B.B.D.'s. . . .

Who knew?

B.B.D.'s - "Big Black Dogs" - are discriminated against in animal shelters, pet stores, and by every day people, most of whom seem to prefer lighter-colored animals. They are the least likely to be adopted, and the most likely to be euthanized. No, I am not making this up.

You may read about it here (commentary in Bark Magazine) and here (a website devoted to "making a difference, one black dog at a time).

The reasons are varied: superstition, fear, appearance (insofar as they can be harder to photograph and may not stand out as much), and even physicality, in that, for example, lighter colored sled dogs are said not to overheat as quickly as do black ones. . . . (try any of those excuses in the human realm!)

Well then, there you have it. More evidence of color discrimination. Truth be told, though, as with the squirrels, I prefer black dogs. And we've always had black cats. . . . (ok - for the last two-thirds of my life, anyway).

Then again, with me it's usually a matter of choosing what's not popular. My biggest nightmare is when something I've adopted becomes the rage. All I can do is hope it will pass quickly. . . .

But I wonder why no one talks about this color discrimination? I hate to say it, but I think it's a p.c. thing: not wanting to be accused of reducing the question of human racial discrimination to the level of animals. But then what about the animal rights activists? They're looking to elevate these kinds of questions. I would think they'd be all over this one.

[ok, ok. . . . I can't resist: "I would think they could really sink their teeth into this one."]