Petland

The “top 5 breeder” is a guy named Brad Grotewold from Iowa with a large puppy mill site that you can find online with several disgusting and disheartening articles and USDA write ups regarding his poop/parasite infested facility and the broker is Southpaw Pets also in Neosha, Iowa! The contracted vet, Jason ** is shady and does not keep accurate or adequate records. He refuses to change his mistakes and actually left off many calls and the actual 2nd medication he prescribed for the intestinal parasites! The puppy is very sick and has had diarrhea and bouts of vomiting since the day of purchase! Petland refuses to refund any money and will not pay for him to go to their vet or our vet that we have taken other pets to for years because he’s competent and he’s not going to lie about a sick dog!

It’s heartbreaking knowing that a large amount of money was paid to petland for a very sick puppy and their contract is full of unlawful statements which they make you sign that you are in agreement with, however they do not go into any detail of what they are actually making you sign. They withhold medical information which is both fraud and misrepresentation when they are selling a product that is supposed to be the best of the best. I’m sure as we do further research, we will find he’s not even registered and the dogs they show as parents are probably stock photos with no relation to the dog purchased! This is common practice for petland!

Go do all the research before even thinking about buying from petland! ACTUALLY DO NOT BUY! It’s a huge scam and I have tried my hardest to get vet visits covered or a refund and they do not budge. They give you the run around over and over hoping you will give up! If you are reading this and have had these issues or any others, please join with others to get petlands across the nation closed!

The doctor was honestly appalled at her condition and told me I should reach out to Marshall to be compensated for the vet bills. I did, and... what a surprise, Marshall covered nothing that a ferret could realistically be inflicted with. The only thing they might cover is a broken leg. If it's an infection that wasn't even your fault? Forget about it. Petland simply redirected me to Marshall when the ordeal honestly should have been their responsibility. They house these animals and ultimately take care of them in the weeks leading up to their adoption -- and so they should be aware of any afflictions that the animal may be suffering. I am starting to think that Petland might not be all that it's cracked up to be, as I also saw that some of the bearded dragons they had on display actually had degenerative bone disorders. I think my ferret will be alright for now, but it's disgusting that she had to go through this. She's only fifteen weeks.

Breeders handle non refundable deposits because they do not want potential clients to change their minds later and lose out on other sales. I called Petland the next morning and I do not even have the option to use the $500 for another animal or products in the store. How does it harm them to put the $500 towards something else in the store? I will never purchase anything for Petland again. If I purchase another dog it will be from a reputable breeder.

In our emotional state, we purchased the dog. After getting home I noticed we were charged for what he "came with" (thought they were ringing the items to keep inventory). Looking into the paperwork further, the mother was not even registered and the dog had been neutered. After contacting the company, receiving a run around about how they were trying to "track down the mother". They kept the wheels spinning so the items were no longer able to be returned.

Make no mistake, this company uses false advertising and in our case emotional state to prey on people. From the salesperson on the floor all the way to the top this is a fraudulent business that should be closed for the sake of others. I only wish I checked on social media beforehand. Please do yourself a favor and stay away from these con artists.

We had the option of returning the dog. But what would have happened to him and would he have got a home or just been put to sleep. So now, we have filed a claim, we have tried to contact the store...nothing has happened at all. What the sad part is, is that this condition was directly passed from the parents. So this means Petland is falsifying their animals' medical histories and being AKC. That means at least 3 generations of information is being withheld. This is an outrage! The dog doesn't deserve it and the parents are being bred anyway. All for profit!!

This has to be stopped!! Please help me do that!! I want my puppy to have the best life possible, he didn't ask for this. To be here to be poked and prodded or displayed like a handbag at a store. And my son did not ask to just love him and have to put him through all this!! Petland, upon much research, apparently has been doing a lot more than this!! They have many suits for the dogs they sell. Many are sick and have conditions. Petland needs to be shut down!! These animals deserve better and responsible people, loving people, ONLY, should be allowed to even have them. They should not be allowed to breed sick dogs and sell them. Please help me STOP PETLAND!! Share your stories too!!

