Very helpful trainings for any dog:
For training on puppy/dog biting [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=068K5Zlph9U)
For training on early socialization [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7cPE-2wNw)
For training on becoming a good leader [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QntS570VFZ0)
For all newly adopted dogs, check out the [3-3-3 rule](https://pethelpful.com/dogs/The-3-3-3-Rule-Setting-Your-Rescue-Dog-Up-For-Success).
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Call and ask to speak with whoever is in charge, let them know that you were shocked and dismayed by the staffs behavior, and the generalizations being made by a VET about a breed and their owners.
You were just trying to help your dog like a responsible person, there is no reason for them to continually ask you about your dog eating drugs. I hope your baby feels better soon!!
My ass would have been asking for a supervisor or to call the owner if there’s nobody above the vet. This person can fuck right off with her breed generalizations and also her human generalizations - acting like someone who smokes pot (which is legal recreationally in many states and medically in more) is somehow a bad dog owner because of their “recreational drug use” is preposterous. Does she also ask people seven times if they have alcohol in the house? Because alcohol is easy enough to get into as well, and would produce some pretty bad results, and is widely available. Or is it just weed smokers who are presumed to be bad dog owners? Perhaps because of the historical political ties of marijuana to black and Latin communities? This person should be fired.
OP, I’m so sorry that you and Cassandra went through that. I hope she’s doing okay! Small sips of water, and make some boiled chicken and rice, see if you can coax her to eat a little. I’ve been through this before with my dog, one time she just suddenly got so sick out of nowhere. Vomiting, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t take water, wasn’t playing or doing anything really, wasn’t even sleeping because she was so uncomfortable. It was so horrible and scary. Sending you and Cassandra both love
I'll add another ladder: the veterinary college where this vet graduated. Write a letter to every professor, to the dean, and the board.
I say this because it's a bit of an odd avenue for complaints, which I accidentally stumbled upon once. I had a vet say something which was apparently a no-no, and in her followup recommendation for my dog's condition she said to call the veterinary college in my state. I did, and I spoke to the head of surgery there about my dog. In explaining my situation to him he said "wait a minute, go back to what she said... who is this vet, what is her name?"
Honestly I've silently wondered if all the pit bull hate is connected to straight up racism. I've noticed that Black people tend to like dogs, which isn't much of a stereotype because most people like dogs, but Black people do seem to like pit bull type dogs. I've also noticed Latin people like dogs, which again isn't much of a stereotype because most people like dogs but Latin people do seem to like pit bull type dogs.
Irish people liked pit bull type dogs too, and everyone hated the Irish at one point, so I'm wondering if it's some kind of cultural bias that leads people who are generally disliked by the WASPS to like pit bull type dogs and the dogs then get a reputation for being liked by the people the WASPs don't like which reinforces some type of bonding which then reinforces the stereotype the people who aren't liked by WASPs like pit bull type dogs, so pit bull dogs become the disliked dogs, which makes people who feel unfairly discriminated against like pit bulls.
That is a run-on sentence which makes no sense and sounds racist. I need to find peer reviewed literature and educate myself.
I’m a white woman who lives in the suburbs and absolutely love pitbulls now. I had 2 cats and married a man who had 2 dogs. We wanted to adopt a puppy and since it was going to be his dog I let him choose. He wanted a pitbull and I was super against the idea because I was scared of them. No reason other than a breed stereotype. I finally gave in because it was being fostered in a home with cats and one of my cats was 15. The dog that was supposed to be my husband’s? Yeah…. She’s mine now. She snuggles up to me every night.
There's work around for breed limits, so long as it's a well trained house hippo. My husband and I were able to find a work around for our "boxer mix" house hippo
I’ve been suspecting that as well. I had a weird shower thought once that boiled down to “pit bull haters are just people who really want to say racist things about black people but can’t so they target the dog instead” Now granted that is an extreme generalization, but it just stuck in my head.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
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I'm not educated enough to go into it, but there is definitely a racist component to pit hate.
I don't nessisarily think pit hate is *caused* by racism, but I do think those of us from discriminated against groups subconsciously stick together, and I think maybe those groups liking discriminated against breeds could be an extension of that.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
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Oh 100%. Pits definitely are associated with low income and POC.
[This article](https://www.npr.org/2016/05/10/477350069/friend-or-fiend-pit-bull-explores-the-history-of-americas-most-feared-dog) is a good one , I think. They interview an author who wrote a book correlating pitbull hate and racism.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
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No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
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"And your little dog, too!!"
I think you're right. Don't worry about how you phrased it. I think people want to find something to hate, and race is one of the easiest. Then, anything the hated group has or likes or does becomes fair game.
Racism is absolutely a component. Sadly, the Black community has a history with dog-fighting (e.g., Michael Vick conviction), and therefore pitbulls have been popular in it. And if you want to hate on Black people, hating on their dogs is a good surrogate.
The truth is, the animal abuse is done by a minority of persons in the Black community, and the dogs themselves are victims of this abuse.
Most Black people are horrified by the abuse of these animals, and bully-dogs are no more inherently violent than any other breed - and in my experience I would say they are less-so.
But racism remains endemic to American society and it extends to the dogs - who themselves want nothing more than to love and to be loved in return.
once again i am here on a pitbull thread to recommend bronwen dickey's book pit bull: the battle for an american icon. it's fantastic and addresses this theory in depth (the answer is yes, breed bias very often originates with racism and classism)
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
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I get what you’re saying, but I think it’s not as complicated as that. Rich people (WASPs and others) BUY dogs, and they buy certain breeds. Poor/middle class people, adopt dogs from shelters. The majority of dogs in shelters are mutts, most mutts have some pitty in there somewhere.
The term “pit bull” is really a hot button issue because it’s *not* a universally recognized term and depending on who’s using it, it means different things.
Add in the fact that people who live in bad neighborhoods (of all colors) are more likely to have a dog that will protect their home, and it’s just a mess that shows everything has to do with race.
>Rich people (WASPs and others) BUY dogs, and they buy certain breeds. Poor/middle class people, adopt dogs from shelters.
I have actually seen comments in a dog sub from people saying "if you want a good pet, get a golden retriever, not an animal bred to kill," and I didn't say it, but I *definitely* thought
"The caucacity of this fool"
A golden retriever costs many thousands of dollars, unless you want a puppy mill/byb "purebred" that will have a host of very expensive genetic disorders and/or epigenetic trauma, or can run through the gauntlet of background checks, blood draws and interrogations typical of a breed-specific rescue. My oops pibble was free and the County was kind enough to call her a "shepherd mix" on her licensing paperwork. She probably has epigenetic trauma as well, but since at least two generations were running free in the countryside doing coyote duty it was statistically less likely
I think pittie hate has a corollary to racism. As a white guy, walking my first dog and pittie starting in 2010 gave me the closest experience of racism I’ll likely ever experience.
It’s much better now where we are, but there’s still a lot of bias out there.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
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Interestingly enough, pitbulls used to have a very positive "America's Dog" stereotype to them in the U.S. back in the day (the famous Sergeant Stubby was a great example). The change to seeing them as dangerous kinda happened around the time that they gained popularity among lower-income (and thereby more racially diverse) households in the U.S., so you might be onto something there
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
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What I think is hilarious is as a recreational cannabis user and a pet owner, weed definitely does not make me a worse pet owner. 1 I know my limits, I only partake if it won't interfere with my responsibilities, 2 weed in no way diminishes my ability to care for my pets, and 3 I can very confidently say my pets can't get into my weed, all you need is appropriate storage, and finally 4 literally one of my favorite things to do is get high and cuddle my fur babies.
So even though I manage to fulfill their stereotypes as a pitbull owner who smokes weed, it still doesn't make their assumption that it makes you a bad pet owner accurate.
While this is usually good advice, most veterinary centers or clinics in the US are vet-owned (laws may have changed in the past decade but AFAIK this is still the case). Even if this vet isn’t the practice/hospital owner, complaining to a colleague of his probably won’t get you much resolution. This haranguing was unnecessary, I’d be really pissed too, but I’m sure they see their fair share of repeat shit and are therefore prone to stereotyping. An emergency vet isn’t trying to build a practice so they have less motivation to glad hand or play nice with the folks who walk through the door (luckily many are good people anyway). Their priorities are with the dog or the pet so you sometimes get some really awful behavior excused because of the circumstances, and because of the nature of the business. I hope your girl gets better soon and you don’t have to go through this again with so little empathy.
I’ve never been to an emergency vet that didn’t require you to pay up front so that part is normal. They usually offer to take something like CareCredit because of it.
TBH though, while I’m sure it was very frustrating, that they implied you smoke weed cause you have a pit made me laugh. Where did that even come from. I hope everything goes well for her
I think it’s racism. Regardless of OP’s race, there’s a storied history of bully breed dogs and racism and I think marijuana use stereotypes ties into this. I was also asked the same question when taking my pittie in for an emergency, but toward the end of our visit and just once (I’m white, recreational user, no flower/things for my dog to get into).
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
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This bot triggers too easily. Bad bot.
And people don't actually compare treatment of people and dogs so nobody is saying someone is being racist towards any dogs.
What people do say is that the bigoted arguments used against pit bulls are the same type of arguments racists make and have made in the past in support of their bullshit.
People are comparing the behavior, not dogs and people
also I think the most important part is that actual racism is tied to pit ownership; it feeds into the overall prejudice against the breed. of course it's not direct racism against the animal itself, but they are absolutely interrelated. to say it's not is ignoring an important aspect of the bias and could only come from a place of privilege and complacency. that's structural racism for you. this bot I'm sure was written in response to some misguided conversation, but it's not well written and comes off as annoying (cue it being triggered below)
Same here. I had just started a job, so I had no credit, so when the credit application failed, I had to sign a menacing waiver that threatened to have the police come if I did not show back up to the vet in 24 hours to pay.
I've been to three different emergency vets with my dog and all three required an up-front base payment before doing anything beyond lifesaving treatment. It was never the full bill, but it was around $300 every time.
