Pet Overpopulation

We’re getting ready to launch year five of HRC’s Animal Tracker annual survey of the public opinions and behavior of adults in the U.S. This year’s survey, which will field in March, addresses opinions toward various social movements, who people trust to provide information about animal welfare, opinions about the adequacy of animal protection laws, attitudes toward the importance of animal welfare in various situations, and the frequency with which people discuss animal protection issues. We asked the exact same questions in 2008 and 2009 and will be able to analyze changes over time. When the results are available in April, we’ll also refresh the Animal Tracker graphing tool so that the results will be easy to access and interpret.

In this final installment of the Big Black Dog Syndrome blog series, the ASPCA's Meet Your Match program will be discussed as it relates to helping re-home black dogs and cats.The biggest problem thwarting black dog and cat adoptions is a lack of interest in their website photograph (potential adopters are not drawn to the animal), and that potential adopters walk right by black animals in the kennel because they blend into the background. The use of the Meet Your Match program to guide potential adopters toward an animal that suits their lifestyle and personality, also has the ability to get potential adopters to stop and meet the black dogs and cats available for adoption - thereby increasing the chances that those black dogs and cats will be adopted.

Do you know a small organization doing great work for animals? If so, please make sure they hear about HRC's Grassroots Research Fund, the deadline for which is now just one month away (January 1st). The group(s) we select will receive pro bono research projects of up to $5,000 to help them evaluate and improve their work and help more animals. Also, any donations to HRC during the month of December will be earmarked for the Grassroots Research Fund so that we can help even more small groups in 2012. And be sure to check out our two guest blogs from the past month covering the topics of Big Black Dog syndrome and vegetarian/vegan recidivism. Thank you for reading!

In my last article about Big Black Dog Syndrome, I detailed tactics for re-homing black dogs and cats during Halloween.  The color-based discrimination that black dogs and cats face is so deeply engrained within US culture that it is acted upon unconsciously, and is an unalterable aspect of our culture.  However, through education, potential adopters can be made aware of their unintentional biases, increasing the chances that potential adopters will adopt a black dog or cat.  Because education is the key to thwarting the negative effects of Big Black Dog (BBD) Syndrome, this article will explore how even from early childhood, concepts of color – in this case, the color black – are engrained within our social memory.