There will be plenty of horror stories about the awful, uncivil and possibly violent people at various events this Black Friday (and not just at Trump campaign appearances), but if you want to take advantage of a really great event that will bring you some happiness for years and years, find out if your local animal shelter is taking part in Black Fur Friday. Originally the idea was that people could adopt a black dog or cat without having to pay the customary adoption fee, but many shelters now also include white pets, and presumably some don’t discriminate at all. The article I have linked to lists some of the participating shelters.
My family has a Black Fur Friday story, even though it predates the event itself. When I was in high school, the day before Thanksgiving, my mother and stepfather went to the local shelter to donate dog food. Although we had a puppy at home, they went to see the dogs. As you might expect, most of the dogs were happy and excited to see dog people (yes, dogs can tell), but there was one dog — a little Scottie — that just stayed in the corner of his pen. Mom and I decided we were going to adopt him on Friday, but my stepfather was sure we were pulling his leg.
Friday we went to the shelter, and there was this fairly pathetic looking little dog. He was pretty timid, smelly, badly in need of a bath, and almost totally bald on the back half of his body. We thought he probably had fleas, but we took him to the vet before taking him home (remember, we had the puppy). The vet told us the dog — who I named Barney years before Bush 43 had a scottie with that name — actually had a skin condition similar to exema. My mom had exema, so the vet said that her medicine would probably work on the dog, too. (It did)
When my stepfather came home from work, he changed his clothes, and when he took off his belt, Barney put his tail between his legs and slowly backed away, so we knew he had been abused.
Eventually the two dogs became best buddies, and although Barney was about three years old when he came to live with us, he lived with us for 13 years, even outliving the puppy.
So if you love dogs or cats and you are willing to take on the responsibility, I encourage you to check out your local shelter and find out if they are participating. Even if they aren’t, you can still get a lot of benefit from living with a pet.!