Black Dog Discrimination

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23472518/

This is an interesting article about how dogs with thick, dark black coats usually take longer to get adopted at shelters. Apparently, the phenomenon is commonplace enough to have earned its own name: "black dog syndrome."

According to one quote in the article, "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."

But what are the reasons?? Could it be a subconscious thing (like the fear of black cats?). Could it be that in some black dogs (the black pug comes to mind) that it's harder to see the dog's true features? Is it because they just look scarier?

Other theories include:
-Some people turn in their black dogs to the shelters because they've gotten new furniture and don't like the dark fur their pet sheds.
-their black coats can make them invisible in poorly lit kennels.
-Same problem happens with amateur photos on shelters' Web sites, which is how many people find the dog they intend to adopt.
-If people see a lot of black dogs at a shelter, they might think there is something wrong with the dogs.

I'm curious to hear from people with black dogs. Even a lot of the pet stores I go to don't offer a lot of black dogs for sale, so this is quite an interesting topic of discussion.