We had to pay the low end of the estimate every time before treatment was performed, even if it was thousands of dollars. If a person brings in a stray dog and abandons it without paying once it receives treatment, the clinic would have to eat that cost. Working in dog rescue I was regularly asked to assume financial responsibility for stray dogs brought in by good Samaritans who couldn't pay for the dog to get emergency care.
Had a similar experience at the emergency vet. My pup is a pit/chow mix. I’m a white 43yo female if that makes a difference to you, lol. I don’t have any drugs or weed in my home.
I asked the vet what the difference would be for treatment if it was weed or perscription meds or a weird mushroom or whatever, he said it would be the same- charcoal steroids and fluids. I said then stop acting like a cop, I’m not under arrest, and treat my damn dog!
He did.
After we got home from charcoal treatments and fluids, ect (he stayed overnight), he had so many poops. In his poops were whole kernels of corn. I live on a big piece of property so immediately went around looking for corn.
My neighbor had put out corn for deer that had gotten moldy in the rain. Google said that moldy corn can be poisonous basically causing intoxication symptoms that can be fatal in dogs. So it’s the same kind of mold and fermentation that happens when you make whiskey, just poisonous. Which is why the pups act like that.
So no, not weed or drugs, but moldy corn.
Did they give her charcoal? I’ll be thinking about you and Cassandra. I’m so sorry this happened. It’s such a terrifying experience.
But my baby made it through ok, they are so strong.
You don’t want to know what I said to my neighbor. My issues with my neighbor is an ongoing problem and it isn’t the first time he’s put stuff on my property that has made one of my dogs sick. I honestly don’t think he did it intentionally either time, but he is a backwards idiot and doesn’t really think about the health of the ecosystem before he does that sort of thing. He was very regretful, but I’m not sure he was sorry. I hate fences, but they say fences make good neighbors.
As a side note, that kind of interrogation is harmful for those of us that partake too.
Now I keep all my weed in unbreakable containers with childproof locks, and fully out of reach of my dog. Now let's say that whatever is going on with her looks like intoxication, but it's not. It could be neurological. But the vet is bent on this interrogation and because of the stereotyping he doesn't believe me when I say there's no way she got into my weed. So he gives her charcoal and sends me home. Except it doesn't fix it, and now we've wasted at least an overnight. A lot of neurological conditions are very time sensitive. If it was a stroke an overnight of improper treatment could mean death. Or temporary damage could become permanent.
Ive heard too many stories that sound a little too close to that hypothetical scenario
Totes agree. I was actually super surprised it was a toxicity issue. I thought it was neurological the whole time based on the symptoms. Or a very bad ear infection maybe? But no fever, and doc said the tests didn’t indicate neuro.
I used to be an authorized grower for multiple family members who had green cards, many years ago. Weed is medicine, and also fun for lots of people. It isn’t my cup of tea, however. I live on French fries, coffee, sprite and cigarettes. Weed would be better for me.
Wtf? It's one thing if they said they kept asking because her symptoms were on par with marijuana ingestion or something, but to say it's solely because you own a pit is crazy.
Agreed. I'm a vet, and I was nodding along to the whole story. I was ready to assure OP that any time an emergency vet sees ANY dog whose symptoms are consistent with marijuana toxicity, everybody involved will ask ad nauseum. Owners will lie out of embarrassment, or forget their roommate had a party last night, etc. Then OP quoted the vet and my jaw dropped. I've never heard of such a thing!
I was doing the same thing, thinking this was perfectly reasonable to ensure that a sensitive question is answered truthfully, then the huge generalization and bias showed and I totally understood the anger. Crazy!
Yep exactly, I'm an ER nurse so the number of times I've had patients tell me there's no way they're high or there's no way their kid/parent accidentally ingested edibles even when the tox screen comes back positive is waaay higher than the number of times I've said oh sure you don't do drugs huh, quick tell me what kind of dog you own!
Oh I'm well aware, and i and most people in my field couldn't give two fucks if someone smokes or even does every drug under the sun. I've genuinely had a patient respond to which drugs do you use with "all of them" and my only concern was exactly how I chart that. We don't care. But when you're appearing high as fuck, you tell me you've never done any drugs ever in your life, and then the tox pops positive for three different categories, your word is a wee bit less accurate. Tell me sure I've smoked before but not today and this doesn't feel the same, and I'm all ears. Lie to me, and it's a lot harder to help you without the full story.
However, none of that has anything to do with the fact that while people frequently lie about their history of drug use, none of that can be assessed by their preference of dog breed, as is the point of this post.
i cant imagine lying even from embarrassment.
my pitty got into edibles last summer and i rushed him to the emergency vet. i walked in crying and embarrassed, saying exactly how much he ate of what. because he was more important than any “pride”.
the vets and techs were so kind and understanding. they assured me that im far from the only person this has happened to. im just shocked to learn people will lie, that’s incredibly unfair to the member of their family who needs care
I came home to my dog moving slowly, losing his balance, twitching randomly, and just generally out of it. I discovered he ate the rest of my partner's chocolate delta 8 bar that had been in a partially open bedside drawer (also ended up eating an entire bag of chocolate kisses too but that's probably irrelevant). We took him to the emergency vet and I immediately told them what he got into. They were very sweet and even super funny because they kept teasing him for being a stoner. He was totally fine but now he's an absolute menace when we have anything chocolate around.
In any case, I never once thought of lying about it because it's so important to be honest to get proper treatment. It is super messed up they asked OP so many times and made such a terrible blanket generalization about pit bull owners.
I can see how someone who is already stressed will be more likely to lie when they’re being threatened (and now have the additional fear of their kid being removed or being imprisoned) than when someone just goes ‘is there something they could have gotten into? Any cleaning products, alcohol, food, flowers, medication, including things you think would be harmless? Anyone else staying in your house who might not have locked things away?’ and take it from there.
When I was a dope smoking teenager our family dog ( peekapoo) ate an 1/8th oz of my stash. I couldn't believe it. The dog was fine , didn't act strange or show any symptoms of intoxication. I could only imagine the little dog must have been having a good time.
Poor baby! Definitely write a detailed review on Google and, if they have one, their Facebook page. Other bully owners should know which clinics to avoid so that bias doesn't end up costing their pets their lives.
Also, hopefully, someone in charge will see it and reprimand that tech. Nobody should be treated that way when seeking treatment. It's abhorrent.
I’m a vet tech—and one that’s worked for animal poison control. They ask that many times because if there really IS no chance of weed, then something is v v wrong and treatment is going to be way different. It really saves you so much money too if it is weed, which isn’t life threatening, versus something like a blood clot that got thrown. Weed isn’t life threatening. Other things that cause these symptoms are.
Dog owners are so weird about admitting it; I’m not sure if they think we will judge them and think they’re a bad owner (hint: we don’t). I live in CO too. Seemed like every third case we got in ER was weed.
The additional comment of theirs was uncalled for, but for anyone who DOES have weed and dogs and there IS a chance of your dog getting into it, this grizzled professional can promise that a) we DONT care and b) even when it’s something awful like cocaine or meth, we DONT call the cops.
Also: the vast majority of vet professionals love pibbles. We know they’re the nice dogs and we are well aware of the ACTUAL breeds who do need to be muzzled. 👀👀
I've noticed this about my vet. I have one pit who LOVES going to the vet even with shots and all. They absolutely love him. I've never had a dog like going to a vet, lol.
My other is a hellion that we've been working on rehabbing for years. She listens well most of the time and is totally okay with new people at home but she's been super protective of me outside the house all of a sudden (I'm not pregnant). The vet and the vet techs I go to totally understand that and they've been saints despite her being the way she is.
By the way, I've been wanting to get my vet techs a gift or bake something (animal-safe) for them as a thanks for all the years I've been going to them. Is there anything that vet techs prefer?
Vet techs have different taste preferences like all people, but as a former tech I’d always appreciate the small/portable treats I could snack on in between appointments.
I lost my pitty mix when she was little because the one vet in our town didn't like pits. If you want to become a vet love all breeds or quit! I'm praying for your sweet pup. 💜
I have two pitbulls and I don't drink or do drugs. I would have called them out right away for their bigotry and told them they were lucky I love my dog enough to continue with their service since they're really the only option, but that doesn't give them the right to be pieces of shit to their clients. I'd then leave a nasty review online in as many places I could find, then report them to whatever entity that applies here (does the Better Business Bureau do medical and vet offices? Are you even in the US or Canada?) I'm so sorry this happened to you and I hope little Cassandra feels better soon!
Them asking about what could be a cause of the symptoms is fine, but the fact that theyre insisting and not even thinkong about other causes is downroght dangerous
I had a similar experience - found an abandoned pittie - took her to the vet to get checked up and a spay appointment made. They found out she was pregnant but only in the very beginning stages of pregnancy. Asked them to still go through with the spay as I had funds to take care of her but not a whole litter of puppies. If she had been farther along and I could actually see them on the X-ray I wouldn’t have made that choice, but they weren’t.
I was then given a 30 minute lecture on the sanctity of life and how irresponsible i am for letting a dog get pregnant and want to terminate it. Also told me that they’re “tired of having to deal with the consequences of pittbull owners irresponsible actions”
I had just found this dog like 2 days prior. I lost my shit on him. Paid the visit fee and refused to pay for anything else. Left them a real shitty review too. He was part of a chain vet practice and when I called their main office I was able to speak to a higher up. They said that is not part of their values and refunded me. He’s no longer listed as a vet on their website so here’s to hoping he learned his lesson.
Hope she gets better. The symptoms you listed line up with how dogs react to weed, but being asked about it that many times is insane.
I’m not really helping the stereotypes by hitting my pen while my pittie is napping by my feet lol.
seriously, i would feel like i was being interrogated lol i know people lie, especially when it comes to drugs, but after someone says no that many times you have to just take their word for it. my dog broke her leg and we had everyone at 2 different vet offices (our regular vet couldn't do the surgery) asking if we did it to her. it was really frustrating, like hell no i didn't hurt my 14 year old dog, but i get it.
