Black is beautiful

zohdee

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This may be the wrong forum for this...but while researching my new doggie I came across this:

Once upon a time, there were many homeless Black Danes in Rescue, and for some reason they found it hard to be adopted. People would call and e-mail about the other Danes, but seldom about the black ones.

“Why is it that people do not want Black Danes?†asked the black puppy. “I thought people wanted puppies even if they were black!â€

“Well,†said the older and wiser black Dane, “blacks are common, and few people want a common color!â€

“I am NOT common,†said the black puppy. “I resent being called common! I am unique! My Grandma told me I was. She told me that we all are special and unique in our own way!â€

“Last week your sister was shown and adopted,†said the old Dane. “She is a merle, not a black, and I hate to be cruel, but the people did not even ask to see you, did they?â€

The heartbroken puppy hung his head. “No,†he replied. “But donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t people know that looks are only skin deep? I am gorgeous on the inside, and I have a huge heart, and I am just looking for a family that can love me as much as I will love them. I guess I will grow old at the Rescue just like so many of the other black Danes that have lived here all their lives.â€

“Wait a minute,†piped up a young black male. “I am very handsome, and I have cropped ears. I should be very adoptable!â€

“Yes, young man,†said the older black Dane. “You are more adoptable than the ones with natural ears, but look at the Fawn boy with cropped ears, or even the Harlequin with natural ears. People always want them, and they will have a home months, or maybe years, before you have a home! Be thankful that you are handsome and have cropped ears that stand. Feel sorry for the black Danes that had their ears cropped and they do not stand, or the ones that have injured their tails and had to have them docked. NO ONE ever wants them! Just look around at the ones who have been waiting for homes month after month after month.â€

The older, wiser black Dane continued, “You may not want to believe me, but I have lived here all my life. I am now old and wise, and I have faced the reality that people do not want us because we are black. What a sad world it is when people think that color, size, or even cropped ears matter. What really matters is what is in our hearts, and if people would just give us a chance, they would find that we are just as good as the other Danes at Rescue!

What is really sad is that there are breeders out there producing more of us. And people will buy them! They will pay a lot more money to get that cute little puppy. Too soon, that puppy ends up here in Rescue with the rest of us. After all, who wants a plain old black Dane? I dread the look on their faces when their owners DUMP them. As you can see, the other colors seldom are dumped. Why do breeders keep breeding when there are so many homeless Danes already? Why? Why? Why? I thank God every day that the wonderful people at Rescue do not care about color, age, or what our ears look like. They just care that we are homeless and need to be loved and cared for. Maybe someday people will see us through the eyes of the people at Rescue--see us for what we really are--Great Danes, the gentle giants of the dog world!â€


I am kind of wondering why all the black animals are passed by. What I posted made me cry.
 

sneakymom

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Awwww

When our other black kitty Mistoflees died, I really didn't want another cat. Especially not another BLACK cat. Because it would remind me too much of him. However, we wound up adopting Holly- who is black b/c my friend resuced a mama who had kittens and she wanted them to go to good homes.

And you know what- I really don't mind having another black cat. She is NOTHING like the other kitty we had. So much personality in an 11lb cat


Even when she eats 14 inches of string and I have to watch the poop to make sure it all comes out


Cheryl
 

feralvr

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It is true about black coat colors and even more so for cats. I volunteer at a wonderful shelter and try to show adopters the sweet loving black cats in our cat room. They always get this look on their face that says "ummm No". They try to be nice about it but some people make comments like "oh I won't own a black cat, or no too plain looking, or I am superstitious in which I reply "actually it is known that black cats bring good luck to our homes". It makes me very very sad when they leave with that more colorful cat and the sweet black cat looks at me as to say "Why? What is wrong with me?". And the really bummer of it all is that the cat the people took home wasn't half as sweet and affectionate as the black kitty still waiting at the shelter.

I personally love the black cats. They are strikingly beautiful with their stunning eyes that stand out so strongly against that black sleek coat. I just trapped a family of all black cats and tamed the kittens. Two of the black girls are at the shelter and I worry that they will be overlooked due to their color and that they are so scared as well. So they have two major strikes against them.
 

strange_wings

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My childhood Great Dane was black. The only downside of her coat color is that she'd heat up pretty quickly in the summer. But that gave us an excuse to play with the water hose.


As for cat coat color … I never pick anything, its a matter of whoever comes my way needing a home. I currently have two black cats.

In a dog personality/temperament and intelligence of the individual dog is far more important than the color. I've had pits, and let me tell you this - you don't want to pick a headstrong game dog, especially not with cats.

The breeder we used to get our pits from had a little solid black amstaff that was his pride and joy - the dog won shows both for his looks and pulling ability.
 

capt_jordi

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haha I had 2 black danes growing up. One was my moms and her name was Santana and the other was my grandfathers named Big Dog (so original huh?
)

I cant say that I would say no to a dog based only on the color of its coat! Personality means everything to me! Although there are breeds that I would rather have one coat than another but thats not a huge deal! And some breeds I like that only come in certain colors. But I wouldnt turn down the sweetest puppy because it was black!
 

snp81

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I personally like Black animals.


My remaining cat, Choripan is black & so was his brother Lears. BEfore that we had Petrolio, who was also black. We've also had as outside cats a Tux & another black guy.

Come to think of it, I mainly like black cats.
 

vampcow

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I love black cats and I adore black and white animals....both my kitties are black and white...my tux cat moo is literally the sweetest cat I have ever met. My sister has an all black kitty who is just an awesome cat.
 

kailie

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I too, don't understand why black animals are always passed up.
It is true though, every black foster I have ever had has spent with longest amount of time with me. Right now we have Arrow, a super playful, precious fluffy black kitten, and NO one has shown any interest in him. Breaks my heart.
 

