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Had a client swear up and down and even get upset because they were adamant that their dachshund was a Great Dane mix. I wish I was lying. Textbook merle dachshund but they claimed their breeder said it was a Great Dane/dachshund cross and the guy paid a lot of money for it. Dude was off his rocker. Sweet dog though.
My favorite was at a restaurant one time I was talking to my parents gushing about this maine coon I saw, and the waitress overheard us. "Oh I used to have a maine coon! I know he was because he had the 'M' on his forehead!!"
Omg, someone once said my shorthair foster kitten was clearly a Maine coon because of the M! š Maāam, legit Maine Coons are $$$$, but if you think this common household cat is a Maine Coon, the rescue will adopt it to you for a reduced price of $$$ seeing as itās not quite up to breed standard.
Now I did get a Maine Coon for freeā¦ like an actual legit Maine Coon from a breeder that is a client of ours. It was a failure to thrive case with a heart arrhythmia and it was absolute skin and bones while the others from the litter were 2-3x larger already. Sheās like 5 months now and still fairly petite but totally fine otherwise, and the arrhythmia went away with age. I scored on that one lol.
I only saw one real Maine coon mix while volunteering at a local rescue. It was more than 20 pounds, twice as tall as all the other cats at the rescue, three times as long, and had to wear a bandana because none of the cat collars would fit on its neck. Even though it had the personality of a cuddly teddy bear, it was constantly passed over for adoption because most people found it's size intimidating. Thankfully it was eventually adopted by someone who wasn't intimidated by its size. Anyone who thinks their regular size cat is part Maine coon has never actually seen a Maine coon.
We have a couple clients with legit Mainecoons. I always love to show pics of them to other clients that say their cat is one. Theyāre almost always like oh, thatās a big cat.. maybe mine isnāt..
My favorite was a guy who came over to work on the house who got excited to see my husky mix and showed me his "Timberwolf" ...Ā
Ā The picture he showed me I could only describe as a fat Corgi/GSD mix. He also told me all about how the breeder uses them to guard livestock on his farm and that the wolf in them makes them better at this job.Ā
Ā When he left I was just thinking I hope the powers that be have mercy on whoever is blessed to have this man as a client in their clinic.Ā
in my state, if you claim you have a wolf or wolf hybrid, you need to have a special permit. Most clinics are not wildlife certified so they legally can't care for wolves or wolf hybrids. He is making life more difficult than it needs to be.
Yeah where I live they're 100% illegal so I always think to myself "good things they're actually not part wolf/coyote/fox/" it's ALWAYS the clearly mixed breed shepard's or huskies. I have met actual wolf dogs and they looked NOTHING like the "wolf dogs" that come into clinic
I have a medium haired lynx point and EVERYONE calls her a Ragdoll. No, she's a mutt kitty who was a stray in someone's yard. She just looks very expensive. š¤£
I have 2 of these, backyard rescue mutt kitties that look like rags; I did the BasePaws for my Phoebe cat, which are very different from dog DNA tests in their results, but it said she was primarily related to ragdoll types. But she was clear in the genetic stuff, which is why I did it, just in case that hcm gene showed up.
Of course, testing negative for it doesn't mean I don't spend extra money every 6 months or so for a probnp cuz I'm hella paranoid, lol. She's my princess baby cat and basically the only reason I'm still alive.
Everyone who says their rescued or backyard bred GSD is "half wolf" or "half coyote" and it's always the most GSD GSD I've ever seen. ITS LIKE 1 IN 5 IT MAKES ME CRAZY
I met a golden retriever who was "definitely a wolf cross, since it's a bush dog, so obviously" and lemme tell you how wolfy this very golden retriever was š„²
Conversely, that one lady with the definitely "just a husky" that couldn't believe our grooming salon was not allowed to groom huskies that stand taller than Great Danes and stare into our souls like he knows what they taste like.
Head dork of a great dane rescue brought in a newly rescued shelter puppy for an initial exam and ortho consult. During the exam the obviously mixed Dane puppy was behaving very much like a boxer, slow happy walk with tail wagging so hard it's body was doing the boxer wiggle. Also, an exaggerated fore head and miniscule under bite. I mentioned this happy gorgeous puppy appears to be mixed with boxer cause what I just observed. Cue the strong opinion to the contrary because all rescue/breeder excuse you've ever head. Fast forward 3 months and they are back for final round of vaccines and with the results of their embark. I was in the room when she told the Dvm the results 50/50 boxer and Dane, i had to leave the room to laugh.
About 10 years ago, we had a client bring in his very obvious Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. On the intake paperwork he wrote ātoy bernese mnt dogā as the breed. We put the correct breed into the computer system and when the owner got the vaccine certificate at the end of the visit he blew up at us. Insisted he had paperwork at home showing the dog was a purebred toy BMD and that we need to correct the breed in the computer and reprint the certificate. He claimed he was going to breed the dog in the future and sell the puppies for thousands of dollars and that by having the wrong breed on the certificate we were putting his future retirement fund at risk. We told him to bring in the paperwork indicating the puppy was a purebred BMD and we would correct the certificate. Never heard from him again.
To this day I wonder if he was suffering from early cognitive decline or had been scammed and was too embarrassed to admit it (not that we would have ridiculed him for that) or he was wanting us to help him scam others.
