Petland Reviews

THEN, I looked over her "pedigree/lineage" and "breeder" paperwork and I googled the name of the breeders. THEY ARE ON THE 100 WORST PUPPY MILLS IN AMERICA LIST -- complete with a PDF file with all of their disgusting violations!! Seriously this whole thing is a huge scam; NOBODY actually genuinely cares for these poor sick puppies, just making money!! So I felt horrible enough that I "supported" these so-called breeders with spending $2500 on a puppy-- $2700 after tax. And my puppy is already sick again after being out of the hospital for a week and a half. DON'T LET THEM FOOL YOU! We had great customer service, not pushy or anything, however they do make commission (I asked). They rave about "the books" on the dogs (meaning the breeder information and AKC paperwork) but if you google the names it's all just torturous puppy mill BS!

The saddest and most sickening part is that all of these animals have feelings and souls and that is clearly not taken into account at this messed up establishment. Although my puppy has already had health problems, she is the most loving little thing, her personality is awesome, and she really completes my family. I'd like to think that I actually rescued her, because per the vet, she was on the verge of death. I wish I could just get all of the puppies out of this heinous situation at Petland, and take the dollar signs out of everyone's eyes that are involved in this "business". I repeat: DO NOT GO HERE FOR ANY REASON!!

Upon calling store Tuesday a.m. I was told their 48 hour policy is not a 2 day policy but actually to the minute 48 hours. Since I was in Chicago I could never make it in time. Anyway since reading all the stuff I did I decided I did not want to ever step foot in a Petland store or any of its affiliates, which by the way I got at least 4 calls from affiliates wanting to sell me something by preying upon my emotions on the very next day Monday (memorial day of all days). I decided to immediately take new puppy to my own veterinarian for a checkup regardless of voiding the warranty by Petland; which by the way, every single thing said, every question asked, and every piece of paperwork from Petland is designed to make the sale rather than provide the truth.

Looking back even all the different ways which to void their warranty is to make things difficult for the buyer to ever comply. And sure enough my doctor shook his head when reading the vaccines given to this 10 week old puppy needlessly. He also found puppy to be congested along with 104.5 degree temperature which required antibiotics immediately to manage whatever virus puppy is suffering with. I was told virus untreated could be life threatening not only for new puppy but also for my other dog and that I should separate them.

I feel good about not returning puppy since most likely just saved his life. People at Petland appear to be most concerned making the sales and not at all concerned about qualifying the buyer. Im sure they get animals from the cheapest breeders and never the best. They claim to have breeder certification documents which don't mean anything regarding quality of breeder nor the animal's family health history. The place is a joke and I for one out of love for animals am going to exercise my right to free speech to inform all agencies and potential buyers of my experience with Petland including the deceptive sales practices, for example claiming to use only the best breeders with stringent qualifications.

My puppy is now in good hands and will be well taken care of. He was rescued from a money hungry could care less about the truth pet store named Petland. This letter will next be copied to IL State's Attorney Lisa Madigan who represents the consumer against fraud and deception. She has a excellent track record going after companies like this. Again, it appeared to me and by the looks of all these complaints their number one priority is to sell the pet and never qualify the buyer nor provide what they promote, and those responsible should be ashamed of themselves. Petland if you read this, you don't have to worry about honoring this puppy's warranty. I would not get close to anyone affiliated with your name. My priority is with the puppy and not satisfying your stupid worthless warranty along including your worthless included healthcare... I wont be back... ever!

I am so furious over this that I will be contacting a lawyer and the Better Business Bureau! This dog is so sick that I fear it may not recover. But not only that. Now, I have to worry about any abnormalities that may arise as a result from inbreeding as well as cancers & hip dysplasia that are very common when that occurs! This is theft by deception! The vet clinic who they send their puppies to admitted that they recently had 2 puppies with parvo, 1 from Bolingbrook Petland and 1 from Naperville Petland......

I own other dogs, how dare they put them at risk! Buyers BEWARE!!! Oh yeah, another thing, they said that in the price, the registration and that puppy stuffed toy is free and included in the price yet they charged an extra $99.00 and it states for registration and that puppy plush stuffed toy... more LIES and DECEPTIONS! And they marked up their dog food abnormally high, much higher than anywhere else yet they claim you MUST buy it through them... ridiculous!

