This dog is less likely to be adopted.

flickr photo courtesy of hoyasmeg

Can you imagine a dog that has a great temperament, solid health and no problems getting passed over at a shelter? It does happen, at shelters all over the country.

The one reason for the ongoing trend: They're Big Black Dogs, or BBD, as shelter staff say. It's a sad and unfair stigma attached to canines who were born as a large-breed canine with dark fur.

This has always puzzled me. I'm a huge fan of any dog or cat, and quite honestly, I find that I'm actually drawn to dark-colored pets.

They, because of their appearance are thought to be menacing, ill-tempered, dangerous — something to be feared. In folklore, the demonic death hound in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is depicted as a large black dog.

Some humans find it difficult to "read" the dark faces of these canines: their black coats can make it difficult for their facial expressions to shine through. Because of that, they often do not photograph well, either — ask anyone who has tried to snap a photo of a sweet face that seems to get swallowed up by darkness.

Those working in animal shelters can attest to that: posting photographs of faces that are dominated by black fur seems futile. Most of them get passed over by prospective dog adoptees because the facial features appear to be nonexistent.

The idea of a happy, expressive face is what comes to mind for many when you say "dog." Of course! Seeing flop-eared, seemingly smiling open-mouthed dogs with enormous brown eyes melt most human sensibilities. How can one be afraid of that image?

There are some who find black dogs plain, uninteresting. Really?

Its not a canine's fault if they were born without the fur and markings that accentuate the awesome physical features that they all possess. It's a human fault for not recognizing those attributes.

But, alas, the dogs, typically large-breed, are the ones who pay the price. They frequently get passed over, ignored, scorned, left behind — all because of a bias that we humans have unfairly bestowed upon them. As if it's not hard enough to be a shelter dog.

Black Dog Bias, Black Dog Syndrome, BBD — whatever you call it, it's a death sentence for some dogs. It's been well documented in articles and blogs. One article in The Bark chronicles the phenomenon and one woman's mission to dispel the myth of these worthy creatures. The articles highlights how she launched a campaign to end the bias and educate people about how great these dogs are.

Tamara Delaney of Woodville, Wis., unknowingly started on the journey a handful of years ago when volunteering to help re-home a black Labrador named Jake. Social, healthy and sweet, Jake had already waited three years for a home, Delaney was surprised to learn.

Trying in earnest, she was able to place him in a home. After browsing the websites of other shelters, Delaney found that this was a widespread problem.

Even more eye-opening, she discovered, shelters and rescue groups had been using tactics like kenneling multiple black dogs away from each other, having them don brightly colored bandannas and presenting them in the best possible light that one could articulate when documenting a description about them — anything to keep these dogs from living life in a shelter permanently, or worse, ending up on death row.

So, putting her frustration with the widespread stigma attached to big, black dogs to work, Delaney created a website, www.blackpearldogs.com to help extinguish the phenomenon.

Sadly, cats are part of this trend, too. The unwitting mascots of Friday the 13th, we've all heard how "unlucky" it is to have a black cat pass your path, among other unfortunate effects of folklore.

Rescue groups devoted solely to black dogs and black cats exist because of this thinking. Shelters, like the Humane Society of Huron Valley create opportunities for awareness like black pet adoption events to highlight this demographic of homeless pets.

We know that there are aficionados of these perfectly worthy creatures out there. To highlight how great they are, you're invited to share your photos and stories of your special pets with us.

For the next two weeks, our focus and theme of Pet Photo Friday is "Big Black Dogs and Black Cats."

Participating is easy!

Simply email a photo of your furry friend to ppsa2mi@gmail.com, at any time of the week, and be sure to give a little anecdote about what's best about them. Your photos will be included as part of a very special edition of our ongoing Pet Photo Friday feature.

Please include the animal's name, age, and city or township of residence in your email. Be sure that your photos are 600 pixels wide and in .jpg format.

We'll put the series' photos into a slideshow, publish and promote on the next two Fridays here in the Pets section.

Lorrie Shaw is lead pets blogger for AnnArbor.com. Connect with her on Google+ or e-mail her directly.