Complain about a product or service

PetSmart

Daniel of Bear DE (06/29/08)
we dropped our rotty off friday the 20th in the morning, he was to stay until next friday the 27th we received a call monday stating that they were taking our dog to the doctors because he had severe diarrhea and was vomiting. they were to take him tuesday, we were told later that every thing was ok basicly.

well let me tell you ,we picked our dog up thursday when we came back from our criuse, we could tell that he lost weight. took him home then realizing that he is favoring his left leg and would not let me touch it. we decided to take him to the vet. the vet found over 60 puncher wounds on his rear left leg from 1 or more small pets. our dog was not to be around any pets and was to be isolated from all other animals. we were told that he did not have any contact with any of the animals. We also told them what food to feed him, and they still gave him something different which started his diarrhea. besides the bill for them treating his diarrhea 175.00 his vet bill was 386.00. so far we have not herd any thing other than (there viewing the tape).

over 60 puncher wounds, severe diarrhea, infectin, lost 10 pounds

Janice of Bernalillo NM (06/20/08)
I use to purchase Smokehouse Chicken and Duck breast strips, the package said all natural, for my 2 Chihuahua's. In February 2008 my female started to drink tons of water and constantly needed to urinate. I took her to the vet thinking she was developing diabetes. She was dumping lots of sugar in her urine but her glucose was normal. She had more tests as her kidneys were not functioning right, they were shutting down.

We checked the pond water, areas in our yard she plays, her diet and finally after about $600 in vet bills, it was the Chinese crappy treats again. Petsmart is still selling those Smokehouse treats after they were supposed to take them off the shelves last year (Sept 2007), but I figure they are good sellers for the store with a bottom line more important than our pets. I will never shop there again. Now my dogs get cut up Elk as a treat that my husband gets once a year, nothing processed or made in China. She has recovered after 3 months of medication and really! loves the new diet.

It cost us at least $600 in tests and appointments to make her healthy again. Not to mention the $1200 carpet she used to pee on when she was sick.

Jeffrey of Carlsbad CA (06/12/08)
On June 10, 2008, I woke up in the morning to find my 12 month old pure bred Boston Terrier unable to walk/stand on his back rear legs and with fecal matter leaking out of him. He seemed fine when I went to bed the night before. At first I thought maybe he strained a muscle or his legs were asleep. I had to get to work, so I decided to take him with me. About 2 hours later, he was trying to stand and had more fecal matter coming out of him. I grabbed him up and took him outside, but he was unable to stand to go to the bathroom. I grabbed the fur on the back of his neck to see if he was dehytrated and it seemed like he was.

I then left work and took him to the vet. At first the vet thought he might have spinal injury or a disk problem because of his hind legs unable to support him. She took x-rays and asked if we had any lead in our yard or house. I told her No. She said the x-rays were showing lead poisioning and he was dying from it. She said it was very important to do surgery right away. While he was in surgery, I went home and checked out my backyard and found an area where a ball that I had purchased from either PetCo or PetSmart was chewed to pieces. We have purchased toys from both places. However, this particular one, I am pretty sure was from PetSmart.

I put all of it in a plastic bag to see if it matched what the vet was removing from my dog. It was a match. My vet said she had never had a case like that before and she was sorry that it happened, but she learned from it. Even the other vets at the same facility were there and can verify all of this. She was as outraged as I was, that a toy I bought would have lead in it. She is more than willing to talk about the surgery if needed to.

Our dog is resting from the surgery today. However, it was extremely stressful and the surgery cost about $1,500.00. This money was to be used for my house payment and now I am going to be late, unless I can come up with it! Plus he still needs to go in for follow-up treatment. My wife and daughter were very upset as well. I lost 2 days work, which my wife and I own our business as a printer. I am the only pressman and so if the press is not running, I lose money and I was unable to meet some deadlines, which made customers unhappy.

I cannot believe in this day and age that these toys are allowed to be sold. I have young children who are in my yard every day. What would happen if they ingested a piece of the toy? What is happening to our standards to our animals. Our dog is a part of our family! Just because he is an animal does not mean he should have a lesser standard os safety than a child on his toys! I am having to take him to work with me each day to care for him.