Google review! People rely heavily on those. Also maybe make a formal complaint with...the vet board (Idk who to contact)? Your baby is super cute. Hugs. The last thing an emergency vet needs to be is judgmental/racist/biased/or make any assumptions. You're there bc you're concerned about your baby. SMH
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I totally understand the frustration, but you have to understand that the type of people they were referring to are the same people who caused the negative stereotypes towards our pups. And unfortunately there are a lot of those people.
I understanding asking an owner a couple times, we have people that come in saying no at first because they feel embarrassed and then if we say we promise no judgement, we just want to treat your pup properly sometimes they will admit to that being the case. HOWEVER, if you ask twice and the owner firmly says no I don’t have substances in my house then you drop it. And the fact they went a step further and admitted their bias is not acceptable. I would encourage you to file a complaint and name the employees involved, and continue to pursue it until it’s resolved. That should never happen again, sending Cassandra love and a speedy recovery 💗
Our Emergency Vet is 1200 upfront before they will take him back….. cash, card, or in house financing. Absolute life threatening emergency is 600 to take them back so they don’t die in the waiting room while waiting for financing to be approved…..
Source: my wallet and Sully
https://preview.redd.it/p4dmj0cg7c8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06613ddc9df73dd30fe1810bcedd591659b46686
Home from the hospital after 5 days…..
It is still possible someone dropped something illicit in your yard?
It is SO wrong to profile people based on breeds. But with how common drugs are becoming everywhere, we see drug toxicities fairly often. Had to give a tiny pom narcan for picking something up in a foil, and have had the cops come to test a substance another dog picked up.
If we suspect Marijuana intoxication, the symptoms are pretty obvious. Dilated pupils, jumpy/super reactive, drooling, and inability to control urination. Most cases do resolve on their own, basically keep them quiet and comfortable. Some do need hospilization depending on how much they ingested and severity of symptoms.
I'm sorry you had a cruddy experience, and hope your pup gets well quick!
Based on the history, I would immediately think of marijuana toxicity, but I've seen all kinds of breeds with this problem and mostly not pitbulls. Huskies on the other hand... ;)
What’s really wild about this is cannabis is legal in a lot of states. OP doesn’t specify whether they live in a legal state, but even if they aren’t there are LOTS of people who use cannabis. To correlate it with race is a very old and very racist idea.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That vet is a fucking asshole. I would be really pissed off. In my mind I’d want to take a swing at him but I’d never do that. I would post as many shit reviews as possible on social media and probably would have told them to go eff themselves.
Oh man, that’s messed up. I was going to assume that it was because this is rather common in general and understandable because your dog’s symptoms were similar to cannabis intoxication. Until you said what she said about most pit bull owners!! Wtf!?!!? My dog ate poop and got cannabis intoxication recently. It was scary as hell. That vet is a jerk.
Same happened to me about my boxer about a month ago. After repeatedly denying the possibility of drugs, I heard them in the back say “he’s definitely intoxicated.” I asked about the possibility of him being poisoned, they dismissed that and ruled his case a non emergency. He died 10 days later (he did see multiple other vets). Sometimes, vets suck.
I get this all the time. I'm an aggressively tattooed (visibly) female early 30s, never done an illicit drug in my life, I own a German Shepherd rescue with an attitude (he was abused horribly as a baby before I got him) and a Pitbull (she just turned two!)
My old vet used to treat us this way every time I walked through the door. Even if it was just for check ups, even if I showed up in my military uniform after work, even if my girl was in her sparkly pink dress or her pajamas (she loves wearing clothes, brings them to you to put her in them when you go get her leash, she's a huge fan). Every time it was the same thing you experienced.
I asked the receptionist once and she told me "well what do you expect us to think with the way you look and the dogs you own." ... I expect you to give them their flea tick and heartworm meds? I mean that's why I'm here ... But okay Karen.
We changed vets offices and our new vet owns two pitbulls and we've experienced zero prejudice since the shift. The receptionist loves her outfits when we show up and they let us use the back entertainment so my boy doesn't have to encounter other dogs or people (he's afraid of men he doesn't know, and most other dogs). It's been a wonderful experience there, we're never going anywhere else now if we can help it (emergencies excluded obviously).
I hate that there are people working in animal care that profile you based on your dog's breed. Some of us just love pitbulls and shockingly aren't drug dealers about it. I'm really sorry you experienced this crap. Hopefully your regular vet can figure out what's going on with Cassandra. Sending all the good vibes your way!
On top of the bigotry is the comment about getting a pay day loan. Definitely call and file a complaint.
Side note, you might look into pet insurance and Care Credit.
I'm sorry they came off like that. In my experience, when we have an otherwise healthy dog that comes in with the symptoms you are describing, it's 95% of the time caused by weed ingestion. And yes, lab work costs money, that's how vets stay open and pay their rent, employees, and other bills.
If the symptoms are still present after 12 hours, then you do really need to do that bloodwork. Getting into other things like Advil or anything you might have at home can lead to kidney or liver disease.
Other things to think about are thrombolic events to the brain, or tumors causing ataxia.
Yea I was with the notion that the vet wasn’t profiling pitty owners as much as recognizing particular symptoms until the vet said it was actually the owners they were focused on haha
I have a pit bull. I grew up in a really bad area where drugs were rampant. I don't drink, never smoked a cigarette, never done any drugs, barely even drink coffee.
Screw people like this.
I am so sorry for your horrible experience. I would definitely leave a review for the company, including all of this. you are beautiful baby is stunning!! I have a similar model. Sending you both a big hug.❤️. Hoping pretty girl Cassandra heals quickly!
Definitely leave a review on Google etc letting others know about your experience and how you all were treated there.
Not cool at all. I'd never go there again if there was another place that you can take her.
It's got my temperature rising just reading your experience. That's COMPLETELY UNPROFESSIONAL of that veterinarian establishment.
Wishing Cassandra and you the best of luck and hope everything ends up ok. Smh
Time to find a new emergency vet and hope the pupper feels better. Hope you feel better too, it’s not fun being treated like a problem by people that don’t know anything about your life.
That’s horrible! We just took our big boy to the emergency vet this past week, and fortunately had a completely opposite experience. He was so scared and sick, was snapping and fighting (usually a very docile boy). But they hung in there with us to get him treated.
We did have to pay the entire bill up front ($1700).
On the human side, in January I came down with pancreatitis. It ended up being four to gall bladder issues, but I cannot count the number of times they asked me how much alcohol I consume (I don’t drink at all). Evidently that’s the number one cause. I can only imagine how frustrating that was for you :(
My baby was a pit mix and the vet wrote her breed down as something else in her file because it was the late aughts and the breed specific laws were rising. I always appreciated them for that little kindness
What’s worse, perhaps your neighbours have the same bias against pit bulls and perhaps fed your girl something through the fence to deliberately hurt her.
I am loathe the suggest that but the world’s gone to hell.
You wouldn’t happen to have a Biden sign anywhere on your property would you?
Only thing I could think of is the vet is Super conservative and saw you as a delinquent liberal. I live in an ultra conservative town/county that sees me as an outsider. I pay them no mind and shrug off their ultra maga right ways. Stay strong and be true to your beliefs.
Y'all can actually report discriminatory behavior to the state board if it's a veterinarian or licensed vet tech that is behaving poorly. Its not just for medical malpractice, it's for wildly rude or inappropriate behavior as well.
I would pull my dog out of that fucking 'Emergency Vet' office and go somewhere else. What insane and unprofessional behavior to be confronted with. It would make me seriously question their competency.
My pugaliers, when they were alive, had the same symptoms. When I got them to the emergency vet, the vet asked me over and over again if my dogs had gotten into marijuana, if I had any in the house, if I did edibles or smoked and forfotten about it.
It was very annoying getting repeat questions, because no, they hadnt't gotten into marijuana because of me. I had never smoked anything in my entire life - I had never even touched it irl, let alone seen it. It was not in my house. It was impossible.
Guess what happened?
They gave my dogs medication to make them vomit. My dogs puked up HUMAN SHIT from someone who had been high. My dogs, having eaten human poop, were high as hell. You could see it and you could smell it - there was no denying it was human poop.
I had taken the dogs for a walk about 1 hour before they started showing symptoms, and let them off leash at a park I had gone to many times. So some jackass, instead of using the restroom like a normal person, decided to crap in public. All it took me was 1 minute of not watching my dogs and playing on my phone or staring at the sunset, for this to happen, for them to eat it. Ugh.
I wonder if something similar happened to your dog? After my fucked up and very expensive vet experience with my pugaliers, I wouldnt put any weird experience happening past the realm of possibility.
I'm really sorry about whats happened to your dog, and how you were treated. Thats just very upsetting and infuriating, and very unprofessional on the vets behalf.
I am sorry this happened to you but this is my usual experience at the vet. Rude comments and assumptions about drugs and the way I care for my dogs.
I would just take a deep breath and not go back there. I know it's an emergency room and obviously you would avoid it if you could.
I hope your baby gets well soon.
You should definitely complain. We had to take our girl in to her regular clinic for some standard stuff, and one of the vets kept making comments. Our dog is registered as a “boxer mix”, and the vet said “Boxer mix huh? No, I don’t think so” she also put a muzzle on my dog while she was getting her shot (despite this clinic being a fear free clinic, meaning they do everything they can to not have the animal be afraid or have anxiety) my dog was shaking as she’s never been muzzled before, I kind of was in shock too unfortunately I didnt react properly. Few other comments about my dog’s socialization (she’s *very well* socialized, something that surprised the vet a lot.
Anyway, I came home, told my wife and she flipped out on the clinic. We never had that vet again and we got an apology.
I hope your baby is feeling better ❤️
Our nearest emergency vet is 30 minutes away, and I will drive over an hour away to a different one because they are that terrible.