Do yourself a favor, don't buy from here..Do research!! All petlands even though owned by sep. owners it's a franchise & operate under the same bus. model. My puppy came from Blue Ribbon Puppies Indiana, Levi Graber who is known to be one of the biggest puppy mills in the country with many violations/complaints against him & was responsible for the campylobacter a year or so ago! Luiz ** owns the SFL locations (also some in TX) & claims to be against the use of puppy mills, but again my puppy came from a puppy mill & after researching found tons of info from people saying their dogs bought here come from the same puppy mill..Blue ribbon puppies! All of his locations have horrible yelp reviews & complaints in bbb, consumer affairs etc.

This is an edit of my original review which was positive because the initial experience in the store was fine... HOWEVER!!..I am a FOOL for falling for their shady "sales pitch" & believing the pos. Reviews on their site & not doing my own research before purchasing puppy from here for $7400!! FIRST, you can't get the training they incl for several weeks so what good is that? Second...Tons of complaints all over internet that they don't pay vet bills when puppies get sick as outlined in the contract.

THIRD....after I called complaining abt the training (told them I had specific concerns at that time) & was told someone would call me back, they never did. You have to go through a middle person call center & I realized they don't care about the well being of the puppies, so I got mad & started doing my research & digging & that's when I went down the rabbit hole of all the disgusting info on Petland & Blue Ribbon Puppies (Levi Graber). Again, Levi Graber is notorious for being one of the largest & most controversial puppy mills in the country for decades!

I also found videos of reporters who went undercover as employees & saw discussions between them & the person training them saying if the puppies get sick they don't give them the proper medicine, they still sell them to people, they pump them full of antibiotics to make them well enough to sell & if they don't sell them before they get sick beyond recovery they let them die & put them in a freezer! I saw the video, google it! So, tons of people have written complaints to bbb, consumer affairs, yelp etc & I have even seen many lawsuits/class action lawsuits from people saying their dog got sick & died soon after purchasing from a petland.

Again, all petlands operate under the same business model & buy their puppies from puppy mills, not the top 2% of breeders. I called after finding this info & demanded to bring the puppy back because they lied to me about where the puppy came from & if I wanted a puppy mill puppy or not from the top 2% of breeders, I could have found one online or a smaller puppy store myself for $1000 or less. I was told someone would call me back in 48 hours, of course it's been more that that & no phone call. I would have even settled for a lower price for the dog since he is from a puppy mill & so far seemingly healthy but they haven't even called me back to discuss any options. So now I am pushed beyond my patience & will be taking this to the next level....Complaints to any & all licensing agencies, review & complaint platforms, news stations & newspapers and maybe even a protest, because I have the time & resources to do it.

Immediately we noticed things like overly excited and spastic behavior, gagging cough, howling and barking if the puppy was left alone or we were out of view for a minute etc. The puppy would freeze and look into space and not respond when waving a hand in front of his face, then resume frantic behavior seconds later. Overwhelmed by the cute puppy and the new friend we wrote these things off. I was concerned at the small thin neck, slightly bulging eyes, rib cage visibility etc. I could not imagine how this 6 lb puppy could grow to 20 lbs with a frame and paws so small. Again we wrote all of this off.

After six days of no sleep due to the puppy howling at night, diarrhea, peeing every 15 min. frantic spastic behavior, we were totally exhausted. Again we wrote this off to him being a new puppy and us being inexperienced. We reached our breaking point on the 6th day at 4:00 a.m. and realized he had to go. We returned the puppy to the Hilliard Petland in desperation and was told we could surrender the dog. 10 min later after the manager was called we were told we could not surrender the dog until "solutions" was contacted. The assistant manager asked me "what is solutions"? "I have no idea," I said. "Solutions" was contacted by phone and I asked for a partial refund or a discount on a dog in the future, with the hopes we could try again after retiring in a year or so. No dice, if the dog is not returned in 48 hours (one night) we get nothing back.

