From the Editor: Tough-to-adopt animals get help

I have a cousin who has a one-eyed dog. Ugliest thing you’ve ever seen till you get to know him (the dog, not the cousin). Then you want to keep him, because he’s got personality.

And personality — or at least a pretty face — is important when you’re otherwise tough to look at.

Patti Hogan, who oversees Paws Patrol, a non-profit that helps find homes for animals, didn’t bristle when I used the word ugly to describe hard-to-adopt animals. But I’m sure she thinks every animal has at least one redeeming quality.

But we agree that some animals are harder to adopt out than others. That’s why she, along with Petfinder.com — which has a huge online database of homeless pets — are marking Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day this month. Or in other words, find a home for those ugly animals.

Hogan says black cats and dogs are difficult to adopt out, and are the No. 1 animal put down at shelters every year. That’s pretty startling.

“We can have 20 cats at an adoption fair and people completely ignore the black ones,” she told me. “They may not know they’re doing it.”

Others hard to adopt: Cats that are withdrawn or shy (don’t make good lap cats), or those with defects, such as my cousin’s one-eyed dog, or an animal with an eye that looks like it has a cataract. Others might just be cursed with good hair — but too much of it.

Nonetheless, there needs to be a special effort to find them homes. Hogan and her crew are holding a Cat Adoption Fair from 1-4 p.m., Aug. 9, at Green Valley Canine, 750 W. Camino Casa Verde. Cost is $50 for one or $75 for two. And who doesn’t like a bargain when it comes to ugly cats. (I’m kidding, do not send me nasty letters.)

For information, or to see some of the cats up for adoption, call Hogan at 207-4024 or go to www.greenvalleypawspatrol.org. If you’re interested in one of the black cats, move quickly. Hogan says cults and other Halloween shenanigans have led them to put the brakes on adopting black cats in September and October.

THIS JUST IN

See her picture? She isn’t one of the ugly ones, but she’s got a great story.

Wendy Townsend and her family came home from vacation late Sunday night. When they woke up the next morning they thought their dog was sitting beside the bed. Nope, it was this boxer, wearing no tags and that no-nonsense look.

The family lives in Rancho Sahuarita and would love to find the owner (they checked — the dog has no microchip). They figure she jumped their fence and helped herself to the doggie door.

If you know who she belongs to, call Townsend at 954-8550.

— Dan Shearer