Happy 4th Adoption Anniversary to Junee!
Some people knit quilts on Juneteenth, and I celebrated my dog's adoption anniversary by answering Ladygunn's Black pet parent questions
Each year, I have to thank the Inner-City Muslim Action Network for introducing me to Juneteenth. While my intention was to see Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) perform live for the first of two times, I learned a whole lot more. That was 15 years ago. Every year since then, I try to find something fun to do on Juneteenth.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage for every purchase with my referral link.
One of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done on Juneteenth — or at all — was adopting Junee. While the puppies I initially looked at were on the tan and white side, my eyes kept going to this picture (below) of Junee. I couldn’t stop staring at this black dog, even though I wondered if she would be too big in a condo. When I’d convinced myself that she would be too large, judging from her paw size, the adoption agency insisted she wouldn’t be, even though they couldn’t quite narrow down what crossbreed she was.
I had no idea at the time that adopting a black dog was considered controversial (for some) and more of a challenge for adoption agencies than dogs with light fur. I wasn’t on my usual quest to learn Black history on Juneteenth (and beyond), but I was learning it anyway — even if that meant something on four legs with mixed opinions from the Black community. (This is due to so many dogs being trained to be attack dogs during the Civil Rights Movement, along with slaveowners and past presidents banning Black people from owning dogs.) I adopted a dog because COVID-19 and social isolation meant dog owners were working from home, and I missed furry companionship as a dog walker. It had nothing to do with the history, the culture or the fur color — at the time.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, I enjoy promoting intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. All four of my Substack publications include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a VERIFIED Black-owned business. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect your decision.
Juneteenth 2025 was Junee’s four-year adoption anniversary
Every year, I write a post about Junee to celebrate her birthday and her anniversary. She and I got a collection of Wag! swag the same week as her first dog adoption anniversary. Then, I wrote a post during her second and third dog adoption anniversary. I also wrote about her fourth birthday. But I was so excited to have two dogs (my parents were out of the country) at once that I forgot to write an annual Juneteenth anniversary post for Junee. And I may have skipped this idea altogether if I wasn't inspired by the photography featured in Ladygunn's “Black Pet Parents.”
@Saphshoots creative photography of Black pet owners made me go through the 2,000+ photos I've taken of Junee (so far). Without reading their answers first, I'm going to enjoy answering the questions that Ladygunn asked the photography subjects. Here goes.
What does it mean to be a black pet parent?
With my first two dogs, I was too young to understand the historical significance of owning a purebred German Shepherd. And the other dog, a German Shepherd and Labrador Retriever mix, was in response to two burglaries.
But Junee is the first dog I picked out as an adult, after walking in white neighborhoods where one lady “cleaned her windows” and a patrol car (that I completely ignored) rolled by slowly to stare at me walk a dog. I walked this dog five days a week for several months, and the neighbors got used to seeing my brown face. That window-cleaning white lady ran out of excuses to get my attention, like asking me if I needed poop bags when a dispenser was clearly on the other end of my leash.
Black adult dog owners get a view of things that Black children may not notice. And by me growing up in a Black neighborhood (give or take a few), it took me being a dog walker in non-Black neighborhoods to feel a different energy. My current neighborhood is diverse. But every blue moon I run across somebody who thinks they can walk up on my dog and pet her without acknowledging me or getting permission. I did not train Junee to do this, but the look on my face is a mirror of how she reacts. To sum it up, frantic hands jerk back and cross lawns.