An hour later after miscommunications on their part, a form was produced that I had to sign to surrender the dog waving all rights and the entire 3000.00. In desperation, I did it. After some sleep and recovery yesterday as well as cleaning urine and crap from our home and garage I feel there were underlying issues with the puppy and it wasn't all us.

1. I'm convinced this was not a full Beagle but a Chiwawa mix. We were called by a woman with AKC? who wanted $220.00 to register the puppy even though Petland had told me they paid for this on the day of purchase. We declined.

2. I'm convinced the puppy had serious emotional and possible health issues. Beagle puppies at the same age we now see on YouTube have a much more robust neck, body and legs. The face and head is wider and no evidence of bulging eyes are seen. Is this puppy a runt? I still don't know, but something was very wrong. The Beagle puppies we saw play normally, stop occasionally, and are not continuously spastic and frantic every waking second, stoping only to gag and cough?

3. I find it very bad form for Petland to not at least offer me another puppy even at more money, a partial refund even if it was small, a discount on a future purchase. Nothing, just a bad experience and a $3000 total loss in 6 days. Thanks Hilliard Petland.

I feel like this was handled very unfairly. If a deposit were required then she should have mentioned it and not led me to believe I was getting the dog. I would have gladly paid it before I left or even paid the total amount. This is a situation where poor customer service was involved and the company just laughs stuff like this off. It really leaves a bad taste for first time customers. I am very disappointed in Pet Land. I hope other consumers check before they set their hearts on a forever friend.

Common sense would dictate that you simply refund the amount back on the credit card. She once again said, "We can give you store credit." To which I said, "Why would I do that when your prices are double what other stores are?" I'm a foster parent for kittens for a local shelter and these products come out of my pocket, so to spend $24 extra so Petland can gouge their customers is ridiculous. Next up is a post on Facebook, nextdoor, and any other social media I can think of. I used to teach customer service and suffice it to say, they lost a customer, goodwill and I'll have Citi Visa refund my money and go after them. Shame on Petland for not making this simple and easy.

I went to one in Texas recently and they are very aware of their reputation. I was checking out a sweet mini Australian shepherd and while sitting with them this nice lady gave me the typical spew of how these dogs don't come from puppy mills and she wouldn't have the "heart and soul" to sell me a dog if that was the case. Funny thing is I didn't mention puppy mills at all to her, I simply said I have been encouraged not to come to this place. I asked about breeder info and she came back with a paper she would not let me see, saying she could tell me the weight of the parents but had no pictures. Do not trust anyone that refuses to show you any paperwork before purchase and won't even tell you where the dog came from. This puppy was $6000. I honestly was shocked. No info about anything really and they think I'll spend that much. They even offer financing for a dog, like it's a car!

They will first try to make you believe that you're getting a "great deal" with all the warranties, vaccinations, microchips, blah blah blah. Trust me, it does not end up equaling to $6000. They even tell you if your dog dies you get another one for free, like your dog is easily replaceable. I went in to see if the rumors were true and let me tell you, they are. I always am a believer in checking it out for yourself, so if you do be cautious, notice how they act, how the dog looks, etc. And best tip I can give you: you may see I cute pup (which they all are) and thing "oh I can save them from this place!" while in a way that may be true, if the dog comes from a puppy mill, it is very sad to say, but the dog is very likely walking straight into its grave. You will spend so much time and money trying to save it.

This weekend I am heading up to a local breeder to see her mini Aussies and bring one I have my eyes on home. He is a purebred with championship bloodlines and he is $900, 15% of what Petland was asking. (This is a little on the cheaper side as the dog is a little older than a puppy, but highest I've seen for this breed by reputable breeders is $2000) I get to meet him, the dame and sire, the breeders, the ranch and see the paperwork before my purchase. And I get to purchase locally.

