REPORT: "Gay Dog" Sent To The Pound

According to a claim that went viral on Facebook yesterday, the above forlorn puppy was abandoned at a Jackson, Tennessee animal shelter because his owner believed him to be gay.  The only mention of this story that I can find (outside of thousands of Facebook shares) is from a blog post on Examiner.com.

According to the prior owner, the dog was seen "hunched over," another male dog, therefore, in this owner's mind, the dog must be gay. The former owner apparently does not know that "hunched over, aka humping behavior" is typically a sign of dominance in dogs, rather than something to signify a dog's sexual orientation. But, on the other hand, even if it did indicate sexual orientation, does it warrant turning one's dog over to an extremely crowded, sadly "high kill," animal control facility? Should it matter? No.

According to the original post on Facebook, the dog was scheduled to be euthanized today, but it appears that there are multiple offers of adoption.   Even if this story proves to be a hoax, the reaction to it is interesting.

UPDATE: The UK tabloid Daily Mail has picked up the story