IStock Photo 8137685 © jean frooms

Can a dog be racist?

Recently, Andrew Owens, a handyman who worked at Valley Oil in Yonkers, New York, attacked Jenna, a four-year-old German Shepherd, who was guarding the property. Owens, who is black, has admitted to slashing the dog across her face, taking out one eye. He claims the dog had bitten him previously, and there have been reports that Owens, who has been charged with aggravated assault, was “egging on” the dog right before the stabbing.

Shortly after the assault, the dog’s owner, Paul Tocco, was quoted by a local reporter as having said, “The dog reacts to black people, Hispanics, anyone who is not white. She always barked at him.” The dog was quickly branded a racist, even though her owner and others have subsequently come to her defense, including a Hispanic man who once helped to care for Jenna.

Stories and symbols of alleged canine racism are not hard to find. There are white people who swear their dogs were born with an antipathy to anyone with dark skin. There are the horrific images of snarling dogs threatening black school children during the Civil Rights battles in the South, and the pictures—from Nazi Germany to white-controlled South Africa to the military prison at Guantanamo—of dogs being employed against darker skinned prisoners by sadistic guards.

Suspicions that some dogs, like some people, make judgments on the basis of skin color are so common they have become a part of pop culture. The TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm even includes an episode about a friendly dog who turns nasty when confronted with black people.

Professor Nicholas Dodman of Tufts University's School of Veterinary Medicine, asked about the issue by Slate Magazine, responded, "Any behavioralist knows that dogs don't like subsets of people." However, Dobson goes on to point out that dogs who demonstrate an aversion to any subset of individuals—whether it is people who have limps, wear hats, have beards, are young, old, fat, male, or female—usually were either not exposed to that subset early in life and therefore developed a fear or wariness, or had a bad experience which was generalized.

Then there are dogs that are urged by their owners to act aggressively towards people of a different color because of prejudice on the owner’s part. And therein lies the bigger truth: when it comes to animals and racism, humans are the ones who can’t get past color. That’s true whether we are talking about skin or fur…

Shelter owners call it "black dog” and “black cat” syndrome: dark-coated animals that end up in shelters are much less likely to be adopted—and thus much more likely to be euthanized—than lighter-colored animals (and the grim odds are already 1 in 2 that any dog or cat that enters a shelter in a year will be killed).

There are all sorts of explanations why. Some people point to superstitions about black cats bringing bad luck and “the black dog” being a metaphor for depression. Black animals can appear older than they are, and their features often do not photograph well, hurting their chances of standing out on sites like Petfinder. And, locked in a cage in a poorly-lit shelter, black dogs and cats fade into the background compared to spotted, calico, white, golden, orange, or tan ones.

When it comes to dogs, light-versus-dark is so ingrained in human consciousness it shows up on television and in the movies: think of friendly screen dogs: Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Scooby Doo, Old Yeller, Marley, Skip, Wishbone, Beethoven, the Homeward Bound dogs, the Eight Below dogs, the Shaggy Dog. For what it's worth, there isn't an ebony coat among them.

Other than in cartoons—there's at least one friendly black dog in both Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians—black dogs on-screen tend to be of the red-eyed, tooth-baring variety. And it doesn't help that light-colored dogs aren't usually chosen to portray rabid hellhounds and junkyard maulers.

Luckily for dark-coated puppies and kittens, there are rescue volunteers devoted to their cause. The Black Dog Rescue Project is just one of many organizations devoted to raising public awareness of the problem, and to raising the profile of adoptable black dogs through walks that allow the public to see the animals in the flesh. Black Cat Rescue is dedicated to finding homes for all kinds of cats, with a special emphasis on helping hard-to-place black cats. Professional photographers are volunteering their services to capture the beauty and personality of darker animals. And canny shelter owners often deck black dogs out with colorful neckerchiefs and turn on the bright lights.

Beyond a few sales tricks, though, it is simply up to humans to not discriminate by coat color. After all, we are the ones who really have a thing about color.

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