Racism experience with Furkids
During a trip to the Buford, GA PetSmart store, my minor daughter and I decided to visit the kittens and cats that were up for adoption (we have adopted four kittens in the past, two recently, from Furkids) when my daughter began to pet them through the crates. There were no signs asking customers not to touch the kittens when Kathy, a Furkids volunteer, told my daughter not to touch them because "she could have something on her hands that could make them sick." We walked out of the room and shortly thereafter another couple walked in (young couple, male and female). I was walking back towards that area and stood outside the room to see if Kathy would tell them the same thing as they proceeded to touch the kittens. She said nothing to either of them as she proceeded with her work.
I decided to confront her about what she had told my daughter and asked why did she not give the young couple the same admonishment. She became belligerent and argumentative with me which led me to ask for her name. She blatantly told me she wasn't going to give it to me, to go and talk to a manager, and proceeded to walk behind the curtain separating her work area from the kittens, and yanked it closed.
I reported the incident to the PetSmart store manager and she ensured me she would reach out to the organization (Furkids) to report what happened. I have composed two different emails to Furkids - first one explaining the unpleasant experience, and the second as a follow-up since Furkids had yet to respond to my concern.
It is my genuine belief that Kathy's behavior toward my daughter and me was racially biased. My daughter and I are Black, while the other couple was not. In the past when my family adopted kittens, we were allowed to touch, hold, and spend time alone with them to ensure everyone was a great fit for one another. For all Kathy knew, we could've been there to adopt one or more of their kittens. But instead of seeing and treating us as potential adopters, she chose to be racist. I cannot think of any other reason why Kathy responded in the manner she did outside of it being race-related.
And it's extremely disheartening and disappointing to not have received a response from one of the biggest no-kill animal shelters in this state after they were made aware of what I felt to be a racially biased incident. The unfortunate fact that they have remained nonresponsive and dismissive has led me to believe that they are complicit in, or at the very least unwilling to acknowledge, the type of discriminatory treatment that my daughter and I experienced. And for that reason alone, I will no longer support Furkids in any capacity!