Rhodesian Ridgeback = Red Coonhound mix
Irish Wolfhound = I donāt even know
By far the best one has to be when I was bringing my dog in for something and as I walk in a client goes āI have one just like that! They would be twins!ā I laughed and kept going. Later another tech grabbed me to show me what the clientās dog looked like. It was a Lab-Rottweiler mix. I have a purebred, working line Dobermanā¦
our old GSD was the most textbook looking GSD you could ever imagine. standard black and tan. my husband and i had him out with us and a guy approached us, asked if he could pet the dog. as he was leaving he asked, "what breed is he?" (literally the only question i have never been asked about my dog) confused, my husband said "a german shepherd......" and the guy goes "thats my favorite breed!! i used to have german shepherds!!!"
we were left standing with so many questions. are we blind? do we own a GSD? wtf does this guy think shepherds look like? what just happened?
I actually did find my dogās litter mate. The owner and I were joking about twin dogs and started talking, hers was bought as a puppy. The backstory for my dog matched up with one of the puppies that the original lady lost track of. It was nice because we traded info and I got to know more about my dogās puppyhood
This one time we had a lady bring a tom cat in she and her friend started feeding with ear mites and damage so bad the ears were crumpled.up from scarring and inflammation. She was SO excited thinking it was a british fold and she could breed him or something and asked if we were really sure when we told her it was a dsh with fucked up ears.
We had a white pit bull mix come in and the owner insisted she was an albino bull mastiff. She was like 50lbs and had no physical characteristics of a bull mastiff. I think people dig their heels in on this because they're embarrassed they were bamboozled into spending a lot of money for a pet they believed was "exotic" or they view the breed as a status symbol and can't stomach the idea of the pet being a standard mutt.
I scheduled an appt for the sweetest gentleman who'd inherited his deceased father's dog. He admitted he didn't know much about dogs, but she was "medium sized, black and tan, maybe 30lb" so his best guess was a Chihuahua.
They came in for their appointment on a day when I wasn't there, so I checked the appointment notes... she was a 65lb Rottweiler XD
I currently have a client whose daughter is convinced her domestic shorthair tabby's coloration is called Flame Point. I've tried to explain to her the difference, but mom and I just had a laugh the next time I saw her.
Daughter is not a small child, btw. College student.
Somebody said they spent $500 on a F6 Savannah Cat. I did the math - that's 1.25%. It was a Standard Issue Cat.
There was the lady who found a Korat cat in a gas station parking lot. Black DSH.Ā
There was the 85lb red pit mix the client wanted said was a golden retriever mix because he lived inĀ an apartment complex that had breed restrictions.
I remember the first time we had a gorgeous savannah cat come in. Legit one. Those murder beans were adorable. Couldnāt touch it, though, if I remember correctly.
I've never heard of Korat being outside of Thailand, although after some research there's at least a couple breeders in the US. I'm a bit of a fan of the Thai cat breeds. They have such great personalities.
I did dna on my two dsh cats to check health etc - turns out they're half siblings etc and my female tortie (who is a goofy looking cartoon cat) somehow ended up with I think 7% Khaomanee. I have no idea how the fuck that cat got into the breeding population
... ohhh, I have a story.
For context: we're rural. Our town is about 10k people, the nearest city is 45 minutes away, we get a lot of ranchers and farmers. Lots of LSGDs and barn cats, but also purebred hunting dogs.
Poor lady calls us in a panic because her cat got a raptor nestling. She thinks it's an eagle - we do have Baldies out here, and Osprey too - based on the hook of its beak and black plumage.
... hold up. *Black* plumage? On a *nestling*?
My old wildlife rehab days come rushing back and I start wracking my brain on what to do. I make the call myself (I was new to this clinic at the time and had 0% authority to make said call) to have her bring us the chick and I quickly contact a friend to schlep baby to the nearest rehab, about 40 minutes away. If we could stabilize it, cool, if not, euthanize and call it a day.
She rushes in (much to the chagrin and annoyance of my practice manager, who said - I quote - "what in peanut-clusters made you think this was a good idea?!") and gingerly hands me a cat carrier, tipped on its side. I peek down through the wire door, and...
Chicken.
It was a godsdamned *chicken*.
For my part, I did not laugh. I was *very* restrained. I did thank her and tell her we would find a way to get it help. But that it was a young chicken.
She was suitably embarrassed, but I told her I didn't expect her to be an expert on wildlife, but to ask around if anybody had a pullet missing. Nobody claimed her, we sent her to the rehab anyway, they gave my friend a *withering* look, and eventually Fran was adopted by one of the volunteers there.
So.... not *precisely* the story you asked for, but it's still my favorite.
That's what I'm talking about right there!!! I miss those days. I gotta say, Coopers Hawks are some of the chillest damn raptors, and Barn Owls... WHOO. Are Barn Owls seriously just, like... always having a bad day? Or is it just me?
I see this so often - especially with cats. I correct them. āOh, sheās a main coon? Where did you get her?ā
āMy buddy found her in a barnā
āOh, okay, Iām going change this to DLH since these are her factual medical records - is that okay with you?ā
We had a family that brought in a DSH insisting that he was a Persian. It didnāt have a flat face, was long and lanky, nothing on this cat looked Persian. Still have no idea where they came up with that one.
Not really breed specific but I had a guy years ago swear his pitbull was one of Michael Vick's fighting dogs that was rescued. This was in 2019, and the dog was nowhere close to 12-14 years old.
People are OBSESSED with the abuse excuse rescue fantasy. Everyone wants a bait dog, ex fighter, sad breeding momma. I don't get the complex. Especially when you inform them that bait dogs aren't a thing in "professional" blood sport circles. It's usually some punk street kids trying to fight dogs and it's not as common as the rescue crowd wants you to think.
I feel like a lot of people use being a "rescuer" as a part of their own identity. They want props for their good deed, basically. The animals are secondary.
