Dog Dᴜᴍᴘᴇᴅ At sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ Because Owners Think He’s ‘ɢᴀʏ’
When you bring a dog home and into your life, you make a commitment to care for them Fᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ, ɴᴏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ what. So it’s always ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ to see people decide they no longer want their pets for arbitrary reasons, abandoning them to sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀs.
Recently, one beautiful dog was left at a North Carolina sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ for a particularly bizarre, unjust reason: his owners thought he was “ɢᴀʏ.”
According to WCCB Charlotte, Stanly County Animal Protective Services recently took in a new dog, Fezco, after he was ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ by his owners for a ᴛʀᴜʟʏ ɪɴsᴀɴᴇ reason: the owners thought he was ɢᴀʏ because he was ʜᴜᴍᴘɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴍᴀʟᴇ dog, and decided they didn’t want him anymore.
Abandoning a dog is always sᴀᴅ, but the owners’ reasoning makes this story ɪɴFᴜʀɪᴀᴛɪɴɢ. It shows not only their intolerance but their lack of understanding of basic dog behavior: according to the ASPCA, “humping” is a normal habit for dogs, not necessarily indicative of their sᴇxᴜᴀʟɪᴛʏ.
And while ʜᴏᴍᴏsᴇxᴜᴀʟ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠɪᴏʀ has been observed across the animal kingdom (like sᴀᴍᴇ-sᴇx penguin pairings) dogs do not have sᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴏʀɪᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴs the way humans do — they’re just not particularly choosy about their “ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀs.”
“Dogs don’t have a sexual orientation; they pretty much do what they want when they want,” a blog post from World Dog Finder says. “They aren’t evolved enough to understand or feel specific sᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴀᴛᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅs ᴏɴᴇ sᴇx.”
And even if dogs could be “ɢᴀʏ,” it would still be no reason to leave them in a sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ. And yet, that’s exactly what happened to Fezco. The 4- or 5-year-old dog is now searching for a new home, with a family who will hopefully have more of an open mind.
According to WCCO, the sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ says Fezco is a “good boy” who likes humans and other animals. He weighs about 50 pounds. The sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ is looking for a local ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ to provide foster care before he is ᴀᴅᴏᴘᴛᴇᴅ.