The following she had greenish colored puss in her eyes as well as a visible worm problem, as she had gone to the bathroom in her crate overnight. We took her to the vet that Petland stated the animal had to be check by that morning, less than 12 hours after purchasing Bella. At West Charleston Animal Hospital, in Las Vegas, Nevada, they examined Bella and determined that she had an eye infection, which he provided us with drops for, as well as an obvious worm infestation. A fecal parasite exam was completed and determined that Bella also suffers from Giardia, which she was also prescribed medication for.

The vaccinations that we were told have been given to Bella prior to purchasing her were not administered by a vet and cannot be proven. The health record that was provided has small writing stating that indicated vaccine(s)/treatment(s) were administered by the breeder prior to purchase of the dog by Hunte Corporation, who is listed as the distributor on the pet profile. Additionally, Petland stated that the puppy was current on vaccinations, which is not the case, due to the fact that we purchased her 5 and a half weeks after she was allegedly vaccinated. Therefore, she not been properly vaccinated while under the care of Petland, and could have been exposed to many illnesses.

Bella was also advertised to us to be AKC-registered and excellent breeding quality. After further review of her AKC paperwork, we have determined that her father was unregistered with the AKC, and was only given an AKC number for identification purposes. There is no proof that this puppy is pure-bred, and therefore is not AKC breeding quality as promised. Bella has had health issues since birth, which the Petland employee stated were all common with toy breeds. After further research, we have found that the open fontanel and inguinal hernia repair that she had were likely due to hereditary issues with her parents. These dogs should not be breeding and should have been fixed.

Additionally, at the time of Bella's inguinal hernia repair, she should have also been fixed, in order to prevent her from reproducing which could not only result in puppies with similar issues, but could also result in health problems and even death if Bella were to ever be pregnant. Bella will need to have another surgery in order to be spayed, which should have been done at the time of her last surgery. However, being spayed, the breeder would not have been able to sell her for as much money. Petland did not provide us with any veterinary information regarding this surgery, and there are no visible scars on Bella's stomach. Therefore, we are not sure whether or not this surgery was actually performed to correct this painful and dangerous health problem.

I called Midway Veterinary Clinic in Neosho, Missouri, which is the vet listed on Bella's paperwork as the vet that did her surgery, microchip and vaccinations. The employee stated that she did not have ** (the breeder) in her system and that even if she did, I would need to contact him to have her records released to me. Although it appears that it will be expensive to look after Bella, we do not want to get rid of her. We cannot imagine putting this poor puppy through any more than she has already been through and intend on giving her the best life possible. However, it is quite distressing knowing that we have purchased a dog from a puppy mill and supported this horrible industry, and plan to do anything in our power to stop this from happening to these innocent animals. If you have any information on puppy mills, Petland, Hunte Corporation or **, I would love to see it! Please visit me on Facebook at: **.

They WON'T refund you anything, despite what your receipt says. The receipt says that anything purchased in a bundle can be returned as long as the entire bundle is unopened, but the Pawsitive Solutions people will disagree and say "well you signed the receipt and contract showing you were aware of what you bought and what was included in the price of your dog." They will say they don't have a store manager and refer you to Pawsitive Solutions, where they don't resolve anything. Thank you ** for being so helpful (sarcasm). I will definitely be sending this to a lawyer. You can't return any dog, just exchange. And please don't make the mistake I did and finance a dog. It's a debt I can't cancel for an over priced ticket. The only positive is that I got a beautiful healthy puppy from the deal.

Latest news from the vet was a x-ray was needed, and a suggestion to get the dog to the owners due to no improvement, and it being the pups best interest to get out of the cage restriction he's currently in. The store owner has been arrogant and ignorant to the pups well-being. Not only making excuses for not getting the x-ray in a timely manner to outright lying about the pups well-being. An 8 week old German Shepherd not gaining but a single pound in the four weeks the pet shop has held the dog shows neglect and ignorance to the animal's well-being.

I'll start with small animals. Small animal cages were all open, so anyone could reach in and grab them. Needles to say, hamsters and such are terribly nervous as is, so all this handling sometimes caused them to bite. Initially, this meant put the animal in a cage in the back and give it extra love until it's more socialized. After a short amount of time, I was told there were too many animals in the back, and this was no longer an option. One bite = death penalty. The locations owner ordered us to either put it in a box and freeze it alive, or put it in a bag and slam it against a wall until it was dead.