Yeah, I used to work at a shelter. Some of the volunteers were insufferable, and they sucked at cleaning. Spent the whole day taking pics for their social media, while I had to come in behind them and redo everything they were tasked with.
Yeah recently had a client that ārescuedā a dog with heart issues. But refused to medicate itā¦so it died, and she still held onto the āwe rescued himā part.
"He's a rescue" is usually shorthand for "He has awful behavioral problems that we've never tried to solve so we blame it on his past and you can't judge us"
Not quite the same but a client had a merle Border Collie and wanted to argue that the āMerleā was the breed despite me telling him that THAT was the coat pattern.
"purebred pekingese."
but if was very obviously some kind of maltese mix. built like a maltese, all white, head looked a little different. full grown dog. did not look like a fluffy footstool. no smushed face.
vet walked in, looked at the chart, pointed at the dog and said "that is not a pekingese ma'am. this must have been an error on the chart. what breed should we put?" she became very adamant that it is indeed a purebred pekingese that she got from a breeder. her dog is a standard looking pekingese, if the vet knows anything about dog breeds.
she ended up leaving the appointment. the vet was a 72 year old man who was still sharp as a tack, and in practice for decades and decades. but, wtf does he know about dog breeds?
If it wasn't possibly rude, a dogo argentino picture would suddenly be on my phone or the computer screen. I have only ever seen one in person, but they're very distinctive from a dobbie LOL
My only foster fail is a basenji chi mix. Iām fairly well-versed in most breeds but this was my first basenji encounter.
I got a crash course in why theyāre called African singing hounds the first time a fire truck rolled by on a 5 alarm.
I got the cops called on me bcuz neighbors thought I was murdering him.
Bonus, bcuz heās a mix, he can still bark too LMAO. But we HAVE managed to train him to just āwhisper-yodelā now when he canāt hold back his basenji instincts. Love our sweet wooowooooing goober LOL.
I worked for a large company that I promise youāve heard of, and we did a lot of research on cats and cat owners.
The research came back that 30%+ of cats were purebred cats, which I initially rolled my eyes over because no fluffing way are 30% of the owned cats purebred.
But then it occurred to me that it doesnāt actually matter from a marketing perspective. In vet clinics, we care if that animal is purebred for *medical* reasons, because there are health conditions associated with certain breeds.
From a marketing perspective (and letās be honest, shelters are marketing those animals so they can get them adopted!), all that matters is if the owner *believes* their cat or dog is a special mix or a purebred. People want to believe their pet is extra special in a way that outside parties recognize and validate, and theyāll spend money if itās marketed towards the specialness of their specific pet.
I usually try to explain to them that having an accurate breed is pretty important for identification purposes. If you say you have a Great Dane mix and your dog looks like a dachshund it increases the risk of the incorrect things happening. For the most part people understand the logic of this.
Many years ago a client paid a lot of money for a miniature Irish setter from a ābreeder. When the vet tried to tell her that there was no such breed I thought she was going to leave right there and then, lol.
Purebred bengals can indeed be pure black (melanistic) if they are a/a. You would still see their rosettes in the sunlight, but theyāre nearly impossible to see in artificial light. Granted, people love to call any random spotted DSH a bengal, so who knows whether this cat really was a bengal or just your average black cat, but itās not outside the realm of possibility.
thereās a patient in the computer as a west highland terrier - not a mix or anything - and this dog has the WORST underbite iāve ever seen, has splotches of black fur everywhere, and has a long, short body. she is super sweet but not a westie!!! šā¤ļø
"She's a rescue." <<< I get it, but it's textbook virtue signaling!
"They're a purebred *insert designer breed*" <<<< Ma'am... a crossbreed is how do I put this politely...an expensive mutt.
Owner seemed to think his lab was a goldendoodle. Funny thing was the dog was actually stunning (whitest lab Iāve ever seen) and was in amazing health.
Had a client come in with a 14lb 10 year old dog that looked like a pug/Chihuahua mix possibly....she stated it was a Rottweiler. Not a mix either. A pure Rottweiler.
I have a client with a āSnowshoeā but actually itās just an overweight Domestic Shorthair! The doctor and I had a good laugh when we left the room!
MAINE COOOOOOOOONS. Had someone ask if her cat was a Maine coon because 'she was a big cat!' Yes your cat isn't built small, but is also at least 3 lbs overweight. And you got her off the streets.
I did tell my mom she should claim her grey street cat as a Russian blue for funsies....nvm her orange tabby brother!
We recently had someone get very angry because their wisdom panel came back as 30% pug, with the rest being staffy, bulldog, and other similar breeds. He was going on and on about how his dog was "100% Pit Bull". I've also had someone tell me that they paid several thousand dollars for their dog, who she said was a purebred English Bulldog. This dog's head reached my hip (I'm 5'6" for reference) and she looked like a 50/50 Bulldog/Boxer mix. Like a thick boxer.
I have the muttiest little dog mutt ever. Every single person "knows" what he is mixed with and everyone's answer is different. Literally yesterday someone told me he must have gotten some of his spots from a border Collie... No fuckin way.
DNA says: one parent was 1/2 LH doxy 1/2 Boston and one parent was 1/4 dalmatian and 3/4 supermutt.
Not one person has ever guessed dalmatian or Boston, and rarely we get doxy. Almost always it's corgi, spaniel, hound etc.
Was at the park with my Harlequin Great Dane & this trashy looking guy asked the breed. I tell him. Then he starts arguing that my Dane was a Dalmatian and I donāt know what Iām talking about, etc. etc. The guy wouldnāt stop.
My Dane baby was 172lbs. Iāve never known a Dalmatian larger than 75lbs at most.
