ohmidog!

Black dogs can be adopted for free in Wichita on this Black Friday, thanks to a girl scout in Kansas.

Madison Bell, a seventh-grader at Mayberry Middle School, recently launched the Black Dog Club after noticing — while volunteering at the Kansas Humane Society — that black dogs tend to get passed over in shelters, at least more often than their multi-colored and lighter-colored counterparts.

“Black dogs are overlooked … You can’t see their faces very well,” said Madison, 12. “When I heard about it, I was shocked. I wanted to so something to help.”

Today, Madison is helping the Humane Society host the Black Dog Adoption Drive, an event geared toward getting more black shelter animals into loving homes, according to Kansas.com. All adoption fees for black animals are being waived, while fees for other animals are being discounted 25 percent.

She’ll also be encouraging visitors to join the Black Dog Club, which she launched last month as her Girl Scout Silver Award project. It has raised about $1,300 to help provide medical services and more for the shelter’s animals. (You can find more information, donate, and get the T-shirt here.)

Most shelter directors concur that black dogs often have more trouble finding a home — their facial expressions are harder to see, and photographs of them tend to not come out as well.

“They don’t grab your eye as quickly as brighter colored animals,” said Jennifer Campbell, spokeswoman for the Kansas Humane Society.

But as Madison points out, they’re just as special. “Black dogs are amazing,” she told KAKE-TV. “They’ve got personality just like any other dog.”

(Photos: Courtesy of the Kansas Humane Society)

This year’s tips on how to ensure your pet has a safe Halloween are brought to you by PETA — the scariest animal welfare group of all.

Keep your cats inside. For cats — especially black cats — the days leading up to Halloween can be dangerous. Pranksters often go on the prowl for roaming kitties. In fact, many animal shelters refuse to adopt out black cats during the entire month of October.

Keep your dogs indoors too. Some kids think that letting dogs out of their yards, or otherwise harassing them on Halloween is a great trick. Dogs can also get spooked by the noise and all the strangely dressed people.

Put animals in a secure room. Cats and dogs might try to sneak out when the front door’s constantly being opened. It’s best to keep animals inside a bedroom or family room, away from all the commotion.

Don’t take dogs trick-or-treating.  Dogs can easily become frightened by the endless stream of laughing and screaming children and run off.

Keep candy out of reach of animals. All candy can cause animals to become sick, and chocolate can be poisonous to dogs. Give them a pet treat instead, and make sure children understand that, too.

Be careful with candles and other decorations. Jack-o’-lanterns lit up by candles can burn animals (and children) or start fires if tipped over. The ink that is used in some brightly colored decorations, such as orange streamers and paper pumpkins, is toxic to animals, and swallowed balloons or party favors can block an animal’s digestive tract.

Remember that animals aren’t party props. Many animals become upset if they are forced into clothing, and many pet owners sometimes take the concept too far. Costumes that are kept in place with tight rubber bands can cut off circulation.

PETA goes on to suggest using only cruelty-free make-up for your costume, and passing out vegan candy, or, in lieu of candy — and here’s where they really lose us – stickers with information on tooth decay.

I’m not a superstitious sort — so, normally, a black cat on my back fence would not bother me.

But when he sits there for 30 minutes, motionless, staring, in kind of an intimidating vulture pose — as this fella did over the weekend – it does make me think twice.

Then I realize I’m not being logical — that I’m buying into the myth that a black cat means bad luck. Besides, this cat didn’t really cross my path. He just sat atop my fence. That’s a whole different thing. Right?

Such silly superstitions are part of what makes life harder for black animals, at least those who don’t have a home. Black cats and dogs generally take the longest to get adopted and are more likely to be euthanized. With black dogs, people wrongly think they will be meaner. With black cats, superstitions come into play.

On top of all that, most humans generally prefer light colored, or multi-colored animals. Black means mysterious, and, in our pets, we prefer predictability.

It’s also harder for humans to read a black animal’s facial expressions and body language, says Kristen Nelson, a Scottsdale, Ariz., veterinarian and member of the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians.

“(People) focus on the animal’s eyes, which stand out against the neutral background, and miss all the other signals the animal is giving.”

Nelson was quoted in a well-researched article on the plight of black cats and dogs in the Bend (Oregon) Bulletin Monday.

The article also quotes Michael Arms, founder of Iams Home for the Holidays, an animal welfare campaign based in San Diego. Of the 3 million animals he says he has helped get adopted, the last to go are always the dark-colored ones.

“Put bandanas around the dog’s necks,” he advised. “Yellow, red, green, blue. That changes it.”

He also suggests changing the dogs’ names. “I go into some shelters, and people name the dogs Killer,” he said. “Who would want to adopt a dog named Killer?”

I don’t know my fence-sitting cat’s name, though I think he lives around the corner. He hissed when Ace and I approached him, so we backed off. But whether he’s a harbinger of bad things ahead or not, he’s welcome to stay — as long as he keeps those Baltimore rats at bay –  for as long as he likes.