It seems that despite all the awareness, protest, debate, and laws the world is still wary of the LBTQ+ community. The stigma is such that it has extended to an innocent animal who was in fact not supposed to be categorized like humans and the whole perception about the creature being gay was all wrong.
About a week ago, a dog was abandoned at an animal shelter in the US after his owners thought he was gay. The 5-year-old canine named Fezco was surrendered last week to Stanley County Animal Protective Services in North Carolina’s Charlotte, by his owners after he apparently “humped another male dog”.
This hit the national headlines and trended all across the world on the internet.
But thanks to his rescue, an openly gay couple (Steve Nichols and his husband John Winn) that lives just outside the town learned about the dog and adopted it for good. They took the decision after reflecting on their own lived experience facing bigotry and ignorance as an openly gay couple of 33 years, according to a report by the Charlotte Observer.
He is now renamed Oscar – after Oscar Wilde, the gay Irish poet, and playwright of the late 19th century.
“It was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. That’s just pack behavior,” Steve Nichols said.
The couple also note that it wasn’t just that the dog was abandoned Oscar wasn’t in the best of conditions when they arrived at the shelter to take him home. Yet Oscar was “extremely sweet” despite his state, they narrate.
“What is almost as concerning as the idea that he’s gay, and that the person gave him up for that reason, is the fact that the owner apparently didn’t do anything to take care of this dog. It was pretty apparent to me that he has not seen a good meal or a groomer in his life either,” said Nichols.
Canine-rating Twitter account WeRateDogs shared their own update of the development, giving the dog and his humans a 14 on 10.
This is Fezco. He was abandoned by his previous owners for being “gay” after he humped another male dog. This week he was adopted by Steve Nichols and his husband, John Winn. The couple has since renamed him Oscar, after Oscar Wilde. 14/10 for him and his new humans pic.twitter.com/nhytrllMx6
— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) March 26, 2022
According to experts, Oscar’s humping of another male dog may have nothing to do with his sexuality, the behavior can be demonstrated during play with playmates or due to frustration.