If you're really set on a certain dog, I strongly suggest finding a local breeder and working with them. Online breeders can be untrustworthy, and so are these pet stores like Petland. With local breeders you can really see how much they care for their dogs. If they do not have what you are looking for locally, call breeders that are out of state instead of doing everything online. It's somehow even cheaper than these Petland puppies to fly over yourself and bring the dog home or have a trustworthy stress-free dog shipment company bring your future family member to you. Best of luck on finding your future puppy/dog, and hope you steer far away from puppy mill supporters like Pet Land!

I see you guys on here about a 29% interest rate.. try getting locked into a 144.57% interest rate. Bringing that cute little $2079 Boston Terrier to close to $8,000 by May 2, 2019. Please please please look at all your paperwork carefully and don’t just think, "Oh my gosh, a puppy!" And sign every dotted line without thinking it through. Obviously we made it work, at $77 A WEEK NOT MONTH payment, bringing our payments to 103 over the course of 2 years. It barely helped our credit, because it wasn’t a standard installment loan, it was basically just a bank draft. JUST BE CAREFUL GUYS. Adopt from a shelter until all the puppies and kittens are saved from there, before going to the pet stores...

Once we get to the veterinary we explain our concerns to him, and he said it could be either giardia or tracheitis, which could be because of the contact to other dogs at the store, that the time we as a new parents get really concerns and debate whether we should do the diagnostics test to treat our puppy the right way, but at the same time, either disease have an incubation period of 5 to 15 days, and that was the 3rd day that Belle was with us, We called that moment at American Kennel Club, since the day before we finished the register and they told us our puppy has 30 day of insurance, once we explained the situation, they said they won’t cover the veterinary of any other test since the dog should be healthy since the day we bought her(which she is not) and then we decided to call Petland Kendall again. We explain the situation and they transfer our call to pet care solutions.

Once they pick up we talked to Anthony (at this time we were at the veterinary waiting to have a solution to see if they are responsible for the diagnostics test). We started a claim with him and we decided to make the test to treat our puppy the right way, we did the Giardia test which was positive, we sent Anthony the invoice of the veterinary and when home with our sick puppy, we started the medication as the doctor recommended, the next following days Belle keep coughing but now it's increasing and she now has mucus.

We keep trying to contact pet care about this matter, and on April 21, 2020 we called and the answer is that they won't paid for the diagnostic test since they only pay for medication that the pets might need, and how do you know if you pet need medication if you don’t a diagnostic test, and up to this date our puppy needs a follow up and to redo the test after we finish the treatment, and now we are trying to find the right insurance company for her but no company will pay for any gastrointestinal or pulmonary diseases because she has those conditions as a comorbidity. That’s means we cannot get a health insurance for our dog.

Our dog that was sold to us already sick. She is getting worse and worse, we contacted pet care on April 21th we called a total of 10 times, and the last called they told us that they will not talk to us anymore. That if we want we can take further steps with our lawyers, without any solutions on their part, they stopped talking to us altogether, and we have a contract signed with the stipulation about the warranty (attached below)that was the main reason why we bought our dog in that store, they are not answering for our dog. We know that in United States the law is respected and we know about the PET LEMON LAW in which protect the customer who is buying a sick dog, for which we need help in this matter, we don’t even have a services of the company from whom we bought it. Not even a complaint line on the matter

This was the last resource that we can attempt, we paid $5,060 for a sick dog without us knowing that she was sick. And now every time time that we try to call they denied talking to us because they said we have a lawyer which we don’t at the moment. After reading the contract you can see that it's said and I quote "should the veterinarian diagnose any physical health problem that will require further veterinarian care, you may bring your puppy to Pou Veterinary Group 11549 North Kendall Drive Miami, FL 33176 Phone: 305-598-1425 where all reasonable diagnostics and treatment will be at no cost to you."

It is stipulated in the contract that we signed on April 12th 2020. We have the contract and the paper work from the veterinary and we are asking for our rights as a customer on this matter and we have a confirmation from 2 veterinarians about the dog being sick before we bought her (attached below too). We even have a recording with pou veterinary where he confirms it.

