NATCHEZ — A phenomenon called “black dog syndrome” may be responsible for the oodles of black pooches currently overcrowding the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society’s shelter.

Humane society board member Linda Kennon said it has been more difficult to find homes for black dogs than light-colored dogs.

“It’s a mystery,” she said. “I’ve never understood the reasoning behind people not wanting a black dog. Many people come in and say, ‘Oh, you sure do have a lot of black dogs, do you have anything else?’”

Kennon said the shelter currently has approximately 25 black dogs, mostly black Labrador mixes of all ages. And to encourage a shift in the trend, the shelter is offering a discounted adoption fee of $25 on black dogs until April 14.

The difficulty of finding owners to adopt black dogs is a widespread problem, Kennon said. Many shelters, she said, often have special promotions to encourage people to adopt black dogs.

“It’s not just here, it’s everywhere,” she said. “I know of a shelter on the coast that had a special Black Friday adoption day just for black dogs.”

Black dogs, Kennon said, generally do not photograph as well as light-colored dogs, which she said could be one of the reasons people are not as delighted by black dogs when perusing photographs for a potential pet.

Kennon added that similar superstition associated with black cats could also be a reason people are less inclined to adopt a black dog.

“But, really, who knows?” she said. “It’s crazy. Hopefully, people who didn’t know this problem existed will come out to the shelter and give a black dog a good home.”

The humane society will schedule appointments for dogs that have not been spayed or neutered and inform new owners when they can pick up their dogs.

The shelter is located at 392 Liberty Road and is open to the public from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information about NACHS or to view some of the black dogs available for adoption, visit www.natchezpetadoptions.org or call 601-442-4001.