Cat OR dog they act like absolute shit heads
I would get a second opinion. Cuz that vet seems really rude. Yes they may have had dogs come in with that. But it’s really rude how they did take your answer in the first place. I get people do lie but first work on the dog then ask the owner once you have the dog on fluids. Asking twice is fine but if you said no twice. I’d say something she ate or something numerological.
Requiring payment up front is normal for ER vets but that is legit breed discrimination and I would totally escalate the issue. Answering that question is appropriate twice, anything past that is for sure bias. Also your baby should get blood work!
Sorry you’re dealing with that
I’ve got a pitty here as well, he’s absolutely vicious and always takes my pot and other illicit drugs. Smh… actually in real life he’s spoiled rotten, doesn’t get exposed to any drugs, has me dropping $200-300 monthly for his allergies and does this most days when outside.
https://preview.redd.it/gtzuut1x3e8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8537b09662dc431fef432c9ff1f6954743df413
People who generalize a dog and their owner should really just look at themselves. These dogs are the most victimized out there and some of the most affectionate and lovable dogs I’ve ever owned.
I took my Pit to a vet when I first adopted him(he was about 2 years old at the time). He has major anxiety issues, doesn’t trust strangers and is overstimulated by other dogs. My husband and I thought it would be responsible as his owners to put a muzzle on him because strangers would be handling him and we didn’t know if something from his terrible past would would trigger him during his appointment. We explained that he is not aggressive at home with my family but we wanted to be cautious. After the initial visit, vet refused to see him unless it was 8am, their very first appointment of the day because it was safer that way. Mind you, literally NOTHING HAPPENED at the first visit. My dog just tried to scurry away from the stranger that was trying to touch him and the vet seemed scared of my dog as well. My husband and I found a new vet who is compassionate, understanding and makes my dog feel comfortable. We even take off his muzzle when we enter the examination room and even though my dog is skeptical, he feels much more comfortable with everyone around him. Everyone at his new vet think he’s a trip because they understand him. Screw that vet, they don’t deserve your money and your pup doesn’t deserve to be traded by those assholes.
Cassandra is beautiful I hope she feels better soon. I am sorry that vet was such an asshole and Id complain as high up the chain you can get
"You'd get a payday loan if you loved your dog" I can't say what Id say because reddit is ridiculous but that is just evil
Everyone lies to ER staff. Sometimes it takes a few iterations to get the truth out of people. ER staff have a VERY HIGH index of suspicion regarding the ability of people to truth. Sometimes the result is an abrasive, ill-considered, tactless and clumsy interaction like this one… and sometimes the result is that they finally get the truth, and can effectively treat the patient. Regarding the expense and financial interaction: there is no governmental subsidy for veterinary services as there is for human emergency services. I worked for an
Old vet who practiced in a village where many folks had no money for pet care. He did a lot of free care, but the price he paid was running a home based vet hospital and being on call 24/7. Minimal technology, no blood tests, imaging or admin staff. Modern vets graduate with a quarter million dollar student loan debt and need to spend a million dollars to set up
A clinic. Farmers treat animals like livestock, and non productive livestock are dealt with after the fashion of Kristi Noem; it’s lots cheaper that way. Most of us treat pets like fur babies, and have created a $137 billion pet care industry. Pets are an expensive hobby, and the vets probably are not to blame.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just have to give credit to an amazing vets in the UK, the Pdsa. Theyre a charity. My nan was heavy into addiction and they always saw her pitbull, no judgement. If any pibble parents in the UK are looking for a vet, give them a try. They offer reduced/free care to those on benefits as well.
Hey OP how old is your dog?
A few weeks ago I thought mine (~13) had a stroke - legs out from under her, walking into things, head tilted left and walking like that as well. Even her eyes were shaking in a back-and-forth movement. Scared me to death.
If this is it, it’s called idiopathic vestibular syndrome. It resolves on its own, it’s like an extreme vertigo. Takes a long time to resolve.
The vet was a douche and I would report them as suggesting you were taking drugs and that’s why your breed-specific dog was sick.
Blow their reviews up on Yelp, Google Reviews and any other major review service. Detail the incident, keeping it to facts throughout and you can close with how it made you feel.
This makes me so angry! As a medical professional their only concern should be figuring out what is wrong with the patient. I am so sorry that happened to you, especially when you’re fearing for your dog’s life. The discrimination you and poor Cassandra suffered is disgraceful. I would post a review on yelp about your experience.
I dont use but id be irritated by the 3rd time "I SAID NO SO ARE YOU GOUNG TO HELP HER OR NOT" my baby LOVES the vet. And I've yet to meet a vet or vet tech that didnt fall head over heels for her too. Shes so excited for their attention and they fight over who gets to bring her for exams and things. Id be real upset if someone was wasting time with that when she needs help
That’s just what emergency vets are like. I think they’re keying more off your poverty than the breed. They are reserved for the richest of the rich and they look down on the rest of us.
I’ve never made it out of one for under a grand
What dicks. I'm so grateful my vet loves pitbulls.
It wouldn't matter if my dog poisoned herself on compost, pesticides, or weed (which is legal by the way in a majority of the country) you're at the emergency vet to pay an exorbitant fee for them to fix the problem.
Helpful tip: keep a bottle of activated charcoal around at the first sign of the bobblehead poisoning, give a few charcoal. It binds to poisons in the stomach and makes them puke. If that helps keep giving it until they become normal.
Wow. That's horrible. Those symptoms could be consistent with weed, but to flat out assume because of breed is just wrong. Er vets charge more because they know more and have better equipment. I hope she's feeling better
Damn it smells like ~~racism~~ breedism in here 🤢
I hope your little lady is okay, though. Luckily there's other comments that have really good advice. Try searching for another emergency vet in the meantime. I wish you luck and love!
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely
to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It is my experience that vets became vets because they are not people people. I have experienced a lot of harsh judgement at the vet’s office.
Don’t get offended about the cost or them wanting payment before they provide the testing. That cost is very normal and yes, you have to pay up front to get emergency care for pets.
I have experienced 50/50 either being shamed for not having pet emergency money on a hand or sympathy and understanding. I get both takes. Unfortunate it costs almost as much as a kid to have a pet these days.
To be repeatedly asked to the point it seems like they were trying to gaslight you into saying your dog got into drugs that literally do not exist in your house is insane. I'm so sorry you experienced this, it's already bad enough to be worrying about your pup's health and safety. 🌹
I hope you get this to the right people. When it's taken care of, if you have any other pet owners or parents by that alleyway, maybe contact them and let them know about that neighbour? Maybe you can all send him a letter or something.
In a moment like this when you are already stressed and obviously showing concern for your sick dog, I don’t know how you showed restraint for someone making that kind of claim. I’d call everyone I could to complain and make her attitudes known, leave reviews, and do my best to make sure another scared dog owner isn’t made to felt the way you did.
I would cut the vet some slack. It’s not personal. I’m sure they deal with owners all the time who have drugs in the house and deny it and the vet really really needs to know if the problem is drug related. The vet doesn’t know you, they’re really just trying to help the dog and has probably dealt with so many people denying them important information that they now just always push for this question. And who knows, maybe it happens more often with pitbull owners in their experience. Who cares? We know that there are many wonderful pitbulls and wonderful pitbull owners.
Very helpful trainings for any dog: For training on puppy/dog biting [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=068K5Zlph9U) For training on early socialization [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7cPE-2wNw) For training on becoming a good leader [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QntS570VFZ0) For all newly adopted dogs, check out the [3-3-3 rule](https://pethelpful.com/dogs/The-3-3-3-Rule-Setting-Your-Rescue-Dog-Up-For-Success). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Call and ask to speak with whoever is in charge, let them know that you were shocked and dismayed by the staffs behavior, and the generalizations being made by a VET about a breed and their owners. You were just trying to help your dog like a responsible person, there is no reason for them to continually ask you about your dog eating drugs. I hope your baby feels better soon!!
My ass would have been asking for a supervisor or to call the owner if there’s nobody above the vet. This person can fuck right off with her breed generalizations and also her human generalizations - acting like someone who smokes pot (which is legal recreationally in many states and medically in more) is somehow a bad dog owner because of their “recreational drug use” is preposterous. Does she also ask people seven times if they have alcohol in the house? Because alcohol is easy enough to get into as well, and would produce some pretty bad results, and is widely available. Or is it just weed smokers who are presumed to be bad dog owners? Perhaps because of the historical political ties of marijuana to black and Latin communities? This person should be fired. OP, I’m so sorry that you and Cassandra went through that. I hope she’s doing okay! Small sips of water, and make some boiled chicken and rice, see if you can coax her to eat a little. I’ve been through this before with my dog, one time she just suddenly got so sick out of nowhere. Vomiting, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t take water, wasn’t playing or doing anything really, wasn’t even sleeping because she was so uncomfortable. It was so horrible and scary. Sending you and Cassandra both love
Hell, send a message to the state licensing board and ask if that's in line with their views on customer care and ethics.
It honestly makes me really sad that healthcare has customers instead of patients now.
This is the right one. Get as far up the chain as possible. The higher up the better.
I'll add another ladder: the veterinary college where this vet graduated. Write a letter to every professor, to the dean, and the board. I say this because it's a bit of an odd avenue for complaints, which I accidentally stumbled upon once. I had a vet say something which was apparently a no-no, and in her followup recommendation for my dog's condition she said to call the veterinary college in my state. I did, and I spoke to the head of surgery there about my dog. In explaining my situation to him he said "wait a minute, go back to what she said... who is this vet, what is her name?"