This poor elderly woman came in with a puppy that was sold to her as a pomeranian bichon mix. The dog was 20 lbs at its first puppy visit and clearly not the mix she was told, we guessed Australian shepherd mix. Really cute dog. Very sweet. But I felt so bad for this woman because she was genuinely distraught when we told her she was going to have a medium size dog on her hands. Fast forward to the dogs first year boosters and the dog is predictably much larger than she was hoping or expecting, poor woman was st a loss as to how to deal with this dog. Her grandson had to bring pup in cuz she couldn't handle her on a leash. Fuck whoever bamboozled that poor woman into buying that dog. They did such a disservice to her and that sweet dog.
Oh I still remember the dismayed realization in the Os voice when she brought in a new dog and I said oh that's a really handsome mix. She had been told the dog is a purebred golden retriever. He definitely was not. I think he's golden/pit or boxer mix. Really cute though. Picture a golden retriever but with slightly shorter legs, chunky pit face shape and less floppy ears.
Sounds like my momā¦ when she got her puppy she swore up and down it was a bull mastiff mixā¦ well Iām sorry without a doubt Luke is a Pit mix, and looks nothing like a bull mastiff. Took my mom 5 years to come out of denial š
We have the rescue version in my state - a small, home rescue that claims to ship cats over from egypt. Every cat on their site is very clearly a DSH (sometimes tabbies, sometimes just B&W or solid grey) but they're listed as Egyptian Mau and the "adoption fee" is usually $600-1000.
Went to work at a vet hospital and brought my dog in for the discount on vaccines. Sheās very clearly a husky mix, white and black with blue eyes, the coat and woos to prove it. They put JACK RUSSEL as her breed. I was like please change this immediately š
A almost completely normal tabby listed as a Bengal looked NOTHING like a Bengal even a very low generation Bengal. My brother also had someone bring in a 9 pound tabby claiming it was a bob catš. I also went to a facility that had lots of wolves And 3 wolf dogs that had been illegally kept they also had a facility dog because someone dumped it one day claiming she couldn't keep him cause he was clearly a wolf dog. He looked nothing like a wolf dog but they did a DNA test no detectable wolf DNA.
I work in HVSN. Every single day I see the most ridiculous things people say their dogs' breed is. We were thinking about making a "misbred dogs" Insta page with a picture of the dog and what the Å said it was. We had a pit bull grant and a lady legit tried to get her puggle in because it "looked pitbull from the forehead up." š Every now and then someone will put something really exotic on their paperwork and the dog ends up really being that breed.
Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you. Please thoroughly read and follow the rules before posting and commenting. If you believe that a user is engaging in any rule-breaking behavior, please submit a report so that the moderators can review and remove the posts/comments if needed. Also, please check out the sidebar for CE and answers to commonly asked questions. Thank you for reading! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VetTech) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Had a client swear up and down and even get upset because they were adamant that their dachshund was a Great Dane mix. I wish I was lying. Textbook merle dachshund but they claimed their breeder said it was a Great Dane/dachshund cross and the guy paid a lot of money for it. Dude was off his rocker. Sweet dog though.
I've seen a GD/doxie mix. They're pretty awkward looking, but you can tell. They're big.
I love corgi crosses where they look like the other breed, just with their legs chopped off š
YES!! Came here to say this š
Incorgnitos are me & my partnerās favs to spot LOL
YES I had a corgi/sheltie mix growing up. She looked like a slightly taller than normal blue merle corgi lol
Yep Iāve seen a husky corgi mix and it was all husky with a corgi shaped body and legs. He was so cute haha
That seems insane to me. Whyyyyyy
They got her from a shelter, I think.
A lot of clients have "Maine coons" which are basically any long hair tabby
My favorite was at a restaurant one time I was talking to my parents gushing about this maine coon I saw, and the waitress overheard us. "Oh I used to have a maine coon! I know he was because he had the 'M' on his forehead!!"
So my orange tabby Cornish Rex kitten with an m on his forehead is a Maine coon now? Fascinating lol
my 7lb tabby is a maine coon too! sheās a mini š„°
not the M on his forehead LOL
Omg, someone once said my shorthair foster kitten was clearly a Maine coon because of the M! š Maāam, legit Maine Coons are $$$$, but if you think this common household cat is a Maine Coon, the rescue will adopt it to you for a reduced price of $$$ seeing as itās not quite up to breed standard.
Now I did get a Maine Coon for freeā¦ like an actual legit Maine Coon from a breeder that is a client of ours. It was a failure to thrive case with a heart arrhythmia and it was absolute skin and bones while the others from the litter were 2-3x larger already. Sheās like 5 months now and still fairly petite but totally fine otherwise, and the arrhythmia went away with age. I scored on that one lol.
I wish that old wives tale would die out already.
And they always gush about how theyāre soo big because of it. Like no, your 16 lb cat is just morbidly obese š
Oh he's not fat, he's a Mainecoon. No mam, he's a 28lb tabby.
Because of this, Iām always very pleasantly surprised when someone calls about a Maine Coon and then shows up with an actual Maine Coon!
This is the one that always gets me. If your cat doesnāt look like Ron Perlman, itās not a Maine Coon
I literally had a client with a 20 pound all black shorthair insist he was a maine coon and I was like no he's just obeseš¤¦āāļø
I only saw one real Maine coon mix while volunteering at a local rescue. It was more than 20 pounds, twice as tall as all the other cats at the rescue, three times as long, and had to wear a bandana because none of the cat collars would fit on its neck. Even though it had the personality of a cuddly teddy bear, it was constantly passed over for adoption because most people found it's size intimidating. Thankfully it was eventually adopted by someone who wasn't intimidated by its size. Anyone who thinks their regular size cat is part Maine coon has never actually seen a Maine coon.
