If I were your dog & you loved me, would it matter if I were big or small? Would it matter what breed I was or how I looked? Would it matter if I were black or white, or brown? Would it matter if I didn’t like cats, or kids, or other dogs? Would it matter if something bad happened to me and it changed the dog I used to be? Would you just look at me and think “That is my dog and I love him”?

Quite often when looking for a dog people have this notion of what they want their dog to be. But, often we look at the physical attributes and if they do not appeal to us, we move on. We forget that we are not going to be living with his physical appearance; we will be living with his personality. We will be living with and working with a dog that for all intensive purposes goes through his day with the sole purpose of making us happy.

What is really important? What are we willing to overlook? What are we willing to work on? How hard are we willing to work with our dog?

Sometimes we get a stereotype in our head & we can’t shake it. It doesn’t matter if a dog smart and funny and happy. It doesn’t matter if they are well trained and have no issues. We see a picture or look through a kennel door and make a judgment on Fido based solely on how he looks.

I often wonder what would happen if Shelters & Rescues wrote bios and offered dogs for adoption but provided no information on what they looked like. What if we only provided information on their personality, what kind of training they’ve had and what they needed? Would black Dog Syndrome fade away?  Would the Bully Breeds stand a better chance of getting adopted? What about the Chihuahuas and the Poodles? Would somebody want them more if they only knew the personality and not what breed they were?

Of course this kind of radical way of thinking would never fly, but it is food for thought.

I think now is a good time to mention that Muppet did not write this blog entry, but the person that did would like to hear your feedback. You can send it to [email protected]