The subjects of this retrospective study were all impounded dogs placed by three municipal shelters from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2013. The dogs either returned to their owners (lost dogs) or stayed in the shelter (abandoned dogs), were offered for adoption and subsequently adopted. Coat color influenced the likelihood of a dog being reclaimed from a shelter as well as the length of stay (LOS) at the shelter of abandoned dogs. The shortest LOS was found in brindle and multicolor dogs (median time till adoption 17 and 18 days, respectively) followed by white, fawn, red, brown, black and tan, and grey dogs. Black dogs had the greatest LOS (median 32 days). In lost dogs, coat color had no significant effect on the time spent at a shelter, the median time until a dog was reclaimed by his caretaker being one day, irrespective of the coat color. However, the results of our study suggest that black, brown and brindle dogs are more likely to be abandoned by their keepers, and that fawn, black and tan, grey, and red dogs, if lost, have a better chance of being reclaimed by their caretakers. Understanding potential adopters' preferences and the likelihood of individual dogs admitted to the shelter being adopted is crucial for shelter personnel to establish effective procedures for rehoming shelter dogs. Furthermore, a sample of shelter dogs from the Czech Republic was used as a contribution to the multicultural assessment of black dog syndrome.