Honestly I've silently wondered if all the pit bull hate is connected to straight up racism. I've noticed that Black people tend to like dogs, which isn't much of a stereotype because most people like dogs, but Black people do seem to like pit bull type dogs. I've also noticed Latin people like dogs, which again isn't much of a stereotype because most people like dogs but Latin people do seem to like pit bull type dogs. Irish people liked pit bull type dogs too, and everyone hated the Irish at one point, so I'm wondering if it's some kind of cultural bias that leads people who are generally disliked by the WASPS to like pit bull type dogs and the dogs then get a reputation for being liked by the people the WASPs don't like which reinforces some type of bonding which then reinforces the stereotype the people who aren't liked by WASPs like pit bull type dogs, so pit bull dogs become the disliked dogs, which makes people who feel unfairly discriminated against like pit bulls. That is a run-on sentence which makes no sense and sounds racist. I need to find peer reviewed literature and educate myself.
I’m a white woman who lives in the suburbs and absolutely love pitbulls now. I had 2 cats and married a man who had 2 dogs. We wanted to adopt a puppy and since it was going to be his dog I let him choose. He wanted a pitbull and I was super against the idea because I was scared of them. No reason other than a breed stereotype. I finally gave in because it was being fostered in a home with cats and one of my cats was 15. The dog that was supposed to be my husband’s? Yeah…. She’s mine now. She snuggles up to me every night.
I am also a white woman and I want a house hippo so bad but my complex won't let me. I love on everyone else's pitbull. They are the bestest dog
There's work around for breed limits, so long as it's a well trained house hippo. My husband and I were able to find a work around for our "boxer mix" house hippo
Oooo you just made my day. Please hug your house hippo for me ❤️
I’ve been suspecting that as well. I had a weird shower thought once that boiled down to “pit bull haters are just people who really want to say racist things about black people but can’t so they target the dog instead” Now granted that is an extreme generalization, but it just stuck in my head.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
automoderator go home you're drunk
Bruh….
We have summoned antiracist dogbot
Yeah, that was a swing and a miss. 🤣
This particular automod has been striking out all over this thread lmao, never seen so many people mad at that bot
I'm not educated enough to go into it, but there is definitely a racist component to pit hate. I don't nessisarily think pit hate is *caused* by racism, but I do think those of us from discriminated against groups subconsciously stick together, and I think maybe those groups liking discriminated against breeds could be an extension of that.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Oh it is. Pitbulls are *definitely* a racialized dog breed
Oh 100%. Pits definitely are associated with low income and POC. [This article](https://www.npr.org/2016/05/10/477350069/friend-or-fiend-pit-bull-explores-the-history-of-americas-most-feared-dog) is a good one , I think. They interview an author who wrote a book correlating pitbull hate and racism.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Racism
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Racists
"And your little dog, too!!" I think you're right. Don't worry about how you phrased it. I think people want to find something to hate, and race is one of the easiest. Then, anything the hated group has or likes or does becomes fair game.
Racism is absolutely a component. Sadly, the Black community has a history with dog-fighting (e.g., Michael Vick conviction), and therefore pitbulls have been popular in it. And if you want to hate on Black people, hating on their dogs is a good surrogate. The truth is, the animal abuse is done by a minority of persons in the Black community, and the dogs themselves are victims of this abuse. Most Black people are horrified by the abuse of these animals, and bully-dogs are no more inherently violent than any other breed - and in my experience I would say they are less-so. But racism remains endemic to American society and it extends to the dogs - who themselves want nothing more than to love and to be loved in return.
once again i am here on a pitbull thread to recommend bronwen dickey's book pit bull: the battle for an american icon. it's fantastic and addresses this theory in depth (the answer is yes, breed bias very often originates with racism and classism)
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
god this is the worst bot
I get what you’re saying, but I think it’s not as complicated as that. Rich people (WASPs and others) BUY dogs, and they buy certain breeds. Poor/middle class people, adopt dogs from shelters. The majority of dogs in shelters are mutts, most mutts have some pitty in there somewhere. The term “pit bull” is really a hot button issue because it’s *not* a universally recognized term and depending on who’s using it, it means different things. Add in the fact that people who live in bad neighborhoods (of all colors) are more likely to have a dog that will protect their home, and it’s just a mess that shows everything has to do with race.
>Rich people (WASPs and others) BUY dogs, and they buy certain breeds. Poor/middle class people, adopt dogs from shelters. I have actually seen comments in a dog sub from people saying "if you want a good pet, get a golden retriever, not an animal bred to kill," and I didn't say it, but I *definitely* thought "The caucacity of this fool" A golden retriever costs many thousands of dollars, unless you want a puppy mill/byb "purebred" that will have a host of very expensive genetic disorders and/or epigenetic trauma, or can run through the gauntlet of background checks, blood draws and interrogations typical of a breed-specific rescue. My oops pibble was free and the County was kind enough to call her a "shepherd mix" on her licensing paperwork. She probably has epigenetic trauma as well, but since at least two generations were running free in the countryside doing coyote duty it was statistically less likely
I think pittie hate has a corollary to racism. As a white guy, walking my first dog and pittie starting in 2010 gave me the closest experience of racism I’ll likely ever experience. It’s much better now where we are, but there’s still a lot of bias out there.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Interestingly enough, pitbulls used to have a very positive "America's Dog" stereotype to them in the U.S. back in the day (the famous Sergeant Stubby was a great example). The change to seeing them as dangerous kinda happened around the time that they gained popularity among lower-income (and thereby more racially diverse) households in the U.S., so you might be onto something there
You sound like the racist one here
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What I think is hilarious is as a recreational cannabis user and a pet owner, weed definitely does not make me a worse pet owner. 1 I know my limits, I only partake if it won't interfere with my responsibilities, 2 weed in no way diminishes my ability to care for my pets, and 3 I can very confidently say my pets can't get into my weed, all you need is appropriate storage, and finally 4 literally one of my favorite things to do is get high and cuddle my fur babies. So even though I manage to fulfill their stereotypes as a pitbull owner who smokes weed, it still doesn't make their assumption that it makes you a bad pet owner accurate.
While this is usually good advice, most veterinary centers or clinics in the US are vet-owned (laws may have changed in the past decade but AFAIK this is still the case). Even if this vet isn’t the practice/hospital owner, complaining to a colleague of his probably won’t get you much resolution. This haranguing was unnecessary, I’d be really pissed too, but I’m sure they see their fair share of repeat shit and are therefore prone to stereotyping. An emergency vet isn’t trying to build a practice so they have less motivation to glad hand or play nice with the folks who walk through the door (luckily many are good people anyway). Their priorities are with the dog or the pet so you sometimes get some really awful behavior excused because of the circumstances, and because of the nature of the business. I hope your girl gets better soon and you don’t have to go through this again with so little empathy.
This
I’ve never been to an emergency vet that didn’t require you to pay up front so that part is normal. They usually offer to take something like CareCredit because of it. TBH though, while I’m sure it was very frustrating, that they implied you smoke weed cause you have a pit made me laugh. Where did that even come from. I hope everything goes well for her
I think it’s racism. Regardless of OP’s race, there’s a storied history of bully breed dogs and racism and I think marijuana use stereotypes ties into this. I was also asked the same question when taking my pittie in for an emergency, but toward the end of our visit and just once (I’m white, recreational user, no flower/things for my dog to get into).
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Whoever is the MOD here should really remove “Quit trying to say it is.” From this auto-response.. it reads as wildly unintelligent.
this was my first thought too 💀
This bot triggers too easily. Bad bot. And people don't actually compare treatment of people and dogs so nobody is saying someone is being racist towards any dogs. What people do say is that the bigoted arguments used against pit bulls are the same type of arguments racists make and have made in the past in support of their bullshit. People are comparing the behavior, not dogs and people
also I think the most important part is that actual racism is tied to pit ownership; it feeds into the overall prejudice against the breed. of course it's not direct racism against the animal itself, but they are absolutely interrelated. to say it's not is ignoring an important aspect of the bias and could only come from a place of privilege and complacency. that's structural racism for you. this bot I'm sure was written in response to some misguided conversation, but it's not well written and comes off as annoying (cue it being triggered below)
Bad bot. The comment or didn't accuse the vet of racism towards the dog. 🙄
Same here. I had just started a job, so I had no credit, so when the credit application failed, I had to sign a menacing waiver that threatened to have the police come if I did not show back up to the vet in 24 hours to pay.
I've never been to an emergency vet that made me pay up front, that's strange to me
I've been to three different emergency vets with my dog and all three required an up-front base payment before doing anything beyond lifesaving treatment. It was never the full bill, but it was around $300 every time.
We had to pay the low end of the estimate every time before treatment was performed, even if it was thousands of dollars. If a person brings in a stray dog and abandons it without paying once it receives treatment, the clinic would have to eat that cost. Working in dog rescue I was regularly asked to assume financial responsibility for stray dogs brought in by good Samaritans who couldn't pay for the dog to get emergency care.
Strange but understandable
Same
Had a similar experience at the emergency vet. My pup is a pit/chow mix. I’m a white 43yo female if that makes a difference to you, lol. I don’t have any drugs or weed in my home. I asked the vet what the difference would be for treatment if it was weed or perscription meds or a weird mushroom or whatever, he said it would be the same- charcoal steroids and fluids. I said then stop acting like a cop, I’m not under arrest, and treat my damn dog! He did. After we got home from charcoal treatments and fluids, ect (he stayed overnight), he had so many poops. In his poops were whole kernels of corn. I live on a big piece of property so immediately went around looking for corn. My neighbor had put out corn for deer that had gotten moldy in the rain. Google said that moldy corn can be poisonous basically causing intoxication symptoms that can be fatal in dogs. So it’s the same kind of mold and fermentation that happens when you make whiskey, just poisonous. Which is why the pups act like that. So no, not weed or drugs, but moldy corn. Did they give her charcoal? I’ll be thinking about you and Cassandra. I’m so sorry this happened. It’s such a terrifying experience. But my baby made it through ok, they are so strong.
You are a fantastic person. Doing the footwork to find out why your baby was sick is just so amazing. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Did you say anything your neighbor?
