The humane society in Windsor, Ont. is joining the Black Friday fever by discounting dogs, cats and rabbits, but only the black ones.

The Windsor-Essex County Humane Society said there is a “Black Animal Syndrome” and will slash the adoption fee by 50 per cent for all furry creatures that are mostly or all black.

Executive director Melanie Coulter said black animals have traditionally been difficult to adopt across North America.

"We don't know exactly why. There are a lot of suspicions that their features are harder to see in pictures and even in kennels," said Coulter. "Maybe people just think they're boring or even in some cases that it's a superstition with black cats."

This is the first time the humane society offered a discount for pets on Black Friday. Officials said they're always looking for creative ways to find homes for black animals that typically have a much longer stay than those with other colours.

The centre is currently seeking a home for 15 black animals.

Centre wants to avoid impulse buys

Coulter said the humane society has done some Black Friday advertising, but wants to ensure the sale is not attracting the wrong crowd.

"We don't want people to impulse buy, so hopefully it's a situation where we're maybe attracting the attention of people who were thinking of coming out in the next week or two," said Coulter "And maybe steering them to some of these guys who get overlooked."

Coulter said she hasn't observed many pet impulse adoptions during the holiday season because an adoption counselling process is in place. People must also wait at least 24 hours before they can take an animal home.

However, Coulter said she hopes people with good intentions will avoid crowded malls and adopt a pet as their deal of the day.

"We don't anticipate the kind of rush that a place like Target or Wal-Mart might see, but hopefully we will see some of these guys find their forever homes [Friday]," said Coulter.

The humane society offers a 50 per cent discount year round on animals over eight years old. It doesn't have any black pets referred to as "Golden Oldies," but if it did, Coulter said the adoption fee would be reduced by 75 per cent.

The Windsor-Essex County Humane Society’s Black Friday special runs Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

View the animals online at www.windsorhumane.org