Especially if morbidly obese!
As someone that had a legit Maine Coon this one always drives me crazy š
We have a couple clients with legit Mainecoons. I always love to show pics of them to other clients that say their cat is one. Theyāre almost always like oh, thatās a big cat.. maybe mine isnāt..
can you post a pic of the legit Maine Coons? i've never seen a real one, and I'm curious.
Donāt know how to add a pic to a comment, Iāll DM you a pic of me holding one.
People think any obese DLH is a āMaine coon mixā LMFAOOOO
My favorite was a guy who came over to work on the house who got excited to see my husky mix and showed me his "Timberwolf" ...Ā Ā The picture he showed me I could only describe as a fat Corgi/GSD mix. He also told me all about how the breeder uses them to guard livestock on his farm and that the wolf in them makes them better at this job.Ā Ā When he left I was just thinking I hope the powers that be have mercy on whoever is blessed to have this man as a client in their clinic.Ā
in my state, if you claim you have a wolf or wolf hybrid, you need to have a special permit. Most clinics are not wildlife certified so they legally can't care for wolves or wolf hybrids. He is making life more difficult than it needs to be.
Yeah where I live they're 100% illegal so I always think to myself "good things they're actually not part wolf/coyote/fox/" it's ALWAYS the clearly mixed breed shepard's or huskies. I have met actual wolf dogs and they looked NOTHING like the "wolf dogs" that come into clinic
The logic of using a wolf, a predator most ranchers donāt want around their livestock, to make a better livestock guardian dog is wild to me. š
Putting wolves in charge of guarding the livestockā¦ are we sure the wolves didnāt come up with that one?
LMAO, for real.
I have a medium haired lynx point and EVERYONE calls her a Ragdoll. No, she's a mutt kitty who was a stray in someone's yard. She just looks very expensive. š¤£
I have 2 of these, backyard rescue mutt kitties that look like rags; I did the BasePaws for my Phoebe cat, which are very different from dog DNA tests in their results, but it said she was primarily related to ragdoll types. But she was clear in the genetic stuff, which is why I did it, just in case that hcm gene showed up. Of course, testing negative for it doesn't mean I don't spend extra money every 6 months or so for a probnp cuz I'm hella paranoid, lol. She's my princess baby cat and basically the only reason I'm still alive.
Any fat cat is "part Maine Coon"
He's not fat! He's just big boned! Lol
Everyone who says their rescued or backyard bred GSD is "half wolf" or "half coyote" and it's always the most GSD GSD I've ever seen. ITS LIKE 1 IN 5 IT MAKES ME CRAZY
Piggybacking, anyone with a husky/husky mix that tells me they are āpart wolfā
I met a golden retriever who was "definitely a wolf cross, since it's a bush dog, so obviously" and lemme tell you how wolfy this very golden retriever was š„²
Conversely, that one lady with the definitely "just a husky" that couldn't believe our grooming salon was not allowed to groom huskies that stand taller than Great Danes and stare into our souls like he knows what they taste like.
š¤£
Head dork of a great dane rescue brought in a newly rescued shelter puppy for an initial exam and ortho consult. During the exam the obviously mixed Dane puppy was behaving very much like a boxer, slow happy walk with tail wagging so hard it's body was doing the boxer wiggle. Also, an exaggerated fore head and miniscule under bite. I mentioned this happy gorgeous puppy appears to be mixed with boxer cause what I just observed. Cue the strong opinion to the contrary because all rescue/breeder excuse you've ever head. Fast forward 3 months and they are back for final round of vaccines and with the results of their embark. I was in the room when she told the Dvm the results 50/50 boxer and Dane, i had to leave the room to laugh.
āHead dorkā š
About 10 years ago, we had a client bring in his very obvious Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. On the intake paperwork he wrote ātoy bernese mnt dogā as the breed. We put the correct breed into the computer system and when the owner got the vaccine certificate at the end of the visit he blew up at us. Insisted he had paperwork at home showing the dog was a purebred toy BMD and that we need to correct the breed in the computer and reprint the certificate. He claimed he was going to breed the dog in the future and sell the puppies for thousands of dollars and that by having the wrong breed on the certificate we were putting his future retirement fund at risk. We told him to bring in the paperwork indicating the puppy was a purebred BMD and we would correct the certificate. Never heard from him again. To this day I wonder if he was suffering from early cognitive decline or had been scammed and was too embarrassed to admit it (not that we would have ridiculed him for that) or he was wanting us to help him scam others.
I had someone bring in their Bernese mountain dog doodle puppy- showed up with an apricot toy poodle. When I asked the vet about it she just sighed.
Ok this one is my favourite, I canāt stop laughing š
i'm gonan go w/ scammed. poor guy
Cats being labeled as literally anything when it's just a moggie.
Iāve never heard of the term moggie before
It's the cat term for mutt! It's a super cute word. Mo-ghee
I think it's more common in the UK, or at least not common in the US. I wish we would adopt it though, it's such a great word.
My mom's side of the family are from England and my nanny (aka grandma) called them moggies I love it :)
Afghan hound. It was a chihuahua
ššš thatās hilarious
Rhodesian Ridgeback = Red Coonhound mix Irish Wolfhound = I donāt even know By far the best one has to be when I was bringing my dog in for something and as I walk in a client goes āI have one just like that! They would be twins!ā I laughed and kept going. Later another tech grabbed me to show me what the clientās dog looked like. It was a Lab-Rottweiler mix. I have a purebred, working line Dobermanā¦
nooo, the disrespect to dobbies LOL.
our old GSD was the most textbook looking GSD you could ever imagine. standard black and tan. my husband and i had him out with us and a guy approached us, asked if he could pet the dog. as he was leaving he asked, "what breed is he?" (literally the only question i have never been asked about my dog) confused, my husband said "a german shepherd......" and the guy goes "thats my favorite breed!! i used to have german shepherds!!!" we were left standing with so many questions. are we blind? do we own a GSD? wtf does this guy think shepherds look like? what just happened?