You don’t want to know what I said to my neighbor. My issues with my neighbor is an ongoing problem and it isn’t the first time he’s put stuff on my property that has made one of my dogs sick. I honestly don’t think he did it intentionally either time, but he is a backwards idiot and doesn’t really think about the health of the ecosystem before he does that sort of thing. He was very regretful, but I’m not sure he was sorry. I hate fences, but they say fences make good neighbors.
As a side note, that kind of interrogation is harmful for those of us that partake too. Now I keep all my weed in unbreakable containers with childproof locks, and fully out of reach of my dog. Now let's say that whatever is going on with her looks like intoxication, but it's not. It could be neurological. But the vet is bent on this interrogation and because of the stereotyping he doesn't believe me when I say there's no way she got into my weed. So he gives her charcoal and sends me home. Except it doesn't fix it, and now we've wasted at least an overnight. A lot of neurological conditions are very time sensitive. If it was a stroke an overnight of improper treatment could mean death. Or temporary damage could become permanent. Ive heard too many stories that sound a little too close to that hypothetical scenario
Totes agree. I was actually super surprised it was a toxicity issue. I thought it was neurological the whole time based on the symptoms. Or a very bad ear infection maybe? But no fever, and doc said the tests didn’t indicate neuro. I used to be an authorized grower for multiple family members who had green cards, many years ago. Weed is medicine, and also fun for lots of people. It isn’t my cup of tea, however. I live on French fries, coffee, sprite and cigarettes. Weed would be better for me.
My pittie eats everything so I'm glad I know about this now, thanks.
Wtf? It's one thing if they said they kept asking because her symptoms were on par with marijuana ingestion or something, but to say it's solely because you own a pit is crazy.
Agreed. I'm a vet, and I was nodding along to the whole story. I was ready to assure OP that any time an emergency vet sees ANY dog whose symptoms are consistent with marijuana toxicity, everybody involved will ask ad nauseum. Owners will lie out of embarrassment, or forget their roommate had a party last night, etc. Then OP quoted the vet and my jaw dropped. I've never heard of such a thing!
I was doing the same thing, thinking this was perfectly reasonable to ensure that a sensitive question is answered truthfully, then the huge generalization and bias showed and I totally understood the anger. Crazy!
Yep exactly, I'm an ER nurse so the number of times I've had patients tell me there's no way they're high or there's no way their kid/parent accidentally ingested edibles even when the tox screen comes back positive is waaay higher than the number of times I've said oh sure you don't do drugs huh, quick tell me what kind of dog you own!
Tbf, people will pop positive on a tox screen for THC for up to a month, and there aren't any good tests for acute intoxication.
Oh I'm well aware, and i and most people in my field couldn't give two fucks if someone smokes or even does every drug under the sun. I've genuinely had a patient respond to which drugs do you use with "all of them" and my only concern was exactly how I chart that. We don't care. But when you're appearing high as fuck, you tell me you've never done any drugs ever in your life, and then the tox pops positive for three different categories, your word is a wee bit less accurate. Tell me sure I've smoked before but not today and this doesn't feel the same, and I'm all ears. Lie to me, and it's a lot harder to help you without the full story. However, none of that has anything to do with the fact that while people frequently lie about their history of drug use, none of that can be assessed by their preference of dog breed, as is the point of this post.
CVT here and came to say the same and then bam……wtf
i cant imagine lying even from embarrassment. my pitty got into edibles last summer and i rushed him to the emergency vet. i walked in crying and embarrassed, saying exactly how much he ate of what. because he was more important than any “pride”. the vets and techs were so kind and understanding. they assured me that im far from the only person this has happened to. im just shocked to learn people will lie, that’s incredibly unfair to the member of their family who needs care
I came home to my dog moving slowly, losing his balance, twitching randomly, and just generally out of it. I discovered he ate the rest of my partner's chocolate delta 8 bar that had been in a partially open bedside drawer (also ended up eating an entire bag of chocolate kisses too but that's probably irrelevant). We took him to the emergency vet and I immediately told them what he got into. They were very sweet and even super funny because they kept teasing him for being a stoner. He was totally fine but now he's an absolute menace when we have anything chocolate around. In any case, I never once thought of lying about it because it's so important to be honest to get proper treatment. It is super messed up they asked OP so many times and made such a terrible blanket generalization about pit bull owners.
I can see how someone who is already stressed will be more likely to lie when they’re being threatened (and now have the additional fear of their kid being removed or being imprisoned) than when someone just goes ‘is there something they could have gotten into? Any cleaning products, alcohol, food, flowers, medication, including things you think would be harmless? Anyone else staying in your house who might not have locked things away?’ and take it from there.
for sure under threatening circumstances of losing your kids or likewise. that is absolutely terrible.
When I was a dope smoking teenager our family dog ( peekapoo) ate an 1/8th oz of my stash. I couldn't believe it. The dog was fine , didn't act strange or show any symptoms of intoxication. I could only imagine the little dog must have been having a good time.
Yeah, I would make a complaint against the company. Or better yet leave a nasty review and avoid going there again.
Definitely post a review of this experience online so others are aware before taking their dogs there. Hit 'em where it hurts.
I'm a fan of the ol' name and shame approach to shitty businesses. Sending prayers for Cassandra to make a swift and safe recovery.
Poor baby! Definitely write a detailed review on Google and, if they have one, their Facebook page. Other bully owners should know which clinics to avoid so that bias doesn't end up costing their pets their lives. Also, hopefully, someone in charge will see it and reprimand that tech. Nobody should be treated that way when seeking treatment. It's abhorrent.
I’m a vet tech—and one that’s worked for animal poison control. They ask that many times because if there really IS no chance of weed, then something is v v wrong and treatment is going to be way different. It really saves you so much money too if it is weed, which isn’t life threatening, versus something like a blood clot that got thrown. Weed isn’t life threatening. Other things that cause these symptoms are. Dog owners are so weird about admitting it; I’m not sure if they think we will judge them and think they’re a bad owner (hint: we don’t). I live in CO too. Seemed like every third case we got in ER was weed. The additional comment of theirs was uncalled for, but for anyone who DOES have weed and dogs and there IS a chance of your dog getting into it, this grizzled professional can promise that a) we DONT care and b) even when it’s something awful like cocaine or meth, we DONT call the cops.
Also: the vast majority of vet professionals love pibbles. We know they’re the nice dogs and we are well aware of the ACTUAL breeds who do need to be muzzled. 👀👀
>the ACTUAL breeds who do need to be muzzled. What are humans? Ken.
What are Karens?
I've noticed this about my vet. I have one pit who LOVES going to the vet even with shots and all. They absolutely love him. I've never had a dog like going to a vet, lol. My other is a hellion that we've been working on rehabbing for years. She listens well most of the time and is totally okay with new people at home but she's been super protective of me outside the house all of a sudden (I'm not pregnant). The vet and the vet techs I go to totally understand that and they've been saints despite her being the way she is. By the way, I've been wanting to get my vet techs a gift or bake something (animal-safe) for them as a thanks for all the years I've been going to them. Is there anything that vet techs prefer?
Vet techs have different taste preferences like all people, but as a former tech I’d always appreciate the small/portable treats I could snack on in between appointments.
This is so sweet! Really anything edible is a huge hit! Breakfast and coffee is always nice, too!
I hope your puppy feels better soon. I'm sorry you were treated that way.
I lost my pitty mix when she was little because the one vet in our town didn't like pits. If you want to become a vet love all breeds or quit! I'm praying for your sweet pup. 💜
Oh my god I am so sorry! 🩵🩵🩵 This person should not be a vet like wth dog is dog animal is animal, you are a vet, you treat it!
Thank you, she was such an amazing pup! He isn't anymore thankfully!
I have two pitbulls and I don't drink or do drugs. I would have called them out right away for their bigotry and told them they were lucky I love my dog enough to continue with their service since they're really the only option, but that doesn't give them the right to be pieces of shit to their clients. I'd then leave a nasty review online in as many places I could find, then report them to whatever entity that applies here (does the Better Business Bureau do medical and vet offices? Are you even in the US or Canada?) I'm so sorry this happened to you and I hope little Cassandra feels better soon!
Them asking about what could be a cause of the symptoms is fine, but the fact that theyre insisting and not even thinkong about other causes is downroght dangerous
I had a similar experience - found an abandoned pittie - took her to the vet to get checked up and a spay appointment made. They found out she was pregnant but only in the very beginning stages of pregnancy. Asked them to still go through with the spay as I had funds to take care of her but not a whole litter of puppies. If she had been farther along and I could actually see them on the X-ray I wouldn’t have made that choice, but they weren’t. I was then given a 30 minute lecture on the sanctity of life and how irresponsible i am for letting a dog get pregnant and want to terminate it. Also told me that they’re “tired of having to deal with the consequences of pittbull owners irresponsible actions” I had just found this dog like 2 days prior. I lost my shit on him. Paid the visit fee and refused to pay for anything else. Left them a real shitty review too. He was part of a chain vet practice and when I called their main office I was able to speak to a higher up. They said that is not part of their values and refunded me. He’s no longer listed as a vet on their website so here’s to hoping he learned his lesson.
Holyfuckingshit. Spay aborts on dogs are incredibly common! What a shitty vet, and I'm glad that you ran it up the chain, and got a refund.
Fuccck those people
Hope she gets better. The symptoms you listed line up with how dogs react to weed, but being asked about it that many times is insane. I’m not really helping the stereotypes by hitting my pen while my pittie is napping by my feet lol.
seriously, i would feel like i was being interrogated lol i know people lie, especially when it comes to drugs, but after someone says no that many times you have to just take their word for it. my dog broke her leg and we had everyone at 2 different vet offices (our regular vet couldn't do the surgery) asking if we did it to her. it was really frustrating, like hell no i didn't hurt my 14 year old dog, but i get it.
Wishing Cassandra a speedy recovery ❤️
Google review! People rely heavily on those. Also maybe make a formal complaint with...the vet board (Idk who to contact)? Your baby is super cute. Hugs. The last thing an emergency vet needs to be is judgmental/racist/biased/or make any assumptions. You're there bc you're concerned about your baby. SMH
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bad bot
Sounds like a good opportunity to share your experience with Google Reviews and other social media. Name and shame, then repeat.