Robert of Redondo Beach CA (06/02/08)
5.4.08 Purchased kona from Elisa Arenas from Noah's Ark Dog Rescue at Pet smart in La Jolla California. Did not pick up until 5.10.08 5. 10.08 Kona was neutered by Doctor Alexander in Tijuana Mexico, Picked up Kona at Pet smart in La Jolla, Kona had loose stool. 5.13.08 Called Elisa Arenas because Kona had continuous loose stool. Elisa asked to me to bring Kona to her to be taken back to Doctor Alexander. Kona was picked up by Elisa at 12:30 pm. 5.15.08 Kona was treated with I.Vs and two medicines were given to me to administer to Kona. attachment C 5.17.08 Kona had bloody stool, took her to Doctor Hudson from Animal Hospital of Redondo Beach, at 8:00am. She had DHPPC and Bordetella vaccines, and a parvo fecal test, Kona lost two pounds from her original weight. Drontal tablets were given. Attachment D and E. 5.23.08 Loose stool continued so I returned to Doctor Hudson, given two more medicines, and the doctor noticed eye discharge, and the doctor discussed possibly distemper virus. Eye saline solutions to clean her eyes daily was administered. Attachment F 5.28.08 Kona vomited all night, Doctor Hudson was not available to I went to Bay Cities Pet Hospital. Doctor Sullivan hydrated Kona with IVs and also a shot of antibiotics. He said if she continued vomited and had a seizure it appears to be distemper virus. 5.28.08 Kona at 8:30pm had a five minute seizure. I picked her up since she had no control of her body, she bit myself and my mother and was foaming at the mouth.

We placed her in a crate and went to an Animal Emergency. They took a blood sample to rule out low blood sugar. She did not have low blood sugar and Doctor Hocutt said distemper symptoms would worsen and suggested to euthanasia. Kona was Euthanasia. I purchased this shepherd/lab puppy from petsmart in La Jolla, through a dog adoption agency known as Noahs Arc from mexico. Since day one the puppy was sick with a deadly disease known as distemper virus. I was not told this puppy was sick when i purchased her and fell in love with her.

I have spent $665 on my credit card to save this poor puppies life, and unfortunately did not succeed. I am a poor college student and would like to be reimbursed, since i have no way in paying back my credit card bills, but more importantly i would love to see this organization not be able to sell sick puppies anymore. Petsmart has agreed to make Noahs Arc pay me back for my initial $250 which i paid for the puppy, but they are taking no action to stop this organization.

Broken heart, and vet bills. Petsmart is not planning on stopping this organization, they sell these sick puppies all around San Diego. And will continue to do so until we stop her. please help

Gary of Clearwater FL (05/11/08)
My dog has had bladder stones. He has had surgery by our veterinarian. She prescribed Royal Canin SO dog food. I have a legal and valid prescription for this. I called around and the Petsmart above said that they carried it. I got it off the Petsmart shelves, waited for twenty minutes at the checkout, and when I finally got up to the register, the checkout person said I had to get some kind of card at the Banfield Veterinary Clinic that is inside their store.

I was upset by this (the person I talked to on the phone said nothing about having to jump through hoops to buy dog food for which I had a legal prescription), but I went over to the Banfield counter. There was noone there. I asked to speak to the manager, who was Michelle. I pointed out that I had a legal prescription for this dog food and simply wanted to buy some for my sick dog. She said the Banfield clinic would open at noon (it was 11 AM) and I would have to wait until then. I tried to explain to her that I had a legal prescription.

She continued to insist that I had to see ANOTHER veterinarian at this Banfield clinic in order to get the dog food. I got increasingly angry. I told her that I had called ahead to see if Petsmart carried the food, had been told yes, but had been told nothing about this Banfield clinic or the need to see a totally different veterinarian. She sarcastically said that I was welcome to wait for an hour for the Banfield clinic to open. I cursed at her and walked out.

I did, in fact, return after noon, and had to wait 25 minutes at the Banfield clinic before I could speak to the desk person at the Banfield counter. She said I could have a one day pass to buy the dog food. I was over at the shelves putting the food into the shopping cart, when a man asked if he could help me. With gritted teeth, I said that I had been given the run around when I simply wanted to buy food for my dog. He said he was the store supervisor, and said that he would call the police on me because I had gotten angry with his manager and had expressed that anger. I asked why he had asked to HELP me, and he said it was because he thought that I was the customer he had heard about.

He also explained that Banfield rents space from Petsmart, that they are two different companies, and that the prescription dog food was in fact Banfield's. I then asked why I was told, then, that Petsmart carried the dog food, when in fact it is Banfield, a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT COMPANY (according to him) that truly carries the dog food. He then claimed that, well, yes, Petsmart does carry the dog food. I told him that he can't have it both ways, either it's Banfield's stock and I was completely lied to on the phone, or it's Petsmart's, and Petsmart is likely practicing veterinary medicine without a license (although they MAKE you sign up with Banfield, and likely get some kind of kickback, in order to make the whole thing look legal).

