Black bunnies??

[vaderslave]

So, I was reading a petfinder ad about a baby black bunny. They were saying how she’s very very sweet and don’t let her color get in the way, because black bunnies are often overlooked because they are boring? And so this poor little black bunny had to develop a stronger personality so that she’d get noticed too? Is that true, that black bunnies are considered boring colored? I was kinda offended, for Vader’s sake lol, but mostly just curious. I never even thought of color when I picked Vader out.. The breeder had him and a cream colored bunny with brown spots, but I loved Vader at first sight, color wasn’t a factor at all.

[Monkeybun]

Alot of people don’t seem to think black bunnies are as cute, due to them being kind of.. well, dark. People seem to like lighter colors more, or interesting patterns. My Monkey had been overlooked too I wouldnt trade her for the world.

[KytKattin]

I have found that with all animals, the ‘common’ colors, the ones that are overlooked, tend to have some of the best personalities. Though having rescued my fair share of cats, the pretty ones are much easier to place than the plain black/white ones. People like thinking they have something unique. Bay horses, white/black rabbits, black cats, ect. Heck, even bay Mustangs with more white on them, be it a strong, or crooked blaze, tend to be adopted out faster. It takes a special person to realize that a rabbit (or any animal) is unique because of his or her personality, not their color.

It kind of makes me think I’m talking about people being racist…

[vaderslave]

Haha I feel like an oddball now… my mom has a thing for rescuing cats, and we have 8 now (all fixed, vetted, etc). 3 are all black. one is all grey. one is a black tuxedo. one is an orange tabby. one is a tiger striped tuxedo. and one is a white with big grey splotches. I guess most of them are boring to look at, but we’ve encouraged their personalities and so they are all very vibrant happy creatures just bursting with personality lol.

Then again, in my one class, the prof was telling me a story about the one girl in my class, and i didnt know who he was talking about, and he was like oh well she’s the really really dark skinned black girl and I had no idea who he was talking about, cause I honestly just don’t see color as being important lol.

And besides, I love my Vaderbun’s color I think his shiny silky black hair is very handsome lol

[KytKattin]

We have a bunch of plain cats too. Let’s see now, one tuxedo, two black, two grey tigers, two orange tigers, one black and white (like a cow), and the only one that is unusual is a grey tiger with orange spots (like her fur is bleached in random places). All of our kittehs are fixed and vetted too. The only time we had kittens (other than bottlefeeding) was when we found the pregnant mother and she gave birth 2 or 3 days later. She looked ready to pop! That’s how we have the tiger with orange spots, and her two orange babies.

[MimzMum]

Say WHAT?? 0_o
I always go for the dark colored animals. I’ve had more black cats than I can count, and I would love to have a black or grey bunny some day. Honestly, can anyone tell me they’ve seen an UNcute bunny…black or otherwise?
Seems like an odd notion to me. :-/

[Monkeybun]

I think its also cuz they are so dark.. when people think “cute bunny” they think a light colored one, white, or spots, etc.. cute colors, not a dark broody grey or black.

[vaderslave]

monkeybun you have a good point. plus I know a lot of superstitious people who have a thing against black cats; maybe it carries over to all black animals? lol now that I think about it, we also have two large black dogs haha

[Sarita]

Well dog rescuers talk about the big black dog syndrome so I have to imagine this is kind of what they are referring to…big black dogs have a tendency to be harder to adopt according to dog rescuers.

I think many times the problem is that people are more interested in the breed of an animal rather than the actual personality or looks of a rabbit. I think rescues try to keep potential adopters focused on the animal not the breed. Alot of people are curious about the breed of their rabbit for instance and we see posts about that all the time…what breed is my rabbit. The truth is most rabbits are mixes.

As for the case with this rabbit, I think that the rescue is trying to “sell” this rabbit not based on the breed but based on this particular rabbit and I’m not saying that in a negative way, you have to be able to get people to see past the cute picture and the breed thing and focus on the rabbit.

And I love black rabbits too – I love the shiny black fur.

[Sage Cat]

I think it is odd that the Petfinder ad right away tells you that this bunny has a “problem” – he is a boring black color.

I have also heard people who work in shelters say that Black cats are harder to adopt because of the superstitions. I bet y’all are right about those superstitions translating to other animals. I have not heard of “big black dog syndrome”, but I am not surprised.
Personally, I would love someday to have my very own Basement cat. And a big black dog to protect him!

