In search of a theme for this week's adoptable dog photo contest, I thought youall might be interested in knowing which kinds of dogs the shelters are most likely to have for adoption. Here are some numbers for your consideration.
Breeds
Bear in mind that a shelter dog's listed breed is often a best guess based on which two or three breeds' distinguishing features the dog seems to have, or what someone giving up a pet can tell them about the dog's ancestry. When a dog seems to be a mix of two or three breed types, Petfinder may list it under each breed--the numbers of dogs sorted by breeds is greater than the number of dogs in shelter. With those qualifications, here are the top ten breeds of dogs easiest to find in many shelters.
1. Mixed Breed--duh! They may have been sent to shelterw because they're mixed breeds. For the zipcode 10101, Petfinder lists over 142,000 dogs. Over 2700 of those dogs are listed as Mixed Breed.
2. Pt Bull Terrier. Somebody wanted one, and then moved to a place where the landlord said it couldn't stay. Over 2000 of New York City's shelter dogs are believed to be at least partly Pit Bull.
3. Labrador Retriever: Barkley! Who could put Barkley up for adoption? A person of less fortitude than LB Johnson (which is most of humankind) who'd been laid up with a leg injury as a result of a long brisk walk with the dog in the middle of a rainy night, that's who. New York's Petfinder shelters list over 1800 Labrador Retrievers, plu over 100 Yellow Labrador Retrievers and over 300 Black Labrador Retrievers. And over 100 Golden Retrievers, too.
4. Terriers: Apparently some people are a badly terrified by terriers, generally, as they are by Pit Bulls. The fourth largest category on the list was American Staffrdshire Terriers (over 900) followed by plain old Terriers (over 900), Jack Russell Terriers (over 100), and Staffordshire Bull Terriers (over 100).
5. Chihuahuas. Probably just because they're so popular. Over 800 Chihuahuas and crossbreeds are currently in NYC shelters.
6. German Shepherds. Admittedly they seem bigger in a tiny NYC apartment, but, peoplei...Over 800 German Shepherd and over 700 more listed as "Shepherd.," which to most Americans means the same dog. No doubt all 1500 aren't as clever, brave, and lovable as Rin Tin Tin, but...
7.. Hounds. This one is harder to interpret, since so many different types of dogs are classified as hounds. To what extent "Hound" (over 700 dogs) overlaps with more specific categories like "Beagle' (over 300) and "Catahoula Leopard Dog" (over 100) is hard to know, especially when comparing numbers of different shelters around the country. Most of the very specialized, recognizable types of hounds, like Bassets and Greyhounds, are very scarce in shelters.
8. Boxers: Not my favorite breed, but somebody wanted over 500 Boxers to exist in New York City in the first place.
9. Huskies: Over 300 plain "Husky" plus over 100 "Siberian Husky" dogs were listed.
10. Australian Cattle Dogs: As distinct from Australian Shepherds. Over 300 of these are up for adoption.
Age Ranges
When dogs' real ages are not known...well, they spend more time in the "Adult" category than in the "Young," "Puppy," or "Senior" category. That is the frequency with which dogs' ages are specified in the Petfinder system.
Gender
It doesn't really matter when they're neutered. Petfinder listed about equal numbers of male and female dogs.
Color
The largest number of shelter dogs have at least some white in their coats. The next largest color groups are black, yellow, and brown in that order. Other dog color categories are seldom used, though Petfinder offers eleven more. In some cases the names are confusing--does sable mean sand-colored (it's the French word for sand) or the color of the sable animal (brownish black)? Petfinder defines sable as sand-colored and fewer than 100 Petfinder dogs in New York City are described as sable, possibly because sand-colored dogs are classifed as dark cream or dull yellow.
So...
So, in order to consider the type of dog in greatest need of good homes, we'll look at mixed-breed adult dogs with white or white-spotted coats.
Zipcode 10101: Thelma and Louise from New York City (sort of)
Louise's web page; https://www.petfinder.com/dog/louise-bonded-w-thelma-50910700/ny/new-york/miracles-for-satos-rescue-ny1518
Louise' ancestors are thought to include beagles and Australian Shepherds. Thelma's ancestors were a type of dog technically known as a Cur. ("Cur" has, like "hound," been used to mean an unwanted mongrel dog, but it is, like "hound," the name of a type of dog that includes multiple recognized breeds.) They've never been considered a good-looking breed, nor have they had any snob appeal. People like Curs for themselves.
As in the vintage movie, two adult females who had had hard lives became friends. Now they do everything together and, their foster human says, they're ideal for someone who has an active social life with other humans, because they'll keep each other company when you're out. They came from a small-town shelter that wasn't getting much traffic. Petfinder let them be listed in cities to which their foster human can transport them if you pay. As a result of this arrangement each dog's "adoption fee" is on the high side, but they have run up vet bo;;s amd you might be able to haggle down to a "buy one, get one free" deal. The dogs are small, just under 25 pounds, and are said to be friendly and cheerful and full of energy. They like to run. At least one human in their ideal home likes to run a few miles a day, too.
Zipcode 20202; Valentina from Potomac
Although she weighs only 21 pounds, this rat terrier crossbreed was brought to a shelter as the mother of ten homeless puppies. Well, that won't happen again. Her mission in life is to keep someone's property free from rats. She'll tolerate some petting, but as you can see she's a very serious, responsible, respectable dog. (Though said to wiggle ecstatically when petted.) She's being treated for heartworms; her humans will need to take over that responsibility for a few months.
Zipcode 30303: Dolly from Peachtree City
Little is known about Dolly. She's had basic veterinary care and behaved well during the shelter experience. She is photogenic Unlike most of the dogs with white or partly white coats in shelters near Atlanta, she is not a Pit Bull.
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