In either event, there is something very fishy about this whole thing. Clearly, Michelle did not want to tell me about the true relationship between Petsmart and Banfield and the prescription dog food, since that would have at least partially appeased me (although it would also make me question the legality of the whole thing). It was only when the store supervisor wanted to intimidate me that he grudgingly explained that Banfield and Petsmart are supposedly two different companies.

Wasted time, wasted gas (not a small thing in this day and age), intimidation, threats.

Shauna of Tucson AZ (04/30/08)
I have been purchasing Nutro products for our cats and dogs for years, since the repackaging, all of a sudden my 6 cats started getting sick, vomiting often and losing weight. I called my vet, who had recommended the Nutro and was told to switch to Science Diet, which I have done, now, no more problems with sick cats. It's a shame that they changed what used to be a terrific product, we can no longer trust it. My vet now knows not to recommend Nutro to his clients, I have heard others having the same problem recently.

I was able to return the unopened large bags to Petsmart to exchange for the Science Diet, they adamently refuse to admit there is a problem with the food, yet there were alot of returns of Nutro at their desk.

Vicki of Sedona AZ (04/22/08)
I had a very healthy cat until she decided to eat only Pro Plan - Beef in Gravy and Chicken or Nutro Cat Food. She seemed a bit off so I had the vet do blood work on her. The vet said she had beginning kidney disease and if we changed her food she would be ok for a long time. She loved the foods with the gravey in them. I took her back in a month and she had gotten much worse. The vet was surprised at how fast she had gone down and recommended i.v.treatment.

We gave hter IV's at home every day for 4 months and she died anyway. This was a few months befor the news about Menu Foods came out. I had the vet perform an atopsy on her because the vet was pussled about why the cat went down hill so fast. My cathad been eating the food for a bout two years. When we heard about the food problem the vet said her atopsy made sense.

The vet bills were approximately $1100. My cat died. She can never be replaced because of her unique personality but she originally cost $800 as she was an Abbysenian. She was my constant companion and quite a character. My husband and I miss her greatly.

Chris of Wheaton IL (03/14/08)
It worked alright for about 2 months then all the lights went out and it is no longer an automatic self cleaning litter box. Now not only do I have to manually start the raking, but over 1/2 the time it wont make it through the litter pan on the first, second or third try. When it finally quits going back and forth, I get to scoop it out like I did before I spent over $100.00 on a cat box.

Only damage is that I paid $125.00 for the KittyMaid Elite, $29.00 for a tent to go over it that is the stupidest thing I have ever seen and the cat wont go in with it on. Then theres the 29.00 for each box of reseptacles for a cat box that is messier and more work than the old basic do it your self models.

Ginger of Hernando FL (12/09/07)
I opened a brand new bag of Nutro Natural Life, Lamb Meal & Rice. All 3 of my Shelties became sick after consuming only two meals from this bag. They all were lethargic, having diarrhea, and vomitting. I immediately changed their diet, two responded well ,but the youngest, who was 10 years of age never became healthy. I had fed this food for many years, and truly thought I was feeding one of the best foods on the market. I am crushed with the loss of my precious, Cutter. This dog is one of the last of my retired show stock.

I took my precious boy to the best vet in the area. He was in the clinic for several days two different times, placed on IV's, antibiotics,X-Rayed, and forced fed.$700.00 later in vet bills, I had to put him to rest. There should be some kind of compensation from this company to be selling dog food that is not safe for healthy consumption.

Christine of Eagleville PA (10/18/07)
Bought fabric-coated mice (grey with pink tails and ear--MADE IN CHINA) for my cat Rocky. These mice have chips inside which make them squeak. He loves them and plays with them all the time--chews and licks them. About two weeks ago, I noticed that his lower lip was swollen, red and full of bumps. I took them away from him and after, five days his lip looks normal again. I am not going to give them to him again--this has never happened before with any other toys.

Darlene of Mount Dora FL (10/05/07)
I bought two plastic aquarium decorations from Petsmart. They were made in China. One is a pirate skull and the other a pottery vase. I placed them in my 55 gallon aquarium last Saturday. A fish died on Tuesday. I changed 1/2 of the water. Now it is Friday and all my fish are sick or dead. I lost 6 overnight. I have always had aquairums since 1970. I know how to take care of fish. I removed the 2 decorations this morning and changed 75% of the water. Are these aquarium decorations made in China poisoned?

