4C
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015
PARTING SHOT
A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers
Seaside High School seniors wait in the lobby before their graduation ceremony June 8 at the Seaside Convention Center.
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
ODDITY
Pet photo
series aims
to counter
‘black dog’
theory
Photos by Fred Levy via AP
Aki, a springer spaniel, left, and Denver, a black Labrador retriever are pictured.
Beauty not always coat deep
By COLLIN BINKLEY
Associated Press
MAYNARD, Mass. — It
was a summer day at the dog
park when Fred Levy, a pro-
fessional pet photographer,
overheard a conversation
that he couldn’t shake off.
A woman was talking
about “Black Dog Syn-
drome,” a theory that black
dogs are less likely to be ad-
opted than those with light-
er coats, perhaps because of
superstition or a notion that
black dogs are aggressive.
Experts debate whether
it’s a myth or reality, but it
struck Levy.
“A dog shouldn’t be
overlooked just because of
its coat,” Levy said. “That’s
a minor element when it
comes to the dog.”
That dog park visit was
almost two years ago, but
it inspired Levy to take on
a project that’s still gain-
ing international attention.
He calls it the Black Dogs
Project, a photo series that
features black dogs against
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black backdrops, aiming
to capture their beauty and
counter negative stereo-
types.
The photos struck a chord
online and quickly went vi-
ral last year. Commenters
raved about the striking
details Levy brought out in
each portrait: the soulful
eyes, that one floppy ear, a
Poodle’s ears blossoming
with fur. The microblog-
ging website Tumblr count-
ed Levy’s blog among its
“most-viral” of 2014.
Hitting a nerve
Levy, 45, did it all in the
basement studio of his May-
nard home, where he lives
with his wife, two young
boys and a black-and-white
rat terrier named Toby.
“I knew that, for this
project, it would hit a nerve
with two different groups,”
Levy said. “Pet-lovers
would love it, and photogra-
phers would like it if I did a
good job.”
After adjusting to the
sudden onslaught of atten-
ess in the
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n
Columbia-Pacific Regio
AP Photo/Steven Senne
Fred Levy poses with his dog, a 12-year-old rat terrier
named Toby, for a photograph at his home in Maynard,
Mass. Levy, a pet photographer, first heard about “Black
Dog Syndrome” in a 2013 conversation at a dog park.
tion, Levy decided to pub-
lish the work in a book. It’s
slated to be published this
September, titled “Black
Dogs Project: Extraordinary
Black Dogs and Why We
Can’t Forget Them.” Part
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Volume 10 • Issue 1
stry spo
allenges
Inside: Indu
copes with ch
Shellfish farm
an conditions
oce
nging
s optimistic despite cha
tlight:
Taylor remain
of the proceeds will go to a
rescue group for Labradors
in San Diego.
In the book and on his
blog, Levy includes stories
about each dog to count-
er myths about black dogs.
Among those he highlights
is Denver, a 2-year-old
black Labrador that’s also a
therapy dog. Denver works
at an elementary school and
spent time in a Boston fire-
house after the marathon
bombing.
Amanda Lukowski, Den-
ver’s owner, said the photos
were “breathtaking.”
“It captured his whole
personality,” said Lukows-
ki, of Northbridge. “Denver
is a gentle giant. He’s 90
pounds. He’s a big boy but
he is the most kind, caring,
compassionate dog ever.”
Early on, the black dogs
that Levy photographed
came from owners he re-
cruited through his Face-
book page. Recently he
also started working with
abandoned dogs referred to
him by shelters. After train-
ing his camera on them, he
shares their photos online
in search of a permanent
home.
But his message to view-
ers isn’t necessarily to
adopt black dogs. Mostly,
he wants people to think
beyond appearance when
they’re adopting pets.
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“I want people to make
informed decisions on the
best dog that will fit into
their lifestyle,” he said. “The
fur shouldn’t be the deciding
factor.”
There’s no firm science
to support the existence of
Black Dog Syndrome, and
some studies have dismissed
it as a myth. Maryann Re-
gan, director of shelter oper-
ations at the Animal Rescue
League of Boston, said she
doesn’t see widespread bias
against black dogs. Still, she
supports Levy’s work.
“Anything that helps to
break down any barrier to
benefit an animal is wonder-
ful,” she said.
Among the victories that
Levy ties to is project is
the story of Annabelle, an
8-year-old black Labrador
mix that was abandoned for
more than a year, enduring
a brutal winter outside. Af-
ter hearing the story, Levy
snapped three portraits of
Annabelle and posted him
on his blog last month. Two
days later, a family adopted
her.
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County makes a splash
BOAT OF THE MONTH
‘Fur shouldn’t be the
deciding factor’
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