Back in 2014, my Mother adopted a male pit bull mix puppy and he is very aggressive. Around me and my Mother, he acted like a big baby, but he does not like other people and he is a nightmare, when taking him to the vet.

When my Mother was alive, taking him to the vet entailed putting him in harness and putting a muzzle on him, and then securing him in the back of our SUV. When we got to the vet, we'd have to pull around to the back door, with the dog ever more throwing a fit (barking, growling, etc.). The vet would sneak around and give him a shot to sedate him. Then, once the shot kicked in, they'd strap him to a stretcher, take him inside (he'd still be growling, but not in full blown "I'll take you out" mode), do what they needed to do, put him in the back of the car, and we'd take him home.

I don't drive and my Mother recently passed away. I still have the SUV, but it's about to be sold and I've already dropped the insurance on it. A number of people I know have been very generous in taking me to places (such as the grocery store, bank, etc.). With that said, they have all told me that they feel more comfortable with taking me in their vehicle, instead of driving my SUV (that's why I went ahead and dropped the insurance and put it up for sale).

Even as generous as people have been, I would not dream of asking them to put the dog in their vehicle, where the dog could get to them. The only thing I can come up with is buy a crate to put him in, find someone with a truck, put the dog in the crate, and put him in the back of their truck (at least that way, he won't be able to get to whoever is inside the vehicle). I've already ran this past a friend, who has a truck, and he ran it past his wife, who put her foot down and said "no." Her reasoning is because if the dog somehow gets loose and attacks someone, then it's going to be them that catches the heat, since we're using their truck to transport him. Well, he says he ran it past his wife, but I also know that he often puts things off on her, when he does not want to come out and say that he does not want to do something. I know a couple of other people with trucks and I'll run it past them, but they may also not want to fool with the dog and if the shoe was on the other foot, I might take the same position.

He is due for his next vet visit in April and in May, me and my Cousin are supposed to be taking an out-of-town trip to scatter my mother's ashes where she wanted to be scattered, and then we are going up to TN to scatter his mother's ashes (probably a two-day trip). That translates into finding a place to board the dog (assuming I can even find a place that will accept him) and it's my understanding that most boarders require the dog to be up-to-date on all shots. So, if this is going to happen in May, the dog has got to get to the vet in April. If he wasn't such a horse's butt around everybody else, it wouldn't be nearly as big of an issue. However, given his aggressiveness, I'm afraid I'm going to have a hard time finding someone to help me get him to the vet.

I've gotten attached to this dog and he seems to adore me. I'm not going to put him down unless it medically gets to a point where it is necessary, but when his time comes, there probably won't be another dog.

Someone I know offered to come by the house to take him outside and feed him while I'm gone. I told him that I appreciated the offer, but he is very aggressive and I don't think that would go over well.

So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to handle this situation, then I'm all ears.

There are mobile vets that do house calls. That is your option.

Two of my neighbors are veterinarians and often make house calls.
Around here it is illegal to drive with a dog anywhere inside the car, unless it is separated/caged off from the driver.

Whilst not ideal, a dog can go without food for a few days, as long as it has access to fresh water.
Leave out extra dry food.


Greg.

Might start with asking the vet. He/she must deal with this from time to time. Maybe they can provide sedatives pre-drive.

What do Uber/Lyft say?

WOW! That is far too much of a liability for me! If he was to get out, he could feasibly kill someone!!
I personally would never own a dog such as this!! I know what my decision would be!! And your not gonna like it!!

It's not the dog's fault. Owners need to be responsible and teach the dog how to behave. The problem is that many owners simply don't know how to do that.

I agree that inquiring about a house call makes sense in this situation. Most vets that also treat livestock do this routinely.

You have several major obstacles to transporting the dog to the vet. Bringing the vet to the dog addresses all of them.

I agree with Dave almost word for word. To many stories where Pit Bulls are fine around the family, but attacks one of the kids friends. The dog always wins and big time. Now the dog is put down. That should have done it the other way around. I understand an aggressive dog can be trained to be as passive as a Collie or Lab, but it has to be done when young and done by a professional trainer.

Freeman

I'd inquire about a house call. If that's not available, I'd ask if the vet could prescribe some trazodone or other mild sedative to give the dog about an hour or so before you take him to see the vet.

We got from the vet tranquilizers for 4th of July for our retriever. WORKED WONDERS!

I'd be scattering the dogs ashes as well...

True but some breeds can be more dangerous than others because of their size and strength. Even if well trained, dogs can act out of character as can people and if one like a pit bull does so things can turn out really badly.

RRM

I went to Home Depot and Lowe's and snapped these photos

Wow I haven't seen a dog-friendly Home Depot like that. Normal scene at a big pet's store but Home Depot? Sure beats old town Alexandria here which is well known for a very dog friendly place.

Nobody's saying dogs can't be 'good' or that dogs can't be in some stores. The issue is this poor person's been saddled with a problem dog through no fault of his own, and has a terrible dilemma to resolve. Not the dog's fault he was badly trained and is a hazard to others. Possibly he could be re-homed rather than euthanized?

Yes I think in this situation I would think about finding someone to adopt your dog. If your dog is untrained and you have difficulty restraining/controlling them then the best thing is to give him to a family that can provide a better life. Much of the time dogs also have a lot of pent up frustration from living in a small city environment. A big dog like that would benefit from being somewhere where he can run and let out all that energy. I'm not sure how attached you are to this dog but that's one option for you.

I don't think anyone is going to complain about a dog that is obviously under it's owner's control, properly harnessed and/or leashed in some secure fashion, and yes, even our Home Depot's here in Canada (among other stores) often have signs admitting dogs, PROVIDING that they are secured etc.

In the O.P's case, the dog is a Pit Bull (mix), a dog that already has a bad reputation, and the O.P. has openly admitted that the dog displays serious aggression to anyone it is not familiar with.

These are two completely different circumstances and if I was Bryan I'd seriously consider having the vet visit. It may be a bit more expensive, but that's the cost of owning a unique dog.

cheers,

BTW .... that first photo ... looks like a Shepard? That dog look as if it's afraid of something .... not a natural attitude for a dog .... unless its been abused.

Probably Shepherd mix. Lady had it on short leash. She had the shopping basket between us, I was walking by, shopping, and almost didn't get this image. Hurriedly taken. I was in the stores for about 45 minutes. I was curious how many dogs I would see, so whenever I saw one I snapped a photo. There were more that I didn't post.

I addressed the OP situation earlier. OP is trying to be responsible in a tough situation. There are some basic uniform principles about pet ownership including one size doesn't fit all. The series of photos is to document how different parts of the country view shopping with dogs. In Austin you can often see dogs in the aisles of Walmart, Target, Michaels, CVS, Starbucks, burger joints, even HEB. I understand that's almost unheard of other places. The owners by and large are responsible and it all works out

That being said, I have a close personal acquaintance who is a personal injury lawyer. She has handled multiple dog bite cases. It's pretty disheartening to know how irresponsible some dog owners can be. In that context I commend the OP for trying to do the right thing.

Only to rehome a dog of this nature is through an experienced 501c dog rescue that is experienced with the breed, which can evaluate the dog and place with a vetted owner.

The BIG ? has the dog been neutered.

Jimmie