One of the first dogs encountered when we started volunteering was a black lab named “Jojo”. Sadly, we met lots of dogs while Jojo stayed at the shelter, as he was big, black, and seemingly unremarkable to the naked eye.

Most of the dogs that were adopted during Jojo’s stay had some sort of physical characteristic that gave them an edge to adopters. These characteristics ranged from different colorations to different statures, odd ears, colorful eyes, or an interesting bark. Unfortunately for Jojo, he was big, black, and in most respects a “normal”, perhaps “plain” looking dog.

What visitors failed to see from behind the bars of the pen, was extremely apparent to us volunteers. Jojo was one of the few dogs to be kenneled who’d sit as soon as you got close with his leash, awaiting departure for a walk. He worked hard for his treats, loved outings to the beach, and was the best “bear hugger” to be known. Not to say he was perfect, he needed some extra work with his leash manners, but nothing TLC wouldn’t take care of.

Luckily for Jojo, he had managed to make his way into a no-kill shelter, one that would take him on for the long haul if needed. And it was a long haul. Jojo stayed at the shelter for more than a year. At this point we were wondering if a volunteer or staff member would end up having to take him on as their own.

His long stay finally ended when an adopter came who saw Jojo for the individual he was. He now resides not far from the shelter and staff that cared for him for so long, and is seen with his new mom walking the local beaches.

Jojo is one of thousands of black dogs entering shelters with little adoption interest. To learn more visit: www.blackpearldogs.com or Dog Blog’s entry Big Black Dog Syndrome.