Why then does one shelter animal get selected days later and another take over a year? That question arose in thousands of users scrolling through Reddit because of just one picture of a white English bull terrier caught in the middle of the smiling expression and with his eyes shining. The photo was posted by a user known as Lxghtbringer, and included a rough caption: the dog was not adopted within over a year because people claimed he was “too ugly.” Thousands of people left thousands of upvotes and supportive comments on the post because they recognized something different in the face of the dog: personality.
The story resonated on the internet since it was familiar. A lot of adopters browse with their eyes on an item, particularly when they are meeting dogs by means of kennel photographs and briefly provided biographies. However, the most excuses that a dog receives are not necessarily the most visible, and a study has demonstrated that the circumstances that occur within a kennel, might receive more attention than one would expect.
In a 2014 experiment of about 300 shelter dogs, the authors followed the behaviors in-kennel of shelter dogs and how these behaviors predicted the time taken before adoption. The findings implied that the influence of small, unnoticed tendencies might influence the decision to become an adopter in quantifiable manners, despite people agreeing they were making a choice along the lines of “personality.” Dogs which leaned or rubbed on the kennel wall remained on average 30 days longer. those that turned their backs not to be seen at the front of the kennel hung about 15 days longer. Pacing was associated with an average 24 day lengthening of length of stay and standing still increased by about 7 days. It was also discovered that there were no differences in the behavior that were found to be significant between the “preferred” and “non-preferred” types of dogs and the behavior of dogs did not always deteriorate as they stayed in the shelter.
The context can be used to understand why an unconventional dog is made into a symbol although the appearance may not be the entire story. Kennels are not only noisy places, but also stressful places; dogs respond differently to this. A dog which runs away, stands still, or walks about may unwittingly appear to have taken a dislike, or to be difficult to manage: the very last thing that a prospective owner wants to see as it glides along the aisle.
The color of the coats can also create an addition to the first impressions, especially in the Internet. A common pattern described by shelter workers can be referred to at times as Black Dog Syndrome whereby black-coated dogs are said to wait longer partially due to the fact that it is more difficult to capture them on camera in poor lighting. Face and eye contact information in listings might not be readable, leading to a lower number of clicks and inquiries even before a dog is even seen in person. There is conflicting evidence in the literature, yet the visibility problem is broadly accepted in the shelters.
On Reddit, the fans of the bull terrier discharged with their corrections. One of the commenters wrote that “bull nosed terriers appear to be the type that never receive love.” One more said so: “I have always believed that bull nosed terriers are handsome dogs. They are not numerous and can certainly not be confused with another breed.” The original poster reflected the unbelief in the responses: “literally how can they hate on his little happy face.”
Such stories also point to how the benefits of shelters and rescues are based on one moment of connection. It was a 640-day adoption sendoff in another popular adoption, a terrier mix, Louise, was adopted where members of the staff cheered and she made a final glance behind her. Being forgotten by so many times and then going viral to be noticed by the world “To see her be overlooked so many times, and then to go viral for the world to see gives me so much hope for all the shelter dogs around the country who just need that ONE person to come along for them,” adoption and foster coordinator Rachel Oldenburger told PEOPLE.
In the case of the bull terrier in the image, such a “one person” did come and made the long wait to become an ending that was felt to be immediate and personal to all those who had been rooting behind a screen.
