Helping unwanted black dogs

Last week I wrote a post about how black dogs are less likely to get adopted at shelters. The reason is that they are harder to see in dark cages and it's difficult to make out their facial expressions.

Well, I got an e-mail from Kaye Zigrand, a South Bay woman who is also on the board of directors of the Roar Foundation, which maintains the Shambala Preserve.

If you haven't heard of that, it's a place where big cats can go live in comfort. It was started by actress Tippi Hedren. I met her once a couple of years ago when she brought a tiger to a vet in Lawndale for eye surgery. She let met touch the cat's paw (while it was sleeping), which was a truly memorable experience. That paw was bigger than my fist.

This is from their Web site:

Perched on the edge of the Mojave Desert, forty miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, Shambala is a surprising paradise and the only wild animal preserve of its kind in the United States. Since 1972, this unique eighty acre wildlife habitat has provided a haven for endangered exotic big cats. Currently, almost seventy animals live at Shambala, including African lions, Siberian and Bengal tigers, leopards, servals, mountain lions, bobcats, a lynx, and a Florida panther.

 

Anyway, Kaye let me know that there's a group trying to help the black dogs get adopted. And the solution is pretty simple. Pawsoftheplanet.org is trying to provide bright yellow bandans for every black dogt in every shelter. It's called the "Out of the Cage and Into Your Heart Campaign."

All they need is a little money. Visit their Web site for more information.

Thanks for the heads up, Kaye!