Hey KytKattin – Correct me if I am wrong, aren’t Bay Horses the ones who are brown with black main & tail – I think that is a gorgeous color combo!

[Elrohwen]

Bay horses are my favorite! Though they’re definitely one of the “boring” and “common” colors. I also love tort bunnies and they’re a similar color to bay, even though it’s also an extremely common color.

I can definitely see that people would be less likely to adopt the more common color bunnies (I imagine big REW buns have issues too). Everyone seems to want a lionhead (breedwise) or interesting colors. Even I specifically wanted a broken color bunny – I just like bunnies with white markings on them. Of course, when we pick out a girlfriend for Otto he can pick any girl he wants – I don’t care what color she is!

[kralspace]

I’ve always heard the same thing about black animals, that they get overlooked alot.

When the Waco shelter called me about Toby and I went out to see him, the first thing they said was he had two strikes against him. Besides needing lifetime dental care, he was solid black and going to be hard to adopt out with all the multicolored ones available at the time.

I was going to foster him, but Pringles took one look at him, dumped poor Daisy and insisting on moving in with Toby that day, so another failed foster attempt!

Besides my little agouti, Hershey, I don’t really have a color preference, it’s their personalities that catch you.

[RabbitPam]

“I was going to foster him, but Pringles took one look at him, dumped poor Daisy and insisting on moving in with Toby that day, so another failed foster attempt!”

LOL! Fickle!!!

[TARM]

The problem with placing black animals in homes is that the tools we have to “advertise” them don’t work as well as they do for lighter colored animals. It’s hard to take a picture that captures the features of a black animal. I have a heck of a time getting useable pictures of a bunny named Maxine last week. Patrick, her white husbun, looked fabulous while she looked like a big black blob.

As far as dogs are concerned, not only are they hard to get good pictures of, but people are generally afraid of them for some reason. I’ve actually seen one rescue advertise big black dogs as good deterrants for intruders because no intruder wants to come face to face with an angry, protective dog.

I personally tend to favor dark animals, in particular black and tan dogs. My pibble is fawn but has a black mask, which people did not find attractive but I find to be gorgeous.

In my rescue experience, blonde dogs always get snapped up first even though there were darker dogs with way better personalities. Sort of like REW bunnies, I guess. Not many people show interest in them, they want dark eyes. *shrug*

[vaderslave]

Well here’s proof the big black dogs aren’t scary and are super adorable and pretty, if not prettier than other doggies:

 

 

black lab, australian shepherd, and akita  

 

And I just can’t help it, but he’s just so handsome

[Sonn]

I have all common colored pets Marshmallow is the only one with a pattern. All of them were overlooked or thrown away because of their coloring. If you go to the pound in my town all you will see are white brown and black pets aside from the occasional “lively” colored pet. I seem to be more drawn to the common colors lol.

[TARM]

I have a picture of 4 dogs in the living room of my ex fiancee’s house. 2 rotties, 1 black lab, and a pibble.

[bunnytowne]

I love black cats especially the Bombay.  The vets office has one.    I love solid gray or gray patterns too.   I tend not to like the torts too much.  Except for the tort little lionhead someone posted here.  I love his black torte mask.

REW having harder times finding homes is partially why I chose Ruby.  There were quite a few REW that the person had left.   I would love to get another one so I can take one out at a time and no one would know the difference  lol.

[KytKattin]

*shifty eyes* The only reason I would avoid black dogs is because is loath trimming their nails. I have found that most people don’t actually do that themselves anyways! Though if I was looking for a dog I probably won’t be thinking about that particular part of owning one. As for black cats, I think they are fine. Cat colors I don’t like? Calico. I mean, I love how they look. I have never met one that likes other cats though (with the exception of a male calico I met once, but they are rarer than rare). They might tolerate other cats, but they never seem to bond to them, only people. Though maybe someone has a calico that does love other cats?

Yes, bays are the most common color of horses. I love them too, but a grey/appy/paint/black/ect horse is going to sell/adopt better. The funny thing is that black horses are definitely more sought than white/grey as they don’t get the skin problems, or the rumored hoof problems that the lighter color gets.

