Petland

Tina of Auburndale FL (01/13/09)
Three days ago I purchased an 11 week old Yorkie from Petland in Lakeland. It was a rushed process as the store was busy and I was dealing with a toddler so they basically pointed to every box I needed to sign, I was not able to read anything. In any case, the salesman Anthony who discussed the dogs history with me did not advise me at the time of purchase that this dog had a luxating right patella which the vet says is congenetial. I was not even aware of this matter until the day I took the dog to the vet for her warranty visit. I was so upset that I had just purchase a high priced dog with potential problems that were not disclosed to me.

In addition to the problem with the puppy, my 4 yr old son is allergic to the dog I found out today by his peditrician and he recommended the dog leave the home. When I called the Owner at this Petland store, she said she was sorry that the salesman did not disclose the medical information on the dog with me and that he was new and still needs to learn all the procedures and that unfortunately I could only trade the dog or get a doctor note on the allergies and pay a 30% return fee. That made me even more angry, exchanging the dog was not an option because of the allergies.

When I later called her again asking if I could go ahead and return the dog and just suck up the 30% fee which I felt was completey insane considering the medical condition error was not my fault, she stated that oh I have recently consulted with my business partner and we aren't even going to allow the return of the dog with the 30% return fee because you did not contact us within 48 hours.

This has been the most horrible experience for me and I'm finding that other local people have had the same issues with this store. They should not be allowed to continue to get away with this unprofessional behavior. And unfortunately for me I am stuck with a dog to get rid of that I can't even keep in my house due to allergies. Please do not buy from PETLAND unless you make them slow down and take time to explain to you all of the dogs medical history and what this means to you before signing any paperwork. Just a horrible place of business and very unprofessional owner. She was quite rude to me.

I am out financially ALOT of money for the cost of the dog, and doctor bills for my son due diagnose this allergy. Plus mentally drained from the stress and aggravation.

Rebecca of Davie, FL January 11, 2009

Rebecca of Davie FL (01/11/09)
I worked at this Petland for a few months and found nothing said on the sales floor to be true: these puppies come from puppy mills and are shipped in on large, refrigerated trucks. Upper resperitory infections, coccidia and giardia (both of which are transferable to humans) run rampant in the kennels - and these dogs are shown to families with SMALL CHILDREN.

There is a general lack of knowledge on the staff's part, or motivation to report a sick animal - and if a sick animal IS reported, the owner won't do anything unless a customer complains. Case in point: a ferret had a horrible upper respiratory infection. Looked like death warmed over. Owner was warned repeatedly by staff members to treat the animal but ignored them until a customer came in and ASKED IF IT WAS ALREADY DEAD.

This is absolutely disgusting and unnecessary - it's also not the only issue. Bird cages never have their shaving replaced (because they don't look dirty), reptiles die because they aren't heated or fed properly, and customers are repeatedly lied to about the health, condition and warranty on the dogs. This company is disgusting.

Elizabeth of Pittsburgh, PA January 11, 2009

Elizabeth of Pittsburgh PA (01/11/09)
I was at a Petland store today in Pittsburgh. As I was walking past a smaller puppy, I believe it was a Welsh Corgi, one of the kennel techs opened it's cage, grabbed it only by it's arm which you should never do. Not only did she just grab this dog by its arm and let it hang there, she opened another cage and threw it in there by the arm pretty hard. The dogs head smashed off the window and it yelped.

I was very upset at this and asked where I could complain, a woman was brought to me and said that is the normal way to handle an animal. I can tell you right now that that is not the correct way to pick up a puppy. It was absolutely ridiculous and horrifying to see that poor puppy being treated that way. That woman is a disgusting human being in my opinion.

Phyllis of Columbus, OH January 10, 2009

Phyllis of Columbus OH (01/10/09)
on fri eve 6 pm free hampster received with coupon in columbus dispatch mailer. 25 bucks worth of hamster gear. had to fight to get the 10 off coupon for gear, but successful. had to tell sales staff they needed to put the cardboard box the hamster was put in for transport in a plastic bag as it was well below freezing. hamster home, and appropriate eating playing and housekeeping.

all well until thursday eve. hamster lethargic, and seemed its right eye seemed swollen or matted shut. called store they said come in to be given drops on friday - this is common. dead fri a.m. when we woke. returned to store fri @ 5 pm. 2 week employee said she nothing about hamsters. manager said the wet bottom medicine had a guarantee. but in examining dead hamster sees there is no wet bottoom issue. we were given no wet bottom meds, nor told to purchase. no one said anything about needing meds or illness at all. nate says he doesn't replace free hamsters and refused via telephone. daughter devastated.

emotional trauma for child. i'm out two trips to petland and 15 bucks for hamster gear. [they] can't give a kid another hamster.

Ashley of Indianapois, IN January 8, 2009

Ashley of Indianapois IN (01/08/09)
My fiance and I had purchased a three month old Silky Terrier from Petland located in Carmel, IN. The moment we brought her home, we noticed she was having difficulty going to the bathroom. This continued on to the next day. We called Petland (it was a Sunday and all Vets were closed) to find out if this had occurred before. The sales manager said Oh yeah, we should have told you, we have been giving her Pumpkin because she has dry stool. He offered to give us a can of it, we gave it to her that night and it seemed to help a little.

On Monday, we got her to the Veterinarian that had been seeing her while she was at Petland. I could tell from the moment I got there and signed her in that they knew something. The Vet Tech met with me first and started to tell me that there was an issue with her bowels but couldn't talk any further because she was not allowed to. Right then I knew this was something more than just hard stool. The Veterinarian came in and told me that the puppy had been having issues with her bowels for some time and that they had been recommending to Petland to have further tests done but Petland had felt she was fine.

Sadly, we had to take the Silky back to Petland, we did get a full refund but money wasn't even the issue. We were heartbroken. I feel Petland was negligent in the care of the Silky and also dishonest with us. When we purchased her, the sales manager is supposed to go over the medical history which he failed to do. I feel that the store knew there was something more seriously wrong with her than they led on.

Phillip of Sarasota, FL January 7, 2009

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