On April 22, 2020 I have to bring my dog to the veterinary and he did blood work and rx and he determine that she is starting an infections in her lung that could be a bronchitis or pneumonia, and we pay 514$ in diagnostics test, plus the 90$ on the first visit. Petcare and petland denies to talk to us about this matter, and they send us to call their lawyer and we did but the number that they provide is not a law firm related to them. And this point our dog is sick and getting worse and worse And we don’t have a response for either of the companies. On April 30th we brought belle (our puppy) to pou veterinary and they says she is better even though the White blood cell count is elevating more, they did blood test again and fecal test, the doctor at pou veterinary which work with petland told us she is better.

(At this point your veterinary doesn't want to get involved anymore and sent us home, the next day Belle was getting worse, she is vomiting, having blood in her poop, she doesn't want to play, is totally lethargic she didn't even want to move, so in our eyes our pet is not fine or healthy as the veterinary said, we decided to ask for a second opinion and we went to Banfield hospital for an emergency visit, once there the doctor did a giardia test which was positive so that means she is still sick, and she advice another antibiotic for her lung since the one that your veterinary recommend have a lot of side effects on dogs, the doctor at Banfield says is not normal to t, has white blood cell elevation, that she has a bacteria in her body plus the symptoms that our puppy was having. I will attached the invoice and the doctor's note on both places.

The very next day Belle (our pet) started vomiting AGAIN, she has diarrhea with blood, she was lethargy and didn't wanted to play or move, we continue the medications plus we gave her fluid to avoid dehydration, since we didn't want to hospitalized her if it we could prevented since she is puppy and is still missing some vaccinations. Up to this date May 18 she is better but not the same. She is stopped taking the second antibiotic, but she is still dewormer and **, we are really concern for our dog. Multiple doctor has said now that she came in sick already. I will attach all the documentation, she have been taking ** for a month now everyday for 12 hrs. She still have a giardia positive. And Petland have never responded to this. We have a contract about a warranty is written. I will attached below so you can judge for yourself.

They are answering emails. Calls or messages about this situation. We had spend 1000$ on diagnostic plus 5,060$ on our pet for which they broke a contract that says that our puppy was healthy and she wasn't and they haven't pay for the diagnostic even though it is stipulated on a signed contract by our part and their part. Up to this day we have not answers from petland. We contacted a lawyer and she have been trying to communicate with petland for the last 2 weeks about the breach on the contract. NO ANSWERS on the part so far. It's amazing how bad this company have been dealing with this situation.

The tech came to visit me and Oreo and ask us about our visit today. I told the vet that Oreo is here for a checkup and she was having diarrhea. The tech took Oreo inside to weigh her and do an initial check. She had came back and told me that Oreo’s ear was also very dirty, and they needed to do a cytology on her. I had noticed Oreo ears were dirty back at Petland but all they did was clean it up. They gave me a bill for over $700 and being included was their pet wellness exam. I decided with my judgement I did which was necessary (Fecal exam, wellness exam, DA2PP vaccinations, Coronavirus vaccination, ear flushing, and their fee). Oreo was tested positive for the Giardia test and sent home with the antibiotics (**).

Within three days, I noticed her diarrhea was not getting any better and I called the vet. They told me since I did not buy **, a tablet to help her stool, she would not be getting better. So that Saturday, I took another drive over to the vet to buy tablets. The antibiotics was prescribed for 10 days and after the ten days were over, she still was not getting better. She was constantly thirsty, her urine was dark yellow, she was hardly eating, and her stool was soft/mushy. I was really concern and called the vet again and told them I needed another visit, since she was not getting better. She visited the doctor again on March 28, 2020. She was tested again Positive for the Giardia and now ear has gotten worse. I had asked the vet at that time, why could she possibly have it for so long?

For me, I don’t take her outside, she does not come in-contact with her feces, I clean her bowl every time she eats and drinks water, and I clean her toys. The vet told me it could have been from either where she came from and the bowls were not clean and could be shared, she came in-contact with another dog’s feces, or where she came from the breeder.

