black dogs, promoting their rescue and adoption. This web site addresses some of the misconceptions about black dogs, highlights black dogs awaiting adoption and shares success stories. If you are considering adopting a dog to train as your service dog, I know lots of people do, please consider checking out Black Pearls. Also check out Homeward Bound, a rescue organization for Golden retrievers AND Black golden retriever mixes.