When I said I couldn't do that, the men that worked there were handed down the orders I wouldn't accept. The freezer became so full, that dead animals fell on me any time I tried to open it. Rabbits fought often because of overcrowding. Wounds were not allowed to be treated because the value wasn't enough to preserve the injured. I treated them as well as I could by cleaning the wounds, applying antibiotic ointment I purchased on my own, and dressing them. Sometimes my efforts helped. But sadly, I couldn't save them all.

Next I'll touch on kittens. Kittens were donated. 100% of them. Wild kittens sometimes would be donated and sold as domestic. These animals started at $99.99 a piece. Since the sources of these animals are unknown, many would have health issues. If the cost to get treatment for the animal was greater than the value, we would be forced to sit back and let them die. The vet that visited once a week would ignore them due to direct orders from the owner and gm.

I saved the worst for last. Puppies. We were misled and told all puppies were from licensed breeders, in turn forcing us to mislead the customers. Licensed breeder was loosely thrown around. After doing research, I found that many states give licenses to puppy mills with little to no research about the facility the animals would be kept in. Bottom line, Petland only sells puppy mill puppies. I can guarantee this because I'd helped with ordering so I knew all the names of the breeders. I researched each individually and found the truth. One of the puppy mills we used, **, had over 2000 puppies crammed in tiny cages in her facility in Mexico, Missouri.

Why is this a problem? Well, for starters, akc and other company registrations were usually received by fabrication of who the parents were. So customers were charged thousands of dollars to purchase a "pure bred" who probably wasn't a pure bred at all. On the contrary, many were INbred. Next, illness and disease. Too many puppies in too small of an area, means things spread fast. To me personally, that meant a lot of angry customers.

People came in complaining about how: the puppies had thousands of dollars worth of medical bills in the first few months; the new puppies infected older family dogs with things that eventually killed them; puppies died - many before 1 year old; and finally, I started getting complaint after complaint about our puppies being diagnosed with Parvo Virus. This also meant for me, the heartbreaking job of removing dead puppies from the kennel when I got to work every day, before the other employees came in.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, a vet visits each store once a week to check out the puppies. Almost every puppy ever to have been in a petland has had kennel cough at one point or another. The puppies were given medicine to treat it, but many of them left our stores with permanent damage to lungs and bronchial tubes from the treatment not being aggressive enough to actually cure the illness. It was a poor effort so we could say to our customers "every puppy had been checked out by a vet before we even let you visit with them."

Finally, I'll just touch on the topic of commission based sales. Petland offers its employees commission on sales to encourage ripping customers off. We were trained to sell every little thing we could to a person purchasing a puppy. We were trained to condemn people almost, by making them feel guilty if they didn't spend $1000 in product along with the $2000 they just spent on the puppy. Yes, if you're purchasing a puppy, usually you need supplies. But some things we were forced to tell people they absolutely needed, was a con to get higher sales - NOT for the animals welfare.

That being said, you're probably wondering what I did about all this? For starters, I did my own internal investigation with videos, pictures, and written testimony from numerous employees. I turned my report in to the Health Department, ASPCA, PETA, and any other group I thought could do something. What happened with all this? Well, the health department investigated. We failed our inspection. I was ready to jump for joy until I heard the dreaded words "I'm not reporting everything I've seen. Get these items taken care of. I'm going to let it slide this time." So of course, I continued to turn them in, yet the same result happened with every inspection. Slap on the wrist and no further actions taken.

One - I repeat, ONE group followed through with investigations after I turned in my evidence. PETA. And with all of the radical ways of PETA, people do not respect the group enough to listen wholeheartedly when they speak. So, here I am, more than ten years later, STILL trying to educate the public, and hopefully one day finally get them shut down for good.

I contacted the contracted veterinarian and explained what was happening to the puppy. I was told to keep his scheduled visit, but the vet would probably not give him his vaccines. Upon arrival at Petland's contracted veterinarian, a sample of mucus was taken from his nose. The vet stated that it was a sinus infection. I was given meds to administer until a week later when the vet scheduled him for another checkup.