I had yet another bill and at this point, I was wondering at this point what was Petcare Solutions and Petland going to do to help me. Clearly, I gotten a sick puppy because there is no way it’s been almost 2 weeks from when I gotten her and she’s not getting better. I have already gotten in contact with Petcare Solutions before about my puppy being sick again and they said they would make a claim and reimbursed me for the Fecal test and the medications.

At this point, for two weeks and she was not getting better and for the amount of money, I am paying for Petland and the vet, I told Petcare Solutions that this was not fair to me and it was really taking a toll on me, my family, and Oreo, herself. The only solution Petcare Solutions had was they would cover directly her expenses for medication. I find that only covering the medication was completely absurd, considering I have to pay out of my own money for the exams. Petcare solutions also informed me that the end of March 31, they are no longer contracted with Petland Kendall location and I must contact the store directly. I find that a little fishy that now, I have to go through the actual store.

Again, went to the vet a third time on April 3, 2020 and she was tested again for the Giardia and came back positive again. This time, Petcare had said they would directly cover the medication. When I got to the vet, it was an issue for them. They wanted me to pay up front first and make a claim after to get my money back. I showed them the proof of email I got saying that it was covered directly through Petland and I wouldn’t need to pay for anything. After the tech going back and forth with Petcare solutions and they could not get anywhere, they said they would do it out of courtesy. I felt that a charity case. I did not ask for it to be a courtesy. I just want my puppy to get better and Petcare Solutions said they would take care of it.

I got my bill from LendingUSA for the first month to pay for Oreo. I noticed that the bill did not match to what Petland had told me. I called LendingUSA and they told me they charged a processing fee of $400. Petland never informed me that there was a processing fee I needed to pay. At the store, I was told my remaining balance is $4500 (since I put a $500 deposit) and I would not pay interest for 12 months. The representative from LendingUSA, said my balance is $4962.29 and I am still paying the interest for the 12 months.

It is, if I decide to pay in full before the 12 months, they would deduct the interest from what I paid in the beginning and pay whatever is left. The representative said that Petland never explains all the fees one by one and it is always an issue for them, since they have to explain it. Petland Kendall did not explain that at all. If I had known that, I probably would not have gotten my puppy. All these hidden details were not given, and I am really angry that the representative did not explain that. In a total of one month, I have been to the vet four times.

I still have not heard about my previous claims and I decided to do a follow up with the new contracted/Petland Kendall store. They told me they got the transferred files but do not understand what I need. I told them it was not fair they sold me a sick puppy and she’s not getting better. I asked what is it that they can do, and they had the audacity to tell me, the medication does not work in one day. She has been on the medication for almost three weeks now and she was not getting better. They literally have no answer for me.

April 20, 2020 is the day finally Oreo is tested negative for Giardia, after doing my own research and talking to another vet tech from a different animal hospital. Petland Kendall should be ashamed for selling sick puppies and not checking on them before they are sold. My puppy is not worth $4500 in my opinion with all the expenses from the vet, with their secret fees, like paying for the new mask they got and every time I go, it’s either a Biohazard fee or OSHA fee. The OSHA or Biohazard, I understand but why am I paying for the new mask they have gotten? The fact that their fecal exam and Giardia exam are two different test. When most places consider the Giardia to be a part of the fecal exam. It’s like an organized crime, since Pou Vet is contracted with Petland.

I have yet heard anything from the Petland store to see what can be done about my claims and that selling me a sick puppy is clearly not a price that should not be sold for. I want action to be taken and I should be compensated for the stress my family and I are dealing with. Petland should be stopped for selling customers sick puppies. With the coronavirus, people, including myself, do not have a job during this crisis to continue paying for unnecessary hardships that could have been easily avoided.