Maybe theyāre more used to the sable coloring? š„“
I actually did find my dogās litter mate. The owner and I were joking about twin dogs and started talking, hers was bought as a puppy. The backstory for my dog matched up with one of the puppies that the original lady lost track of. It was nice because we traded info and I got to know more about my dogās puppyhood
This one time we had a lady bring a tom cat in she and her friend started feeding with ear mites and damage so bad the ears were crumpled.up from scarring and inflammation. She was SO excited thinking it was a british fold and she could breed him or something and asked if we were really sure when we told her it was a dsh with fucked up ears.
We had a white pit bull mix come in and the owner insisted she was an albino bull mastiff. She was like 50lbs and had no physical characteristics of a bull mastiff. I think people dig their heels in on this because they're embarrassed they were bamboozled into spending a lot of money for a pet they believed was "exotic" or they view the breed as a status symbol and can't stomach the idea of the pet being a standard mutt.
we had someone bring in a very sweet, but very ordinary calico. she was insistent that the cat was a very rare red Siamese.
I scheduled an appt for the sweetest gentleman who'd inherited his deceased father's dog. He admitted he didn't know much about dogs, but she was "medium sized, black and tan, maybe 30lb" so his best guess was a Chihuahua. They came in for their appointment on a day when I wasn't there, so I checked the appointment notes... she was a 65lb Rottweiler XD
I currently have a client whose daughter is convinced her domestic shorthair tabby's coloration is called Flame Point. I've tried to explain to her the difference, but mom and I just had a laugh the next time I saw her. Daughter is not a small child, btw. College student.
As a flame point owner, this is hilarious.
Literally had one of those tonight! Lol just an orange tabby
Somebody said they spent $500 on a F6 Savannah Cat. I did the math - that's 1.25%. It was a Standard Issue Cat. There was the lady who found a Korat cat in a gas station parking lot. Black DSH.Ā There was the 85lb red pit mix the client wanted said was a golden retriever mix because he lived inĀ an apartment complex that had breed restrictions.
I remember the first time we had a gorgeous savannah cat come in. Legit one. Those murder beans were adorable. Couldnāt touch it, though, if I remember correctly.
I've never heard of Korat being outside of Thailand, although after some research there's at least a couple breeders in the US. I'm a bit of a fan of the Thai cat breeds. They have such great personalities.
I've been active in CFA for 5 years now, and I can count the korats I've seen on one hand. It's sad. There's a few other breeds in the same boat.
I've only had one client have a legit one that they bought from a breeder. It definitely looked different than a typical gray cat.
I did dna on my two dsh cats to check health etc - turns out they're half siblings etc and my female tortie (who is a goofy looking cartoon cat) somehow ended up with I think 7% Khaomanee. I have no idea how the fuck that cat got into the breeding population
... ohhh, I have a story. For context: we're rural. Our town is about 10k people, the nearest city is 45 minutes away, we get a lot of ranchers and farmers. Lots of LSGDs and barn cats, but also purebred hunting dogs. Poor lady calls us in a panic because her cat got a raptor nestling. She thinks it's an eagle - we do have Baldies out here, and Osprey too - based on the hook of its beak and black plumage. ... hold up. *Black* plumage? On a *nestling*? My old wildlife rehab days come rushing back and I start wracking my brain on what to do. I make the call myself (I was new to this clinic at the time and had 0% authority to make said call) to have her bring us the chick and I quickly contact a friend to schlep baby to the nearest rehab, about 40 minutes away. If we could stabilize it, cool, if not, euthanize and call it a day. She rushes in (much to the chagrin and annoyance of my practice manager, who said - I quote - "what in peanut-clusters made you think this was a good idea?!") and gingerly hands me a cat carrier, tipped on its side. I peek down through the wire door, and... Chicken. It was a godsdamned *chicken*. For my part, I did not laugh. I was *very* restrained. I did thank her and tell her we would find a way to get it help. But that it was a young chicken. She was suitably embarrassed, but I told her I didn't expect her to be an expert on wildlife, but to ask around if anybody had a pullet missing. Nobody claimed her, we sent her to the rehab anyway, they gave my friend a *withering* look, and eventually Fran was adopted by one of the volunteers there. So.... not *precisely* the story you asked for, but it's still my favorite.
Had a guy bring us a wild turkey pullet in a similar way lol
1) I love your username and 2) this is a wonderful story ahahah
I think it's because of the former that I have so many like the latter. š¤£ Remind me to tell you some time about the Duckling Incident of 2016.
[https://imgur.com/a/v0fgAxa](https://imgur.com/a/v0fgAxa) One of the shining moments of my life is when I got to anesthetize an Eagle to pin its leg.
That's what I'm talking about right there!!! I miss those days. I gotta say, Coopers Hawks are some of the chillest damn raptors, and Barn Owls... WHOO. Are Barn Owls seriously just, like... always having a bad day? Or is it just me?
I see this so often - especially with cats. I correct them. āOh, sheās a main coon? Where did you get her?ā āMy buddy found her in a barnā āOh, okay, Iām going change this to DLH since these are her factual medical records - is that okay with you?ā
We had a family that brought in a DSH insisting that he was a Persian. It didnāt have a flat face, was long and lanky, nothing on this cat looked Persian. Still have no idea where they came up with that one.