The HORROR story began...I continued to take this sick puppy to Petland's contracted veterinarian for treatment, which included several different types of medications and breathing treatments. I even had to leave the puppy at this veterinarian facility for a full week of breathing treatments. Then on another week, my family and myself were taking the puppy to this same veterinarian on a daily basis for a week of breathing treatments, as was prescribed by this contracted veterinarian of Petland. Meanwhile, I tried getting help and answers from the Petland store from which I purchased the puppy. I called on many occasions, asking to speak with the owner and/or manager. NO ONE from this Petland store returned my calls until almost two months had passed.

I also tried getting help from Petland Claims and Warranties...that was a JOKE. First of all, you never get anyone to answer the phone, instead, you receive an automated message to leave your information, and someone will get back with you. The automated message also states that calling more than once in a 24 hour period will delay the process. Well excuse me...I have a very sick puppy that can't wait until someone decides to get back with me.

After no help from Petland, and the puppy continued to decline rapidly in health at the care of Petland's contracted veterinarian, I was getting concerned. I asked the contracted vet for an x-ray of his chest, because he was coughing so very badly, day and night, and coughing up a tremendous amount of phlegm. The contracted veterinarian refused an x-ray on both of my requests. The day of 12/2/14 was our last visit with Petland's contracted veterinarian, and we were told by the contracted veterinarian that he was done with the puppy, to take him elsewhere. We left this crackpot of a veterinarian, and on the same day was able to get him in to the veterinarian we use for our other dogs. Upon arrival at OUR vet, the puppy was given an x-ray and severe pneumonia was found in his lungs, along with a fever and underweight puppy.

Our vet told us in order for the puppy to survive, he would need a 24/7 emergency care facility. We immediately took the puppy to the suggested facility, he was there for a week for extensive treatments and 24/7 medical supervision. Also, our other two adult dogs, both of which have always been up to date with their vaccinations, became ill with Kennel Cough. The puppy purchased at Petland of Lakeland had been sick prior to my getting him, and Petland was disguising the illness with medications while he was in the pet store.

So..after almost $4,000 in vet bills from the emergency facility and our vet, we finally have a happy healthy Boxer. Petland initially had refused any reimbursement until I contacted the BBB, and filed a claim. Once I submitted all of my documents and facts, the BBB worked as the mediator, and Petland of Lakeland refunded the full price of the puppy. I now plan on going after the almost $4,000 in vet bills I had to pay due to the incompetence and lack of caring from Petland's contracted veterinarian.

We started chemo immediately. After a few weeks, we chose to stop the chemotherapy but keep her on prednisone. We put her on a holistic diet (recommended by a holistic doctor that is a friend) with homemade fresh food consisting of 12 different supplements. We cooked three small meals for her during her last two months. This did not at all put the cancer into remission. We had to euthanize her last week. We are absolutely DEVASTATED by her loss. Not only because she was such a beloved member of our family but the fact that she only lived a little over three years. It just does not seem fair. I called PETLAND MONROEVILLE requesting to talk to the owner to inquire about the breeder. I thought they might be interested in knowing what happened and to check on her breeder to see if perhaps any other dogs from that litter had congenital problems.

I thought when I talked to him he really cared, but I was really wrong about that. He said he would call me back. He never did, nor did he mention the three-year warranty that I discovered later on. Since I told him she was three it could have been possible that she was within the three-year warranty. He also stated he was the new owner and he bought the business a little more than a year ago. In extreme grief, my husband and I visited PETLAND MONROEVILLE this past week. We were greeted by a woman who informed us she was the owner and after talking with her she said her four sons run the store. Funny, the guy who called me said HE is the owner and he's owned the store for a year and a half.

I told her about our Violet and she went in the back of the store and brought out a Maltese puppy that we could purchase for $2k. Her behavior was very inappropriate. It is definitely clear to me what the priority is to these owner(s) and it is not the health of the animals. Needless to say, we are not interested in a new dog. Dont really know when we would emotionally be ready (if at all) for another dog. I am writing this to add to the complaint list about my experience with this pet store. I will never buy an animal from PETLAND MONROEVILLE again. Hopefully this story will make people realize that buying from a breeder is a better route to take.

At this point we made another appointment to have the parvenu vaccination again and the day of the appointment she passed away. Petland will take no responsibility for the death of our dog. After several months of trying to get a hold of the "manager" or someone that could help me, they have finally returned my phone call. They said, "Sorry but we won't cover any medical bills or replace the dog."

