IslandVibesIOP.com 26 was seated in the golf cart, while the owner continued to chat. The spare human and I did not know the entirety of the story yet, but we were still horrified by the brief snippet we had witnessed. My human took one of my bowls – a small sacrifice I was more than willing to make – and a bottle of water and offered them to the owner; my human even said the owner of the hot, thirsty dog could keep the bowl. That offer was declined, much to my chagrin. Finally, the glum duo departed. It should be noted that the only utterances of thanks came from the manager, the good Samaritan and my human for their part in helping this dog safely navigate the hazards of a blistering hot parking lot on a heat advisory day. I won’t insult you by pointing out who exactly did not utter one word of thanks in this instance. My point, and I do have one, is this: educate yourself on the dangers of excessive heat exposure and the repercussions of not heeding the advice of experts. I started Little Black Dog Rescue 13 years ago in Connecticut, where I am from, because I wanted to help a black dog in Georgia who had been hit by a car. When I spoke to the rescue, she said, ‘Oh, you take black dogs?’ And I said 'yes, why wouldn't I?'" shared LBDR founder Amy Scarella. She went on to explain that black dogs are adopted last and euthanized first due to a phenomenon called “black dog syndrome,” which is built around the idea that lighter colors are friendlier. Compounding the issue is that the lighting in shelters is typically terrible, making darker dogs photograph poorly. Superstition and racism also play a part in the adoptability of black dogs, said Scarella. Another problem is backyard breeding, which contributes to unwanted dogs arriving in shelters. Scarella continued, “1,000 shelter dogs are put down every single day in our country due to absolutely the fault of the citizens who do not own or care for their dogs responsibly.” LBDR started 13 years ago, but Scarella’s passion for dogs began as a small child. Scarella explained, “A couple months before I was born, my parents adopted a dog who used to sit beside my carriage as I napped outside as an infant. She died when we were 15, and shortly after that, my parents adopted Ariel, a little black dog.” Ariel PEOPLE & PETS TO BE FRANK Keep those precious paws off the pavement -FRANK Meet Your Island Neighbors! By Laura Fogarty Amy Scarella Advocate and champion for black dogs To be frank, humans – not my humans of course, they are absolute perfection – continually confound me. On a recent trip to our local market, on a sweltering afternoon, my human ran into the Harris Teeter to procure provisions for our humble abode. The spare human, as is generally the case, and I remained in the car with the air conditioner running. We also had cool water at our disposal and yours truly was comfortably situated in my car seat, cooling mat securely stationed under my slender frame for added climate-controlled comfort. It was 97 degrees without the heat index, dear reader, so one can imagine how hot the local parking lots were. As my human approached the entry, silently contemplating her produce selections, she heard a familiar voice call out to her. A dear friend and neighbor had found a canine attempting to seek refuge inside the Red & White – pardon me, inside the Harris Teeter (old habits die hard). This good Samaritan asked my human for help in locating the humans of this abandoned, hot and rightfully terrified pet. As my human and our sweet neighbor were discussing how to best help this poor, bedraggled pup, the kindly manager exited the grocery with the owner of aforementioned canine barreling behind her. This owner relayed that her dog always sat in the golf cart, no matter the weather, whilst she did her shopping and he had never attempted such a feat prior to this particular scorching hot day, and that she had only been in the store for a moment or two before his escape. The kind and ever helpful manager reported that she had made an announcement, requesting said owner to return to the parking lot to retrieve her lost canine 15 minutes prior to this owner’s attempt to reunite with the dog she left unattended in the blazing sun, tethered to a golf cart. I am nearly certain that I do not need to explain here how 15-plus minutes and a mere moment or two are quite diverse measures of time. This owner hastily grabbed her dog lived to be 17, as Scarella’s self-described best friend through high school and college. Then Scarella found Petey, a Jack Russell terrier, who passed away after she moved to the Isle of Palms during COVID-19. After raising money for the betterment of a Connecticut-based shelter, Scarella found an outlet for her passion to rescue and save dogs. Scarella’s first foster, Chance, was a dog from Georgia who had been in a shelter for six months. She took him home and worked with him and eventually found his adopter at Saint Francis of Assisi Church with Father Dunn. Chance became a beloved member of Saint Francis, endearing himself to the preschool children and living out his days as an adored parishioner. Scarella’s latest foster, Gigi, who appeared as the Pet of the Month in Island Vibes’ July issue, was stuck in a shelter for two years before finally landing her forever home after LBDR fostered her. Scarella beamed, “I could not have asked for a better home for that sweet girl.” Scarella stressed the importance of distinguishing the differences between shelters and rescues. She explained that animal shelters are typically physical, government-funded facilities that take in all strays and surrenders, regardless of space, which can lead to overcrowding and euthanasia. Rescues are private, donation-based nonprofit organizations that pull animals from shelters, or other less than ideal situations and rely on a network of volunteer foster homes, allowing animals to live in a home environment prior to adoption. Shelter animals live in kennels while they wait. Scarella’s passion for and commitment to dog rescue shone through every word she uttered and her capacity to educate and advocate are seemingly endless. Saint Francis of Assisi would certainly be pleased with Scarella and her Little Black Dog Rescue. and led him into the store to complete her shopping excursion. This is a matter we shall address another time but in short – how discourteous. Upon exiting the store, post purchase, this owner stood in the parking lot conversing whilst her already overheated dog danced from paw to paw, presumably attempting to avoid the burning asphalt. When my primary human arrived back at our vehicle, the dog in question
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