whenever I read this, I only ever imagine the sweet boy as a black labrador. I don't know why, I've never had a black labrador, I just cannot imagine him otherwise
I'm afraid I don't watch any anime, so any references there would be purely accidental 😅 black dogs are a bit of british folklore that I've always been fond of
Look into 'the ancient magus bride'.. grrayt and pretty fantasy show of modern day times with the fantasy elements being exclusively European, said Black Dog becomes a main character. 😘 Consider it research?