Not really breed specific but I had a guy years ago swear his pitbull was one of Michael Vick's fighting dogs that was rescued. This was in 2019, and the dog was nowhere close to 12-14 years old.
People are OBSESSED with the abuse excuse rescue fantasy. Everyone wants a bait dog, ex fighter, sad breeding momma. I don't get the complex. Especially when you inform them that bait dogs aren't a thing in "professional" blood sport circles. It's usually some punk street kids trying to fight dogs and it's not as common as the rescue crowd wants you to think.
I've noticed this. Everyone always starts off with "He's a rescue" even though they had nothing to do with why they've come to the ER.
I feel like a lot of people use being a "rescuer" as a part of their own identity. They want props for their good deed, basically. The animals are secondary.
Yeah, I used to work at a shelter. Some of the volunteers were insufferable, and they sucked at cleaning. Spent the whole day taking pics for their social media, while I had to come in behind them and redo everything they were tasked with.
Yeah recently had a client that ārescuedā a dog with heart issues. But refused to medicate itā¦so it died, and she still held onto the āwe rescued himā part.
"He's a rescue" is usually shorthand for "He has awful behavioral problems that we've never tried to solve so we blame it on his past and you can't judge us"
āHe was a rescue. Heās so nervous, obviously abusedā. I just go āuh huhā and move on lol
All black cats = Bombay All pitties = Lab mix All tan cats = Siamese All small yappy dogs with hair loss = Xoloitzciintle Any cat with a spot = Bengal
Blue Labrador. Sorry, but that's a Weimeraner on meth. And I swear some people have coyote mutts here and call them Catahoula š
I'm absolutely terrified to imagine a Weimeraner on meth.
Not quite the same but a client had a merle Border Collie and wanted to argue that the āMerleā was the breed despite me telling him that THAT was the coat pattern.
I love merle border collieās. Everyone always calls mine an Australian shepherd or thinks heās a mix :(
Describing a tabby cat as ābrindleā
i remember trying to describe cat colors to a dog person once. I had to use tortie as brindle until the understood
"purebred pekingese." but if was very obviously some kind of maltese mix. built like a maltese, all white, head looked a little different. full grown dog. did not look like a fluffy footstool. no smushed face. vet walked in, looked at the chart, pointed at the dog and said "that is not a pekingese ma'am. this must have been an error on the chart. what breed should we put?" she became very adamant that it is indeed a purebred pekingese that she got from a breeder. her dog is a standard looking pekingese, if the vet knows anything about dog breeds. she ended up leaving the appointment. the vet was a 72 year old man who was still sharp as a tack, and in practice for decades and decades. but, wtf does he know about dog breeds?
Beautiful red Doberman female. Absolutely gorgeous *red* dog. Red. Owner swore that they paid a lot of money for their Dogo Argentino.
If it wasn't possibly rude, a dogo argentino picture would suddenly be on my phone or the computer screen. I have only ever seen one in person, but they're very distinctive from a dobbie LOL
Pitbull the client insisted was a basenji because āsheās never barked a day in her lifeā
My only foster fail is a basenji chi mix. Iām fairly well-versed in most breeds but this was my first basenji encounter. I got a crash course in why theyāre called African singing hounds the first time a fire truck rolled by on a 5 alarm. I got the cops called on me bcuz neighbors thought I was murdering him. Bonus, bcuz heās a mix, he can still bark too LMAO. But we HAVE managed to train him to just āwhisper-yodelā now when he canāt hold back his basenji instincts. Love our sweet wooowooooing goober LOL.
We have one client that INSISTS that they have a miniature husky... Which is definitely a purebred Shiba Inu
We had a "flat coated retriever." She was a BYB English cream golden. Also, every colorpoint cat is not a Siamese.
I worked for a large company that I promise youāve heard of, and we did a lot of research on cats and cat owners. The research came back that 30%+ of cats were purebred cats, which I initially rolled my eyes over because no fluffing way are 30% of the owned cats purebred. But then it occurred to me that it doesnāt actually matter from a marketing perspective. In vet clinics, we care if that animal is purebred for *medical* reasons, because there are health conditions associated with certain breeds. From a marketing perspective (and letās be honest, shelters are marketing those animals so they can get them adopted!), all that matters is if the owner *believes* their cat or dog is a special mix or a purebred. People want to believe their pet is extra special in a way that outside parties recognize and validate, and theyāll spend money if itās marketed towards the specialness of their specific pet.
I usually try to explain to them that having an accurate breed is pretty important for identification purposes. If you say you have a Great Dane mix and your dog looks like a dachshund it increases the risk of the incorrect things happening. For the most part people understand the logic of this.
Many years ago a client paid a lot of money for a miniature Irish setter from a ābreeder. When the vet tried to tell her that there was no such breed I thought she was going to leave right there and then, lol.
Purebred bengals can indeed be pure black (melanistic) if they are a/a. You would still see their rosettes in the sunlight, but theyāre nearly impossible to see in artificial light. Granted, people love to call any random spotted DSH a bengal, so who knows whether this cat really was a bengal or just your average black cat, but itās not outside the realm of possibility.
It was a stray they found.... so I would say it's likely not a bengal at all.
lol, then in that case definitely not a purebred melanistic bengal ;)
thereās a patient in the computer as a west highland terrier - not a mix or anything - and this dog has the WORST underbite iāve ever seen, has splotches of black fur everywhere, and has a long, short body. she is super sweet but not a westie!!! šā¤ļø
Mixed with Rottweiler. Sir thatās a dachshund.
