1/7/2009

by Todd Flory
Salina Journal

Kaylee laid contentedly on the floor of the Salina Animal Shelter Wednesday morning. The 10-year-old black lab has been at the shelter waiting to be adopted since New Year’s Eve. She was brought in by her owner’s neighbor after she was neglected and abandoned.
Recently, a yellow lab was adopted the same day it was received by the shelter. Rose Base, Salina Animal Shelter coordinator, said that black dogs and cats are more difficult to find homes for than animals that are other colors or are multi-colored.
“With cats, it’s the superstitious thing,” Base said, noting that many people believe that black cats are bad luck and have negative associations with them regarding Halloween. “I know a lot of people with black cats who have good luck.”
One very common dog, Base said, is the black lab, which they see more of than yellow or chocolate labs.
“We see more black labs and lab mixes than we do black cats,” she said.
While black dogs are generally less popular, Base said, the problem is compounded since there are more large breeds of black dogs than smaller breeds of black dogs. Larger breeds of dogs have more puppies in a litter than smaller breeds, and larger litters mean more animals at the shelter.
Becky Hibner, Sylvan Grove, recently adopted a 1-year-old black lab mix named Otis from the Salina Animal Shelter.
“I was kind of wanting a lab. When you walk in, it’s whatever dog really needs someone,” Hibner said.
She had a rottweiler before, but had to get rid of it since Sylvan Grove does not allow that breed of dog. When she was looking around the animal shelter for a dog, Hibner said that she didn’t have a specific color in mind. Rather, she looked for a dog that she thought would be a good fit for her.
“His energy ... he needed a home. He just kind of called to me,” Hibner said. “I’m actually surprised they had trouble getting rid of them. I didn’t know that.”
It is not just the Salina Animal Shelter that has trouble adopting out black dogs and cats, Base said. The Rescue Waggin’, which collects extra dogs from various shelters to be taken back to Colorado for adoption, has not taken some black dogs because it already has too many.
“It’s just kind of an unfair thing,” Base said.
Different people have specific tastes when it comes to dogs and cats, Base said, which can include size, age, breed, energy level, as well as color. She hopes that someone will come and adopt an older, black dog like Kaylee.
“There’s some people who come in here and look beyond all that,” Base said of a dog’s color, age and size. “And I really appreciate them.”