That reminds me, my mom’s first rabbit (as an adult) was a black rex boy named Shadow. Nova and Hubble were both thrown away, though color wise they are not exactly common. Eclipse is certainly dark in color, and might look common at first glance. I wonder, for our rabbit rescuers; how long do otter rabbits stay in the shelters?

[Sarita]

KylKatlin, I’m not really sure what an otter rabbit is. I don’t think there is any statistics on how long any certain breed stays in a shelter either. As for any rabbit in a shelter, this really does vary as there are numerous types of shelters out there (kill and no-kill) and I don’t think that any of these shelters keep statistics other than in-take, rescue, adoption, euthanasia.

[vaderslave]

lol Kytkattin, my dog is diabetic so we have to go to the vet kinda often to get her blood sugar checked, and we just have them trim her nails when we go since it’s free and we hate doing it ourselves XD

My three black cats all look like bombays. Except the one has a medium length coat so she’s kinda fluffy and sooo soft and she loves her soft belly to be rubbed lol. The one has yellow eyes, one has green, and the other has brown, copper, and green colored eyes.

Male calico cats are rare because their hair color is linked to the X gender gene, and in order to have a calico, since there’s three colors involved, one X gene has the base color and another color on it, while the other X gene has the third color. That’s why female calicos are common, since they automatically have the two X genes. But male calicos are rare because they have to be XXY in order to be a proper calico, which is rare and why they usually end up infertile. It’s called Klinefelter’s Syndrome in people I like biology lol and found that to be super interesting

And otto rabbits are pretty!! the breeder I got Vader from had a couple otters, a black/blue otter and a chocolate otter I think are the names.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I think it’s terrible that animals have to suffer prejudice about their color. Prejudice against people is bad enough but when an animal is concerned it can be the deciding factor of whether they get a home or not. That’s so sad.

My local SPCA says that big black dogs are always the last to be adopted from the shelter. I think the media and movies has a lot to do with this prejudice

With regards to horses, people are more and more getting in the trend of breeding specifically for colour which results in a lot of unwanted horses. The rare colours are becoming more popular. People want to stand out. My horse is a bay (but a gorgeous bay I must add with a shiny, dappled coat in summer ) Bay is the preferred, standard colour for her breed, anyhow, but I know someone who literally “collects” horses of this breed who are unique colours. Most of them are just lawn ornaments, not trained or used in any way.

Honestly, can anyone tell me they’ve seen an UNcute bunny…black or otherwise

Mimzmum, I have to say a BIG NO! Not in almost 28 years

[jerseygirl]

I read that about black bunnies on petfinder too. First time I’d heard of it. I think their adding to the poster was to encourage people to look past that if they 1st react that way to black. Or to endear them to those like me that immediately thought “right! That’s it! One day I shall adopt a black bunny!”

I happen to think black animals are mystical for some reason.

[rosalie68]

i’m adopting a black bunny in a few weeks and her ad on petfinder says the same thing. the woman that works at the rescue said its sad bc it takes them longer to get adopted. i have 2 white bunnies already that have some markings on them so i figured i should get one that looks a little different lol. black it is!

kim

[achun]

i’m guilty of the prejudice. i originally was going to adopt only one, Odang, and she is cream with brown points (sable point?), and i got her because i liked her coloring the best. they had 5 black buns and i didn’t want them, but i got Boba because she was a runt and had almost died, so i wanted to take care of her. i must say though, after having Boba, black buns are some of my fav’s! i love that they’re “black blobs” and man… Boba is NOT photogenic at all, while Odang usually takes the spotlight… but Boba wins my heart always cuz she’s just so funny (falling off things, licking me, falling, licks, falling, and so on). plus, i love her freaky eye (for some reason, the whites of her eye shows on one eye, so she always looks like she’s just got caught doing something naughty or “freaking out’).

but back to coloring… i learned whatever color or breed of bunny you get, you’ll end up loving them for who they are anyway.

[wendyzski]

Hrm – hadn’t heard that about black buns – we have more trouble around here with people not wanting to adopt big smooshy red-eyed white buns.

I did have a bit of an anti-lop attitude when I went in – I wanted a bunny that “looks like a bunny, not like a puppy!”  I also went in specifically asking about older females - I knew I didn’t want to deal with a baby (who would probably have lots of takers) and figured an older bun would sort of help “train” me.  Well, Pepper picked me out and so much for not getting a lop.  I didn’t know about the “Loppy girls are bossy” until AFTER I adopeted her, of course.