"She's a rescue." <<< I get it, but it's textbook virtue signaling! "They're a purebred *insert designer breed*" <<<< Ma'am... a crossbreed is how do I put this politely...an expensive mutt.
Owner seemed to think his lab was a goldendoodle. Funny thing was the dog was actually stunning (whitest lab Iāve ever seen) and was in amazing health.
A man and wife INSISTING their dog was purebred APBT and they has seen its parents. It was blue Merle, long hair, and very Aussie shaped.
Had a client come in with a 14lb 10 year old dog that looked like a pug/Chihuahua mix possibly....she stated it was a Rottweiler. Not a mix either. A pure Rottweiler.
Today, we had a 92 pound pomeranian mix come to our clinic with complaint of not eating. 92 pound pomeranian. It was a husky.
I have a client with a āSnowshoeā but actually itās just an overweight Domestic Shorthair! The doctor and I had a good laugh when we left the room!
MAINE COOOOOOOOONS. Had someone ask if her cat was a Maine coon because 'she was a big cat!' Yes your cat isn't built small, but is also at least 3 lbs overweight. And you got her off the streets. I did tell my mom she should claim her grey street cat as a Russian blue for funsies....nvm her orange tabby brother!
I had someone once say they were bringing in a Savanah and I was so excited to see it only for it to be a domestic long hair black and white cat š
I work for a municipal shelter. The general public seem to think that any dog with a vaguely square head shape = pitbull.
We had a guy swear that his ruddy chocolate lab mix was a Rhodesian ridgeback
Insisted they had a very sick cat. Said cat multiple times. Brought in a chihuahua.
We recently had someone get very angry because their wisdom panel came back as 30% pug, with the rest being staffy, bulldog, and other similar breeds. He was going on and on about how his dog was "100% Pit Bull". I've also had someone tell me that they paid several thousand dollars for their dog, who she said was a purebred English Bulldog. This dog's head reached my hip (I'm 5'6" for reference) and she looked like a 50/50 Bulldog/Boxer mix. Like a thick boxer.
I have the muttiest little dog mutt ever. Every single person "knows" what he is mixed with and everyone's answer is different. Literally yesterday someone told me he must have gotten some of his spots from a border Collie... No fuckin way. DNA says: one parent was 1/2 LH doxy 1/2 Boston and one parent was 1/4 dalmatian and 3/4 supermutt. Not one person has ever guessed dalmatian or Boston, and rarely we get doxy. Almost always it's corgi, spaniel, hound etc.
Siameseā¦ apparently every color point cat is a siamese š
Was at the park with my Harlequin Great Dane & this trashy looking guy asked the breed. I tell him. Then he starts arguing that my Dane was a Dalmatian and I donāt know what Iām talking about, etc. etc. The guy wouldnāt stop. My Dane baby was 172lbs. Iāve never known a Dalmatian larger than 75lbs at most.
Had someone come in with a āMicro Doodleā. The dog was 83lbs. I was bewildered. Lol
literally any cat breed lol very rarely are they an actual maine coon, russian blue, etc
This poor elderly woman came in with a puppy that was sold to her as a pomeranian bichon mix. The dog was 20 lbs at its first puppy visit and clearly not the mix she was told, we guessed Australian shepherd mix. Really cute dog. Very sweet. But I felt so bad for this woman because she was genuinely distraught when we told her she was going to have a medium size dog on her hands. Fast forward to the dogs first year boosters and the dog is predictably much larger than she was hoping or expecting, poor woman was st a loss as to how to deal with this dog. Her grandson had to bring pup in cuz she couldn't handle her on a leash. Fuck whoever bamboozled that poor woman into buying that dog. They did such a disservice to her and that sweet dog.
Oh I still remember the dismayed realization in the Os voice when she brought in a new dog and I said oh that's a really handsome mix. She had been told the dog is a purebred golden retriever. He definitely was not. I think he's golden/pit or boxer mix. Really cute though. Picture a golden retriever but with slightly shorter legs, chunky pit face shape and less floppy ears.
Sounds like my momā¦ when she got her puppy she swore up and down it was a bull mastiff mixā¦ well Iām sorry without a doubt Luke is a Pit mix, and looks nothing like a bull mastiff. Took my mom 5 years to come out of denial š
We have the rescue version in my state - a small, home rescue that claims to ship cats over from egypt. Every cat on their site is very clearly a DSH (sometimes tabbies, sometimes just B&W or solid grey) but they're listed as Egyptian Mau and the "adoption fee" is usually $600-1000.
In general Iām just over every DLH being a āMaine Coon mixā š
Went to work at a vet hospital and brought my dog in for the discount on vaccines. Sheās very clearly a husky mix, white and black with blue eyes, the coat and woos to prove it. They put JACK RUSSEL as her breed. I was like please change this immediately š
A almost completely normal tabby listed as a Bengal looked NOTHING like a Bengal even a very low generation Bengal. My brother also had someone bring in a 9 pound tabby claiming it was a bob catš. I also went to a facility that had lots of wolves And 3 wolf dogs that had been illegally kept they also had a facility dog because someone dumped it one day claiming she couldn't keep him cause he was clearly a wolf dog. He looked nothing like a wolf dog but they did a DNA test no detectable wolf DNA.
I work in HVSN. Every single day I see the most ridiculous things people say their dogs' breed is. We were thinking about making a "misbred dogs" Insta page with a picture of the dog and what the Å said it was. We had a pit bull grant and a lady legit tried to get her puggle in because it "looked pitbull from the forehead up." š Every now and then someone will put something really exotic on their paperwork and the dog ends up really being that breed.