Ms. Freya

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I will never understand this either. My parents have 3 Labs - two are rescues and all of them are Black or mostly black. Their oldest rescue, Lucy, as actually returned to the rescue once (she was returned a total of 3 times in her life) because the wife decided that black was a boring colour and she didn't want a boring looking dog.


It breaks my heart because they're beautiful, gentle dogs...
 

c1atsite

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Someone who is not a cat expert or even an animal expert said Penny's color is not popular
(eyeroll) He said this on the fly to make chit chat I think. Penny is a black mackerel tabby so she's 95 percent black and I consider her my black cat. I think she's super pretty and my first kitty so she's very very special to me. I think all-black cats are pretty although I've only seen a few in real life.
 

bastetservant

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I also volunteer at a good shelter - one that does not euthanize adoptable animals. And their definition of "adoptable" is very broad. Some pretty sick and disabled animals live there for years - as well as some pretty cranky ones. But some wonderful souls do come along, eventually and adopt some of the kitties with health issues. Recently, Sam who is blind and Calikono who is FIV+ went home.

But what is continuously discouraging and even depressing to me is the number of black cats that are passed over. Right now there are at least 15 black kittens aged 4-6 months (maybe more). They are about the only kittens there right now. They seldom get out of their cages. Some have been in these cages now since they were 8 weeks old.

And then there are all the adult black cats. At least 10 are "on the floor" - meaning roaming free. And some have been there 3 or more years. And then there are the adult cats in cages who may wait 2 years or more for their chance to be on the floor. There are about 15-20 more of them. And if they are on a special diet, they never will be let out. They will either be adopted, some day, or spend their lives in a cage.

I try to give all the black cats, especially the adults in the cages, attention every time I go. I take many of them out and give them a few minutes in a different (but small) room or take them to the cat trees by the window. But it is overwhelming. I've adopted 3 black cats from there in the last 3.25 years. And I only have the 2 long-haired blue cats I have because they had behavior/personality problems that kept them from being adopted. Otherwise, I'd have more black cats. It just kills me that I can't really handle any more cats.

I think black cats are especially beautiful. I always think of the statues of the Egyptian cat goddess (Bastet) as being a black cat (though she was probably actually striped). I think of them as exotic, glamorous, mysterious, and magical.

So, no I don't understand why so many people are against them (and black dogs, too). And that the black color is genetically dominant, well, it is just too unjust.

I'm going to go cry now.

Robin
 

tigganat

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How can you not want a black cat? They are beautiful, cute and just great! They are amazing pelt color's. Why would someone not choose a black cat??
 
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zohdee

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Robin, your post makes me so sad. The shelter near me is full of black cats and kittens. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would just pass up a sweet kitty or doggie just because of a coat color.
 

bastetservant

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I don't mean to make anyone sad. But the reality for black animals is sad. It's unjust and not understandable. But that is how it is, and I thank you for drawing attention to the issue. TCS members should be aware of this.

Personally, I like all cats. I can truely say I never met a cat I didn't like. Even the hostile ones I've met. Even the ones who hissed at me and clawed me until I bled. Even the dull ones (though not many of those ). But the plight of black cats in particular has become a cause for me. And I don't know how to help them other than to draw attention to their particular suffering.

Robin
 

feralvr

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bastetservant;3009134 said:
I also volunteer at a good shelter - one that does not euthanize adoptable animals. And their definition of "adoptable" is very broad. Some pretty sick and disabled animals live there for years - as well as some pretty cranky ones. But some wonderful souls do come along, eventually and adopt some of the kitties with health issues. Recently, Sam who is blind and Calikono who is FIV+ went home.

But what is continuously discouraging and even depressing to me is the number of black cats that are passed over. Right now there are at least 15 black kittens aged 4-6 months (maybe more). They are about the only kittens there right now. They seldom get out of their cages. Some have been in these cages now since they were 8 weeks old.

And then there are all the adult black cats. At least 10 are "on the floor" - meaning roaming free. And some have been there 3 or more years. And then there are the adult cats in cages who may wait 2 years or more for their chance to be on the floor. There are about 15-20 more of them. And if they are on a special diet, they never will be let out. They will either be adopted, some day, or spend their lives in a cage.

I try to give all the black cats, especially the adults in the cages, attention every time I go. I take many of them out and give them a few minutes in a different (but small) room or take them to the cat trees by the window. But it is overwhelming. I've adopted 3 black cats from there in the last 3.25 years. And I only have the 2 long-haired blue cats I have because they had behavior/personality problems that kept them from being adopted. Otherwise, I'd have more black cats. It just kills me that I can't really handle any more cats.

I think black cats are especially beautiful. I always think of the statues of the Egyptian cat goddess (Bastet) as being a black cat (though she was probably actually striped). I think of them as exotic, glamorous, mysterious, and magical.

So, no I don't understand why so many people are against them (and black dogs, too). And that the black color is genetically dominant, well, it is just too unjust.

I'm going to go cry now.

Robin[/QUOT



I couldn't agree more with you, Robin
. I, also, volunteer, almost daily at a local shelter and see the same exact thing going on. I also love the black cats. There is no other cat color that shows the GORGEOUS eyes so clearly that cat's have. They are stunningly beautiful. One of the feral barn cats I rescued and rehomed had the most stunning yellow eyes I have ever seen. I wish more people would bypass the coat color and just look into the eyes of the cat. After all, the eyes tell all.......
 

cococat

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My favorite breed of dog comes in black and I adore the classic black (so beautiful!)
In my breed of dog the classic black is very popular. However, in other breeds like Labs and also in cats black seems to be less desirable according to the public's taste.
 

trouts mom

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That makes me want to cry. I love great danes, and I just saw one today at the humane society. A two year old big black boy named Albert, I wanted to bring him home
 
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