Now after a couple of years with the big round lop head, uppy-eared buns look pointy and nervous to me!

[KytKattin]

Posted By LittlePuffyTail on 01/15/2010 05:52 PM
I think it’s terrible that animals have to suffer prejudice about their color. Prejudice against people is bad enough but when an animal is concerned it can be the deciding factor of whether they get a home or not. That’s so sad.

My local SPCA says that big black dogs are always the last to be adopted from the shelter. I think the media and movies has a lot to do with this prejudice

With regards to horses, people are more and more getting in the trend of breeding specifically for colour which results in a lot of unwanted horses. The rare colours are becoming more popular. People want to stand out. My horse is a bay (but a gorgeous bay I must add with a shiny, dappled coat in summer ) Bay is the preferred, standard colour for her breed, anyhow, but I know someone who literally “collects” horses of this breed who are unique colours. Most of them are just lawn ornaments, not trained or used in any way.

Honestly, can anyone tell me they’ve seen an UNcute bunny…black or otherwise

Mimzmum, I have to say a BIG NO! Not in almost 28 years

 

What a prettyful horse! My sister’s 27 year old arab got those in her last year of life. We only had her for a few years, but in those few years with us she probably looked the best she ever did in all her life. She was at the very least well loved. I had a red bay too, though she always had hives, and thus never looked spectacular.

I know that I might be a sucker for a special color, but at the same time, if I am ever blessed with the chance to own a horse again, the mustang I adopt will be chosen for good comformation, temperment, and size. Color will be the last thing on my mind.

 

As for dogs, I’m getting a greyhound, and I’ll be more interested in how it is with animals (cats/rabbits). I won’t really care what color it is. In fact, I would rather have a darker dog than a white dog, then I don’t have to put sunscreen on it’s nose.

[TARM]

Ky-be careful with a greyhound around the rabbits! They’re sight hounds and that’s what they instinctively chase! I have also seen more than one greyhound chase after small dogs in pet stores. Once I saw one chase a pug, catch it, and literally pin it to the ground with its jaws around the poor puggie’s throat. The pug was screaming in a way I’ve never heard a dog scream before.

They may be 40 mph couch potatoes but the minute they’re visually stimulated you have a whole different dog on your hands.

That said, I’m sure there are greyhounds in foster homes with small animals. I would specifically ask to meet those dogs so you aren’t taken by surprise.

[Sarita]

Oh, good point TARM about the greyhounds. They do seem awfully mellow but they are bred to chase and even though they don’t train them any longer with real rabbits, it’s certainly something to think about. But I also know some people who do own greyhounds and rabbits but I’m not sure how they introduce them and if they ever keep them together unattended. From what I understand as well some greyhounds prefer to be crated when left alone (but I know nothing about dogs and just what I’ve talked with casually with greyhound fosters).

[Elrohwen]

LPT, I’ve definitely noticed the trend towards “colored” horses (like pintos, etc). I grew up riding english in a fairly conservative place, so almost all of the horses were the standard grey, bay, and chestnut. Black horses were actually looked on as special and flashy! Haha. It’s pretty rare to find a true black horse – they’re usually just very dark brown. Plus, everyone reading Black Beauty and the Black Stallion probably made them more special in people’s minds.

In the past few years, even the more conservative English disciplines have started looking for brightly colored horses. Even if it’s a bay or a chestnut, a horse with a lot of “chrome” (white markings on the face and legs) seems to be sold more quickly. People want to stand out in the show ring and I think more and more boring colored horses are being overlooked.

Lucky for me I love boring colored horses and could never see myself with a pinto or brightly colored one 😉 I’ll take a bay any day of the week!

Western disciplines have been going after flashy horses for much longer than English I think. The flashier the better in the Western show ring – Enlglish can be so much more conservative and in the past actually looked down on brightly colored horses.

Strange the way people view colors in animals.

[Elrohwen]

I just thought about a color situation with the last trio of gerbils I had. They were three brothers – a white-ish one with black eyes and dark points, a medium cafe au lait brown with darker points, and a dark chocolate brown with darker points. For some reason, every single person loooved my dark brown boy, even though he didn’t have the greatest personality and wouldn’t let anyone handle him; pretty nippy little guy. The white-ish one was by far the sweetest, but everyone liked him least just based on his color. Funny how that happened.

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