Black Dog: A Mystical Friend Who Strayed Into the Lives of Many

SPECIAL REPORT: Black Dog

The mystical Black Dog, who died recently, was loved and admired by many, including me. Like other folks in "his" neighborhood, I irrationally believed him to be eternal. At the end, he was revealed to be a real dog, not a phantom.

If his life had to end, his admirers would have preferred for him to have evaporated into thin air, but it did not diminish his place in our hearts that he ultimately died a corporal death.

I have had many personal encounters with Black Dog over more than 20 years of living in Windsor Farms. He would appear in our front yard frequently when we lived on Sulgrave Road. I, like so many others, fed him in hopes that he might stick around.

When I was out walking our dog, he would often tag along behind us for a while. I enjoyed having him near, although he would never permit me to come close enough to touch him. My dog and I would just walk along with him trotting behind us. I would look back repeatedly and then, at some point, he would not be there anymore, having silently headed off to an assignation with some other lucky neighbor.

In my dozen years in the field of animal welfare, I have spent more time than most thinking about how to convince people to love our companion animals and treat them with compassion and respect. While most people care sincerely for dogs and cats as pets, there are many who have little patience or concern for stray or feral animals. In fact, the reactions of many people to the presence of feral cats can be brutal and callous.

So, why did Black Dog, a stray and perhaps feral dog, have so many ardent fans and protectors and almost no detractors? What was it about Black Dog that inspired such affection and respect that people would go to great lengths to provide him with shelter and food and to protect him from capture?

To answer that question, you have to consider why most of us love our own pets as we do. Our affection seems to spring from our admiration of their wonderful qualities of unconditional love, patience, and loyalty, and their selfless affinity for us and our company. In other words, somewhere deep down, we recognize that they may not be as intelligent as we are, but they have some noble qualities in larger amounts than do most of us.

Black Dog had his own set of remarkable attributes that inspired our admiration precisely because we knew that those attributes were largely deficient in us. He was utterly self-reliant. While he would accept gifts of food and warm garages to sleep in, he never begged for anything. He lived life on his own terms with success and dignity.

Yet, he was never aggressive or hurtful to any other living thing. In fact, he seemed to enjoy being near us so long as it was never too close. We were awed by his individualism and non-conformity, since we all learn at an early age that we must live by society's rules if we are to get along. Life could never beat Black Dog into submission like it does most of us.

Back when Richmond Animal Control used to try regularly to catch Black Dog and he eluded them in ways that made them look pretty foolish and him very clever, I urged them to leave him alone. That may seem like an odd attitude for someone like me whose life is devoted to ensuring that companion animals are loved and cared for in responsible homes.

But Black Dog was unique and my real goal is the best situation for each animal. It would never be in Black Dog's nature to be a pet in a home, but it was inaccurate to say that he had no guardians. He had a whole neighborhood that he had made his family and they loved and cared for him. He presented no risk to people or other animals and was likely to live out a good life in the unusual family he had created. I do not believe that other animals should run the streets but he was remarkable and that should have been -- and was -- honored.

Black Dog's life provides a valuable lesson for us about stray and feral dogs and cats. Because of his charisma and supernatural abilities, Black Dog became widely known and a whole neighborhood came to treasure him.

While other stray and feral animals may have less personal magnetism and fewer wiles, they have every bit as much heart and individual character as did Black Dog. Like him, they strive to care for themselves with dignity and without threatening others. They merit our protection and support and their lives deserve to be treasured.

Perhaps we were given the remarkable gift of Black Dog's presence in order to teach us to practice compassion and respect in our treatment of other stray and feral companion animals. That would be a great legacy for him to leave.

Robin Starr is chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. Contact her at rstarr@richmondspca.org.