Sad Reality

[Cloud]

I heard one of Humane Society's volunteer explain to the lady with the litter of puppies that the Society was filled with puppies and that these puppies, being black, would immediately be put to sleep. Black puppies, she explained, had little chance of being adopted.

the news story states that black puppies are not adoptable; I am just wondering why. I don't see anything wrong with black dogs, or cats for that matter.

[icileparadise]

You're right. Neither do I. Black dogs, cats, horses are beautiful. Interesting.

[Cloud]

a sampling:

http://www.glendalehumane.org/blackdog.html

http://www.blackpearldogs.com/

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayof...g.syndrome.ap/

I was not aware of this. Apparently, black dogs and cats are consistently less adoptable.

[skysidhe]

Maybe it's a phoney ID. Someones sock puppet?

[Cicero]

Originally Posted by skysidhe

Maybe it's a phoney ID. Someones sock puppet?

uuuh. What? Who's phoney...ID? Huh?

[skysidhe]

@ icileparadise.......do we know you by another name? I mean do you log in here under another name?

Originally Posted by icileparadise

I don't want to upset anyone but it intrigues me how us humans feel so compassionatly for pets when we are so quiet and dignified about human troubles and am not speaking about human deaths. We seem to steel ourselves about the courage of humans but when it come to little or big animals we lose it. Now Cicero you are a woman of life bear with me I just wish to know how and why we humans make this disitinction. For example I was with my infant daughter in a park one day when she had to really take a crap and I held her under a tree with broken ground under it to do it and some people said to us to go to a toilet or use a diaper. I said to them coz they had a dog like your dog pisses and craps in a public toilet instead of all over the place.

We look at animals differently. That's all I'm saying. I have a blind woman lives near me and her Guide Dog is astonishing; it crosses a really busy road for her and acts like a human in every caring sense. I am astonished how a dog can be so trained in a way that we can't. It's never distracted even by other dogs. Fascinating.

*reads your last post* nevermind...it's not important.I don't want to know.

[icileparadise]

No why are you suspicious? It's me. Just this pet/animal thing intigues me. I eat meat but am disgusted at wholesalers abbottoirs who would not be. We treat animals in a different way to humans that all I'm exploring here. What do you mean another name Sky? I am not another name. See how contentious this animal thing can become. We eat them. It's how we treat them that is the point.

[skysidhe]

okie dokie

[Trilby]

Look, ya'll---ici is just asking why we seem to have more compassion for animals than people sometimes. To me, this is an easy question. Animals are so innocent...they don't try to manipulate or do you wrong and they are completely dependant upon us (well, I'm talking pets here, of course) so it makes it EASIER to love them.

I am not stoic in the face of anyone's death or illness and I doubt I could stand at a funereal and be stoic, brave or emotionless. thankfully, I"ve only had to do that once in my life and I did indeed cry very much.

[skysidhe]

Originally Posted by Brianna

Look, ya'll---ici is just asking why we seem to have more compassion for animals than people sometimes.

My response is: It must be sunny out where Brianna lives today.

[Sundae]

I'd like to speak up for Icile, in case anyone is still under the troll/ sock puppet delusion - I've known him for a few months and he is a genuine case.

And I concur with some of his questions. Anyone who knows me will know this isn't a new position for me. Personally I've cried over animal's deaths. And I mourned the loss of my cats far more than my husband (not death - I walked out on all three of them but I'd have taken the cats if it was fair).

I know when my babbas die I will mourn them more sincerely than any animal yet, just because they give so much back. But never, never, NEVER more than I've hurt over lovers, friends betrayal, the fear I have of a family member dying.

I'm just not that sentimental about animals. I'll look after them to the best of my ability. But they are animals. There seems to be a line drawn in my mind. For example it distresses me when I read people inciting violence against someone who was cruel to animals. I wouldn't call anyone deliberately cruel a friend, but I find it harder to condone deliberate harm to another human being. Maybe I'm just a hard bitch.

[Trilby]

a hard bitch?

Oh, my! NOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo! You're the sweetest!

[sweetwater]

I'm astonished that the difficulty of adopting black dogs has been noticed by others and the reasons I felt contributed to it, and more, were so well expressed in the links posted by Cloud. When litters of black or mostly black pups would come in I'd try to get them split up (improved their chances) or reduced in number. Personally, if I had to pick a yellow or black Labrador and all else was equal, I'd go with yellow - my reason is that I invest a lot in my pets both verbally and non-verbally. Black fur around dark eyes makes it harder to enjoy the marvelous expression our canine friends transmit. But mostly it's because dark fur shows up more on the carpet!

[sweetwater]

In addition to Big Black Dog Syndrome there is Small White Dog Syndrome. Really. But it's a problem with the dog, not the humans who are looking at it.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Black fur around dark eyes makes it harder to enjoy the marvelous expression our canine friends transmit.

And almost impossible to take good pictures of.