I volunteer at the MSPCA here in Boston, and I definitely see some of the things you've mentioned in the slideshow. The age thing, for instance. A few weeks ago there were these two GORGEOUS persian cats, but they were 12 years old, and supposed to be adopted out together. They were there for a few weeks, but finally someone adopted them, I was so happy for them. Very sweet cats, but the age thing turned people off.

I have seen a couple of times some people avoiding the black cats. It's completely ridiculous. I think black cats are lovely, but hey, I'm not superstitious.

I really do love working with the cats every weekend. I'm going to miss it when I go back to school.

Sadie Grace is tereribly people shy and scared of children and just about everything else. She did not exhibit this at the adoption day when she was still with her siblings, but if she had I don't see how she could have been adopted out. I can't even imagine my baby still at the shelter so thank God I picked her!

I have to admit I'd be put off by any special needs, preexisting sickness, or "only kid" labels. The first two I'd have to think long and hard about; the last is the real dealbreaker.

I am suddenly glad I picked one of my boys when I got my cats -- he's black all over. Even if he does insist on crawler in the cubby hole below the monitor and clicking the mouse with his tail flicks.

Besides not being adopted because of superstitions, a lot of the time black colored animals are just kind of invisible in shelters. I never quite understood the phenomenon until I went to recently adopt a new kitten. I barely noticed any of the black animals, and I love black cats and dogs. They do just blend in and are less noticeable than the other colored animals. That's why they sometimes tie bandannas around their necks or have brightly colored colors on them.

I've never understood the black cat/dog bias. The only thing I can figure is that you can't always tell how adorable black animals are because their faces sort of fade into shadow. My little black cat is one of the most beautiful kitties I've ever seen, but you can't really tell unless you're looking right at her at pretty close range.

I rescued that big guy on my avi (Oliver!) from a local shelter just over two years ago. I figured that being black might be a strike against him. He also has deep copper eyes and a bit of a harelip going on. People literally take a step back when they first see his face. And...when he is frightened, as he was being in that noisy shelter, he drools and blows snot bubbles from his nose. I knew instantly that he was my boy!!! Best 60 bucks ever spent!

My husband & I adopted a dog that had been at the shelter for almost a year. He is wonderful & active. That is one of the things that made people not want him, his playfulness. He was insanely happy & energetic when we took him out of his run. He was also not house broken, which we have worked very hard on, but it all worth it. We both entered the shelter looking for many of qualities that make a dog hard to place because we wanted to save a life. He is our only child & will always be. We were able to, in our eyes, have the pick of litter so to speak, since we had no limits. It has been an amazing experience & my husband, who never had nor intended on having a dog, tells me every day that he loves our dog. I do not know how I lived with out him, he is just such a huge part of our lives.

I am currently looking to adopt a new pet. We have also moved to a new country. And during August when the entire country goes on vacation, hundreds of animals are literally abandoned on the streets. I have been searching the websites of shelters. I have no problem adopting an older dog or cat. Or one that has special needs. Or one that is Black color. In fact thats all I have been looking for. If we get a cat, it will be black. Because here, 9 times out of ten, they will be the first to die. A dog with problems, again 8 times out of ten, they will be killed first. My DH only wants a young healthy animal. So I just have to do some extra convincing to adopt a possibly special needs animal. We are going to a shelter on sunday hopefully to look around. Wish me luck.

I adopted an older dog, and she is the sweetest.