“We normally have a lot of black cats, dogs, kittens and puppies,” Pearsall said. “It’s only (Nov. 5) and we’ve already had black animals adopted … this promotion really does help.”

Approximately 9,000 pets are killed in shelters every day because they don’t have a home, according to Best Friends Animal Society, who created the national Back in Black campaign to save these animals by finding them caring owners.

For three years the Capital Area Humane Society has participated in the Back in Black promotion, and Pearsall said its continued involvement in the adoption event is important to help pet owners see that black animals make just as great pets as their lighter-colored counterparts.

“For some reason, people are just less interested in black cats and dogs,” Pearsall said. “They tend to adopt more colorful pets that are brindle, tan or rust-colored. The color black could be seen as boring or less interesting to some, but they make wonderful companions.”

As the owner of an ebony-colored canine, neuroscience senior Katharine Bruce said the stereotypes associated with darker pets are sad and untrue.

“I’m familiar with the stigma,” Bruce said. “But my dog is the sweetest, most loving dog in the world.”

Bruce, a disabled army veteran who received her chocolate lab Kadence through the Canine Seizure Assist Society of North Carolina, said she was shocked Kadence was the only service dog that no one wanted.

“She was the only chocolate lab of the bunch and I was the only one who picked her,” Bruce said. “I chose her because she had so much spunk.”

Bruce said her dog has helped her get through some rough times.

“I suffered a traumatic brain injury while in the army and I’m epileptic now … there are times when I can fall into a mood and she picks me up and pulls me out of it,” she said.

The Capital Area Humane Society will be selling black cats and dogs for half their original price until Nov. 30.

For more information visit: www.adoptlansing.org