I lost 120 dollars worth of fish and contaminated my whole aquarium system.

Muriel of Norwalk CT (09/23/07)
I went to PetSmart to buy dog food for my dogs. I went there because they advertising a sale price on the Iams food I use. The price noted at the location of the food was $17.49, now reduced to $15.49. When I went to the register, it rang up as $16.49. I pointed it out to the cashier who told me I was wrong. I went back to the sign and brought it to him. He consulted the manager and they re-rang it as $15.49 and gave me the different. Shortly thereafter, I went back, thinking they just made an error and the price would be corrected but it was not. The same thing happened.

I did not lose any money because I brought it to their attention both times. But, since I pointed it out to them and they had the opportunity to correct it and did not, I believe it it was deliberate. I would imagine they did quite well with this scam. I will not be shopping there again. Please look into this.

Kathy of Northville MI (09/16/07)
We have purchased most of our pets' toys at Petsmart. However, this complaint relates to ALL pet toys which seem to All be made in China no matter where they are purchased. Our boston terrier kept throwing up and we finally narrowed it down to the toy squirrel we had purchased for her. After looking at the label and noting it was Made in China we then looked at all the other pet toys we've purchased. Every single one said Made in China.

Once we took the toy squirrel away from her toy box, she stopped throwing up. We tried giving it back to her and she started throwing up again. In light of the recent recalls with pet food, children's toys, etc. Made in China, we wondered how long it would take before pet toys from China would be on the recall list.

The recent story that came out in Consumer Affairs about pet toys from China purchased at Walmart containing lead and other toxins is the the 'tip of the iceberg.' It is likely that most pet toys from China contain things that are bad for our pets just as so many things from China are bad for humans. We have decided not to purchase any more pet toys made in China. We think everyone should pay more attention to this and refuse to purchase any pet toys that are made in China! Hopefully there will be more investigations and studies performed on pet toys Made In China.

Pet toys from China are harming and perhaps killing our pets. More studies and investigations into pet toys made in China should be performed and warnings should go out to the general public to beware!

Mary R. of Youngstown OH (07/18/07)
We went into the store, looked around as usual, got our litter & Friskies Ocean Flavor cat food (big bag). I told the cashier I had a question. Her expression was she doesn't know answers. Anyways, price on middle pallet was $10.59, some flavors on shelves were $10.59, but the bottom with about 3 bags of Ocean Fish were marked $9.99. We picked it up there on the bottom.

We got to checkouts, I told her, she scanned it, rang up $10.59. If the price tag with name (Friskies Ocean Fish 18lb, everything the same) as the bag, shouldn't I have been able to get it for $9.99? Or is it just certain people who complain loud enough, etc? She didn't ask anyone to check on the price, she just wanted to keep on going. A manager or someone in charge should have helped, (she was only cashier) so if a question/complaint arises another cashier should be able to open up to help other people while we were being taken care of. Of course that didn't happen.

Judy of Old Bridge NJ (03/26/07)
I was in the store to return dog food which apparently wasn't on the dog food recall list according to the cashier at Petsmart in Manalapan, NJ on March 21st. What eventually happened was the cashier tried to give me a hard time and then I eventually said to him I don't want any other food and I just want a full refund which I was given. Nutro Max is on the recall list but not the kind that I brought back. So I decided to check out Menu Foods.com website and found out that Petsmart isn't listed at all but has been in the news mentioned several times.

I really don't care if it is or isn't at this point because I think it is a disgrace that someone would continue to harm peoples dogs all over money. Also Menu Foods held back information for weeks and knew that something was wrong. Please get to the bottom of this soon so that we don't have to keep harming innocent animals so someone can get rich.

Also, regarding this recall, The Star-Ledger had published in the newspaper on March 24th an article that said Menu Foods was asking people to return any dog food no matter what dates or what brand of dog food it was. Also, Petsmart continues to sell and discount the foods that have been on the recall lists which I think is a disgrace. I have in my possession their advertisement for various dog food and discounts that they are granting to people this week. Where are these peoples brains or hearts at this point?

Georgina of Arlington TX (12/18/06)
I took my daughter and pet dog to Petsmart for the Photos with Santa and was shocked to see that they had a woman dressed up as Santa. This is false advertising and misrepresentation and should be stopped.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top | Pets