my distinguished-looking hound

I was trying to work dog into the picture of this gate when a guy came up and told me that I have a "distinguished-looking hound." Should I trust his opinion? He was wearing a t-shirt that said, "Really, I'm not wasted."

It was nice, however, to hear some kind words about my girl. I used to have a cute, blonde dog. We couldn't go for a walk without having people send us benevolent smiles and -- truly, this happened often -- stopping their cars and asking me what breed she was (answer: mutt--the best breed). Now that I have my big farm dog, we get more worried looks -- admittedly, she does look a little single-minded darting down the sidewalk in quest of squirrels -- than complimentary words. I guess blondes do have more fun. Or is there truly a prejudice in America against black dogs?