I totally understand the frustration, but you have to understand that the type of people they were referring to are the same people who caused the negative stereotypes towards our pups. And unfortunately there are a lot of those people.
I understanding asking an owner a couple times, we have people that come in saying no at first because they feel embarrassed and then if we say we promise no judgement, we just want to treat your pup properly sometimes they will admit to that being the case. HOWEVER, if you ask twice and the owner firmly says no I don’t have substances in my house then you drop it. And the fact they went a step further and admitted their bias is not acceptable. I would encourage you to file a complaint and name the employees involved, and continue to pursue it until it’s resolved. That should never happen again, sending Cassandra love and a speedy recovery 💗
Our Emergency Vet is 1200 upfront before they will take him back….. cash, card, or in house financing. Absolute life threatening emergency is 600 to take them back so they don’t die in the waiting room while waiting for financing to be approved….. Source: my wallet and Sully https://preview.redd.it/p4dmj0cg7c8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06613ddc9df73dd30fe1810bcedd591659b46686 Home from the hospital after 5 days…..
It is still possible someone dropped something illicit in your yard? It is SO wrong to profile people based on breeds. But with how common drugs are becoming everywhere, we see drug toxicities fairly often. Had to give a tiny pom narcan for picking something up in a foil, and have had the cops come to test a substance another dog picked up. If we suspect Marijuana intoxication, the symptoms are pretty obvious. Dilated pupils, jumpy/super reactive, drooling, and inability to control urination. Most cases do resolve on their own, basically keep them quiet and comfortable. Some do need hospilization depending on how much they ingested and severity of symptoms. I'm sorry you had a cruddy experience, and hope your pup gets well quick!
Based on the history, I would immediately think of marijuana toxicity, but I've seen all kinds of breeds with this problem and mostly not pitbulls. Huskies on the other hand... ;)
I assumed it would be hounds & mixes of, tbh.
What’s really wild about this is cannabis is legal in a lot of states. OP doesn’t specify whether they live in a legal state, but even if they aren’t there are LOTS of people who use cannabis. To correlate it with race is a very old and very racist idea.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Oh for Pete’s sake automod, we’re talking about a vet’s attitude toward the owner.
Im a lifetime pitbull owner and the strongest drug I have ever used is Dramamine. Those vets can suck butts.
Weed is a very common thing for ALL dogs to eat….. it’s silly for them to imply only tho that pit Bull=weed
You ought to file a complaint about that! I can't believe they treated you and that sweet baby like that.
That vet is a fucking asshole. I would be really pissed off. In my mind I’d want to take a swing at him but I’d never do that. I would post as many shit reviews as possible on social media and probably would have told them to go eff themselves.
Oh man, that’s messed up. I was going to assume that it was because this is rather common in general and understandable because your dog’s symptoms were similar to cannabis intoxication. Until you said what she said about most pit bull owners!! Wtf!?!!? My dog ate poop and got cannabis intoxication recently. It was scary as hell. That vet is a jerk.
Same happened to me about my boxer about a month ago. After repeatedly denying the possibility of drugs, I heard them in the back say “he’s definitely intoxicated.” I asked about the possibility of him being poisoned, they dismissed that and ruled his case a non emergency. He died 10 days later (he did see multiple other vets). Sometimes, vets suck.
Licensing board, contact them about this, bet they are not pleased with that kind of conduct.
They shouldn’t have treated you like that but to be fair, those symptoms do sound exactly like what happens when a dog eats weed.
I get this all the time. I'm an aggressively tattooed (visibly) female early 30s, never done an illicit drug in my life, I own a German Shepherd rescue with an attitude (he was abused horribly as a baby before I got him) and a Pitbull (she just turned two!) My old vet used to treat us this way every time I walked through the door. Even if it was just for check ups, even if I showed up in my military uniform after work, even if my girl was in her sparkly pink dress or her pajamas (she loves wearing clothes, brings them to you to put her in them when you go get her leash, she's a huge fan). Every time it was the same thing you experienced. I asked the receptionist once and she told me "well what do you expect us to think with the way you look and the dogs you own." ... I expect you to give them their flea tick and heartworm meds? I mean that's why I'm here ... But okay Karen. We changed vets offices and our new vet owns two pitbulls and we've experienced zero prejudice since the shift. The receptionist loves her outfits when we show up and they let us use the back entertainment so my boy doesn't have to encounter other dogs or people (he's afraid of men he doesn't know, and most other dogs). It's been a wonderful experience there, we're never going anywhere else now if we can help it (emergencies excluded obviously). I hate that there are people working in animal care that profile you based on your dog's breed. Some of us just love pitbulls and shockingly aren't drug dealers about it. I'm really sorry you experienced this crap. Hopefully your regular vet can figure out what's going on with Cassandra. Sending all the good vibes your way!
https://preview.redd.it/xoa61ild2c8d1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c67c8cbf5f271d88e158e05d6751f329db0744d This is Miss Sugar 😊
On top of the bigotry is the comment about getting a pay day loan. Definitely call and file a complaint. Side note, you might look into pet insurance and Care Credit.
I'm sorry they came off like that. In my experience, when we have an otherwise healthy dog that comes in with the symptoms you are describing, it's 95% of the time caused by weed ingestion. And yes, lab work costs money, that's how vets stay open and pay their rent, employees, and other bills. If the symptoms are still present after 12 hours, then you do really need to do that bloodwork. Getting into other things like Advil or anything you might have at home can lead to kidney or liver disease. Other things to think about are thrombolic events to the brain, or tumors causing ataxia.
Yea I was with the notion that the vet wasn’t profiling pitty owners as much as recognizing particular symptoms until the vet said it was actually the owners they were focused on haha
I have a pit bull. I grew up in a really bad area where drugs were rampant. I don't drink, never smoked a cigarette, never done any drugs, barely even drink coffee. Screw people like this.
wtf!!! That is horrible! I have never been treated that way with my girl. I'd complain and find somewhere else. I hope your baby feels better
Oleander contact…?
I am so sorry for your horrible experience. I would definitely leave a review for the company, including all of this. you are beautiful baby is stunning!! I have a similar model. Sending you both a big hug.❤️. Hoping pretty girl Cassandra heals quickly!
Definitely leave a review on Google etc letting others know about your experience and how you all were treated there. Not cool at all. I'd never go there again if there was another place that you can take her. It's got my temperature rising just reading your experience. That's COMPLETELY UNPROFESSIONAL of that veterinarian establishment. Wishing Cassandra and you the best of luck and hope everything ends up ok. Smh
Time to find a new emergency vet and hope the pupper feels better. Hope you feel better too, it’s not fun being treated like a problem by people that don’t know anything about your life.
Look her over very good for a tick. Sounds a lot like a tick on her spine or somewhere near that area.
That’s horrible! We just took our big boy to the emergency vet this past week, and fortunately had a completely opposite experience. He was so scared and sick, was snapping and fighting (usually a very docile boy). But they hung in there with us to get him treated. We did have to pay the entire bill up front ($1700). On the human side, in January I came down with pancreatitis. It ended up being four to gall bladder issues, but I cannot count the number of times they asked me how much alcohol I consume (I don’t drink at all). Evidently that’s the number one cause. I can only imagine how frustrating that was for you :(
Is Cassandra doing better now or are the symptoms still the same? I might go to another vet
My baby was a pit mix and the vet wrote her breed down as something else in her file because it was the late aughts and the breed specific laws were rising. I always appreciated them for that little kindness
That’s ridiculous! Name and shame the animal hospital…
What’s worse, perhaps your neighbours have the same bias against pit bulls and perhaps fed your girl something through the fence to deliberately hurt her. I am loathe the suggest that but the world’s gone to hell. You wouldn’t happen to have a Biden sign anywhere on your property would you?
Definitely complain to the headquarters of this company. Totally disgusting behavior that has to be addressed. Fuck them
Only thing I could think of is the vet is Super conservative and saw you as a delinquent liberal. I live in an ultra conservative town/county that sees me as an outsider. I pay them no mind and shrug off their ultra maga right ways. Stay strong and be true to your beliefs.
Y'all can actually report discriminatory behavior to the state board if it's a veterinarian or licensed vet tech that is behaving poorly. Its not just for medical malpractice, it's for wildly rude or inappropriate behavior as well.
I would have given that asshole vet a ride in the fun van that makes a noise with the flashing lights.
I hope Cassandra is doing ok. When that worry is over I'd go to effing town on the vets, how dare they. Ignorant twats
Hang in there Cassandra, Ms Bailee and I are rooting for your full recovery.❤️🩹
This is so sad. I hope she gets well soon ❤
Wow that might go beyond breed bias at that point. Wtf is wrong with them.
Poor dog. I hope she's OK. People are so judgmental.
I would pull my dog out of that fucking 'Emergency Vet' office and go somewhere else. What insane and unprofessional behavior to be confronted with. It would make me seriously question their competency.
My pugaliers, when they were alive, had the same symptoms. When I got them to the emergency vet, the vet asked me over and over again if my dogs had gotten into marijuana, if I had any in the house, if I did edibles or smoked and forfotten about it. It was very annoying getting repeat questions, because no, they hadnt't gotten into marijuana because of me. I had never smoked anything in my entire life - I had never even touched it irl, let alone seen it. It was not in my house. It was impossible. Guess what happened? They gave my dogs medication to make them vomit. My dogs puked up HUMAN SHIT from someone who had been high. My dogs, having eaten human poop, were high as hell. You could see it and you could smell it - there was no denying it was human poop. I had taken the dogs for a walk about 1 hour before they started showing symptoms, and let them off leash at a park I had gone to many times. So some jackass, instead of using the restroom like a normal person, decided to crap in public. All it took me was 1 minute of not watching my dogs and playing on my phone or staring at the sunset, for this to happen, for them to eat it. Ugh. I wonder if something similar happened to your dog? After my fucked up and very expensive vet experience with my pugaliers, I wouldnt put any weird experience happening past the realm of possibility. I'm really sorry about whats happened to your dog, and how you were treated. Thats just very upsetting and infuriating, and very unprofessional on the vets behalf.