They had this boy for a bit. He was already close to four months old. I figured since he was a bit older, perhaps they wouldn't have him set at a significantly high price. I was wrong. $4,2999. I was astonished. I felt myself pulling away. I told the lady I wasn't quite expecting that. Breeders that I had seen had similar pups listed at $1200 to $1800. The most expensive I saw were $2,500. She asked me not to leave just yet. She wanted to work out a deal with me. She explained everything the puppy comes with. Puppy for a lifetime. If something happens to your pup, come back in and get another one without paying anything up to the same price as the puppy you purchased. Hmmm... Okay.

However, to qualify for said program, there are specific items that you have to purchase once every 3 months. Those products come out to about $60. Now, that's not horrible, but say a pet lives approximately 10 years. $240 in product a year, $2,400 over the cost of the dog's life. You might as well be purchasing another animal at that point. Then she explained that there is 30 days of pet insurance and the first vet visit is free. AKC registration and microchip registration is also included. Okay. I'm starting to understand the higher price tag just a bit more. Still not $4,299, but definitely understanding it a bit more.

I still tell her that $4,299 is not what we were expecting. Between $1200 and $2,500? Yes. Not $4,299. She asks me to stay put and says they will see what they can do. She tried to talk to me about financing the pup. I'm not for that. I'm making sure my credit stays intact for the purchase of a home. I'm not looking to have my credit run or used for anything else because I'm carefully managing my debt to credit ratio. Okay, fine. So she steps away again. This time she tells me to pay down as much as I can and come back in a few weeks to pay the rest and bring pup home that day. They even lowered the price, but it's not like they lowered it by a significant amount. Still close to $4,000...

By this point, I can bear to put this boy back in that glass enclosure. I can't think about how long he will be in there. At almost 4 months old, he's running out of adoption options. Then what? So I shrugged my shoulders, caved, and said ok. Trust me, they will get their full payment as agreed upon. I'm not looking for any kind of mess or trouble. Where I ran into my first issue is when I called to transfer the AKC registration. I was told that this boy's high price tag was because of things like pedigree and AKC registration. So, why am I being told by the lady on the phone that the AKC registration is going to cost me an ADDITiONAL $368?? Are you serious? I hung up.

So, overall, the staff was friendly if a little on the salesy side (no fault of theirs, it's their job). The dogs all seemed playful and healthy (I feel for those of you that have mentioned sick animals). The place was clean and staff seemed fairly knowledgeable. However, I did NOT like that there was an additional cost added on that I was not told about prior and I am now debating what to do about that. (No worries. I believe in pets for life and I don't plan on getting rid of him just because of this issue).

I was also a little shocked to see that they had this pup on food with such a high protein percentage (Danes need protein primarily from meat, but that does not mean the food itself should have a high protein percentage. Ideally it should be around 26% and this was WELL above that). He was a bit on the underweight side (hip bones and rib bones showing). I've had him about a week, but he's gained enough weight that you almost cannot see his hip bones anymore. We switched him to food more befitting to a growing Great Dane puppy and he's doing quite well with it. Therefore, I realized the staff didn't quite know enough to give him the proper food. Again, nothing against the staff. Deep familiarity with the breed helps. So, overall, this review is not necessarily a knock against Petland at all. I did not have a bad experience.

I am just disappointed that the high price tag is unreasonable when you really aren't getting much of what they are telling you unless you are willing to pay out an additional $2,400 to $3,000 on top of what you spend on the dog itself for a grand total of what could be $6,800 to $7,200... THAT is where my problem lies. Nothing against Petland, but my recommendation to you is that you familiarize yourself with the breed. If you want one, find a breeder that makes you feel comfortable. GO LOOK AT THE PUPPIES AND PARENTS! Make sure you are NOT purchasing from a puppy mill (yes, I've heard the stories about Petland). Select your pup and pay less than what you would pay at Petland. Take the extra money that you would have spent at Petland and save it for vet bills. Great Danes are a big responsibility. Easy going, light-hearted, and gentle, but still a big responsibility. So, save that money for your precious 4-legged pup.