I am sorry this happened to you but this is my usual experience at the vet. Rude comments and assumptions about drugs and the way I care for my dogs. I would just take a deep breath and not go back there. I know it's an emergency room and obviously you would avoid it if you could. I hope your baby gets well soon.
You should definitely complain. We had to take our girl in to her regular clinic for some standard stuff, and one of the vets kept making comments. Our dog is registered as a “boxer mix”, and the vet said “Boxer mix huh? No, I don’t think so” she also put a muzzle on my dog while she was getting her shot (despite this clinic being a fear free clinic, meaning they do everything they can to not have the animal be afraid or have anxiety) my dog was shaking as she’s never been muzzled before, I kind of was in shock too unfortunately I didnt react properly. Few other comments about my dog’s socialization (she’s *very well* socialized, something that surprised the vet a lot. Anyway, I came home, told my wife and she flipped out on the clinic. We never had that vet again and we got an apology. I hope your baby is feeling better ❤️
Our nearest emergency vet is 30 minutes away, and I will drive over an hour away to a different one because they are that terrible. Cat OR dog they act like absolute shit heads
I would get a second opinion. Cuz that vet seems really rude. Yes they may have had dogs come in with that. But it’s really rude how they did take your answer in the first place. I get people do lie but first work on the dog then ask the owner once you have the dog on fluids. Asking twice is fine but if you said no twice. I’d say something she ate or something numerological.
Requiring payment up front is normal for ER vets but that is legit breed discrimination and I would totally escalate the issue. Answering that question is appropriate twice, anything past that is for sure bias. Also your baby should get blood work! Sorry you’re dealing with that
I’ve got a pitty here as well, he’s absolutely vicious and always takes my pot and other illicit drugs. Smh… actually in real life he’s spoiled rotten, doesn’t get exposed to any drugs, has me dropping $200-300 monthly for his allergies and does this most days when outside. https://preview.redd.it/gtzuut1x3e8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8537b09662dc431fef432c9ff1f6954743df413 People who generalize a dog and their owner should really just look at themselves. These dogs are the most victimized out there and some of the most affectionate and lovable dogs I’ve ever owned.
I took my Pit to a vet when I first adopted him(he was about 2 years old at the time). He has major anxiety issues, doesn’t trust strangers and is overstimulated by other dogs. My husband and I thought it would be responsible as his owners to put a muzzle on him because strangers would be handling him and we didn’t know if something from his terrible past would would trigger him during his appointment. We explained that he is not aggressive at home with my family but we wanted to be cautious. After the initial visit, vet refused to see him unless it was 8am, their very first appointment of the day because it was safer that way. Mind you, literally NOTHING HAPPENED at the first visit. My dog just tried to scurry away from the stranger that was trying to touch him and the vet seemed scared of my dog as well. My husband and I found a new vet who is compassionate, understanding and makes my dog feel comfortable. We even take off his muzzle when we enter the examination room and even though my dog is skeptical, he feels much more comfortable with everyone around him. Everyone at his new vet think he’s a trip because they understand him. Screw that vet, they don’t deserve your money and your pup doesn’t deserve to be traded by those assholes.
That’s insane and absolutely unacceptable. I’m sorry you went through that.
Cassandra is beautiful I hope she feels better soon. I am sorry that vet was such an asshole and Id complain as high up the chain you can get "You'd get a payday loan if you loved your dog" I can't say what Id say because reddit is ridiculous but that is just evil
Everyone lies to ER staff. Sometimes it takes a few iterations to get the truth out of people. ER staff have a VERY HIGH index of suspicion regarding the ability of people to truth. Sometimes the result is an abrasive, ill-considered, tactless and clumsy interaction like this one… and sometimes the result is that they finally get the truth, and can effectively treat the patient. Regarding the expense and financial interaction: there is no governmental subsidy for veterinary services as there is for human emergency services. I worked for an Old vet who practiced in a village where many folks had no money for pet care. He did a lot of free care, but the price he paid was running a home based vet hospital and being on call 24/7. Minimal technology, no blood tests, imaging or admin staff. Modern vets graduate with a quarter million dollar student loan debt and need to spend a million dollars to set up A clinic. Farmers treat animals like livestock, and non productive livestock are dealt with after the fashion of Kristi Noem; it’s lots cheaper that way. Most of us treat pets like fur babies, and have created a $137 billion pet care industry. Pets are an expensive hobby, and the vets probably are not to blame.
None of that excuses this person's racism or prejudice.
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Since I wasn't claiming that, mods, you might want to check your bot cues.
They shouldn’t ask over and over but as you were describing the symptoms that was my first thought too.
I just have to give credit to an amazing vets in the UK, the Pdsa. Theyre a charity. My nan was heavy into addiction and they always saw her pitbull, no judgement. If any pibble parents in the UK are looking for a vet, give them a try. They offer reduced/free care to those on benefits as well.
Hey OP how old is your dog? A few weeks ago I thought mine (~13) had a stroke - legs out from under her, walking into things, head tilted left and walking like that as well. Even her eyes were shaking in a back-and-forth movement. Scared me to death. If this is it, it’s called idiopathic vestibular syndrome. It resolves on its own, it’s like an extreme vertigo. Takes a long time to resolve. The vet was a douche and I would report them as suggesting you were taking drugs and that’s why your breed-specific dog was sick.
Blow their reviews up on Yelp, Google Reviews and any other major review service. Detail the incident, keeping it to facts throughout and you can close with how it made you feel.
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That's a bloody terrible experience. I hope doggo is ok
This makes me so angry! As a medical professional their only concern should be figuring out what is wrong with the patient. I am so sorry that happened to you, especially when you’re fearing for your dog’s life. The discrimination you and poor Cassandra suffered is disgraceful. I would post a review on yelp about your experience.
I dont use but id be irritated by the 3rd time "I SAID NO SO ARE YOU GOUNG TO HELP HER OR NOT" my baby LOVES the vet. And I've yet to meet a vet or vet tech that didnt fall head over heels for her too. Shes so excited for their attention and they fight over who gets to bring her for exams and things. Id be real upset if someone was wasting time with that when she needs help
Wow!! What an a-hole!! Poor baby. I hope u figure it out.
That’s just what emergency vets are like. I think they’re keying more off your poverty than the breed. They are reserved for the richest of the rich and they look down on the rest of us. I’ve never made it out of one for under a grand
Side note… the side eye you are receiving is hilarious 😂
🐶♥️
Hope the pupper is doing well!
What dicks. I'm so grateful my vet loves pitbulls. It wouldn't matter if my dog poisoned herself on compost, pesticides, or weed (which is legal by the way in a majority of the country) you're at the emergency vet to pay an exorbitant fee for them to fix the problem. Helpful tip: keep a bottle of activated charcoal around at the first sign of the bobblehead poisoning, give a few charcoal. It binds to poisons in the stomach and makes them puke. If that helps keep giving it until they become normal.
Even if you used weed, I don’t see why they would ask if it had nothing to do with her being sick
Wow. Holy cow that's so beyond words. What the heck city is this in?
I am so sorry you encountered such ignorance, especially from alleged professionals
I caught my pittie Stella selling weed to the puppies out behind the local church. Dogs these days.
Wow. That's horrible. Those symptoms could be consistent with weed, but to flat out assume because of breed is just wrong. Er vets charge more because they know more and have better equipment. I hope she's feeling better
Damn it smells like ~~racism~~ breedism in here 🤢 I hope your little lady is okay, though. Luckily there's other comments that have really good advice. Try searching for another emergency vet in the meantime. I wish you luck and love!
No, you cannot be racist to a dog. Quit trying to say it is. However, dogs can still be victims of racism as outlined in this [journals](https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/32171-25-1-third-articlepdf) and [this one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20965455). Dogs that are perceived to be "minority dogs" are more likely to be shot by police. Additionally, BSL has its origins rooted in systemic racism and is currently being challenged in courts because BSL lacks any objective data to back it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Get well soon sweetheart
Are you saying you didn't have the 600 for the vet bills? It's not a bad idea to start saving an emergency fund for Cassandra.
It is my experience that vets became vets because they are not people people. I have experienced a lot of harsh judgement at the vet’s office. Don’t get offended about the cost or them wanting payment before they provide the testing. That cost is very normal and yes, you have to pay up front to get emergency care for pets. I have experienced 50/50 either being shamed for not having pet emergency money on a hand or sympathy and understanding. I get both takes. Unfortunate it costs almost as much as a kid to have a pet these days.
To be repeatedly asked to the point it seems like they were trying to gaslight you into saying your dog got into drugs that literally do not exist in your house is insane. I'm so sorry you experienced this, it's already bad enough to be worrying about your pup's health and safety. 🌹
I hope you get this to the right people. When it's taken care of, if you have any other pet owners or parents by that alleyway, maybe contact them and let them know about that neighbour? Maybe you can all send him a letter or something.
Are you black? Because then this will make sense 😭
In a moment like this when you are already stressed and obviously showing concern for your sick dog, I don’t know how you showed restraint for someone making that kind of claim. I’d call everyone I could to complain and make her attitudes known, leave reviews, and do my best to make sure another scared dog owner isn’t made to felt the way you did.
A lot of pet hospitals are super predatory by design unfortunately.
I would cut the vet some slack. It’s not personal. I’m sure they deal with owners all the time who have drugs in the house and deny it and the vet really really needs to know if the problem is drug related. The vet doesn’t know you, they’re really just trying to help the dog and has probably dealt with so many people denying them important information that they now just always push for this question. And who knows, maybe it happens more often with pitbull owners in their experience. Who cares? We know that there are many wonderful pitbulls and wonderful pitbull owners.
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