I of course fell in love with one of the pups and opted to purchase her. The price was $950. They agreed to allow payments from each check until the total was paid and she would belong to Petland until the total was paid in full. I ended up having to pay $900 for medical even though she was not my dog yet. They refused to pay her medical bills when she contracted double pneumonia and puppy strangles. Needless to say, the owner agreed to let me take her home that day without further payment and I quit after threatening a lawsuit. I know for a fact that all of these puppies are from puppy mills. Pups would come in so young that they were unable to walk! Petland needs to be shut down!!

** was very rude and could have cared less. ** never even asked how pup was after he seized!! Said her beagle must have accidentally dug under the fence/impregnated the lab and she couldn't say it hasn't happened before! Again, really?? I have all texts from her. Didn't give a darn about the seizing puppy. A TRUE BREEDER would DEMAND to know so she can act accordingly with her other dogs and prospective litters AND follow up with the DNA tests. DONT BUY FROM HER. There are wonderful other breeders out there!

Now to the female; as a puppy she resembled a boxer and due to the fact that the sales people said the same thing about the breeders and AKC REGISTERED and I thought it would be ok. I know from experience that with some breeds it could take a few months to a year until the full physical character traits of the dog actually come out. Well the female turned a year old on Jan. 9th this year, and she doesn't resemble a boxer. She has the colorings of a boxer, but that's about it. No short pushed in muzzle like a typical boxer, and her coat is very long. When I got the dogs I scanned the barcodes on their info packages and it shows that they came from the same breeder, but their pedigree and AKC paperwork show something totally different. We paid close to $4000 for two puppies that we had great plans for and now can only have them spayed and neutered.

When we found out about the male puppies hereditary issues, I asked for contact information to the breeder and was denied. I have since researched reviews from other Petland customers, and found out that I'm not the first person who has been sold inferior/ poorly bred puppies. I am prepared to take this case to small claims court if I do not receive a full refund. Update; Petland refused to reply to the BBB complaint. This will be reflected on their rating, but I was told by their complaint department pawsative solutions that this didn't matter as people would always buy overpriced puppies from them. DO NOT BUY PUPPIES FROM PETLAND!

I informed him that I work at a fish store (large area aquarium/fish retailer only) and he argued with me and said "so do I." He needed to just do what the customer asked and not argue. I did talk to the manager about this and he had no clue why this would not be a good practice. I informed him that is was stupid to put any water in the bag that was not from the tank the fish were in. By the way, all 5 of the fish died within 24 hours. I have 27 fish tanks and have been keeping fish for more than 20 years. I would like to also state that it is hard to get an associate to help you in the fish department. I am sure that is because all the big money is in the puppies.

Another issue I have is I purchased a 2nd puppy before I found out the first one was so sick now I'm looking at another heartache for my children if something happens to this puppy. Someone needs to stop this from happening. Also I have to use an emergency hospital because it's the weekend. I am so angry. I plan on taking this to the media and hire a attorney for all fees involved to stop this company from selling bad puppies!

We decided to go back. When we got there, someone was playing with him already. I found the sales associate I had asked about price, and she was holding a pup. She handed me the pup so she could go get paperwork which I thought was kind of weird. So we got a room and held that puppy. It was a female golden retriever and she had a LARGE cyst on her side which made me feel really worried. So I asked her to get the dog for us so I could check him over again. He really did seem all okay so we asked her to see if we could get financed - which we were told was interest free for the first year (which wasn't true).

The sales associate was about our age, and she was very nice and not pushy at all. But while we were playing with him while she was getting us financed (because we weren't certain at this point we were going to go through with it), an older male employee, I'm assuming the manager came over. He kept asking us questions about what we were going to name him and how he could tell he loved us (which I feel was a pressure tactic) and then went on to say that since we were in college he would be easy to take care of. (Uh no.) Thankfully I'm not ignorant and knew how much work it would be. Telling college kids having a puppy is easy till they find it isn't is how poor dogs get in shelters.

So anyways, we get him home and everything is fine. They told us we had to take him to their vet within 5 days to be eligible for the pet for life program. We took him the next morning and he had a bit of a runny nose so the vet gave us medicine for that at no charge. They gave him a clean bill of health. Thankfully he never got kennel cough which I was fully expecting him to get. I'm also lucky my dad is knowledgeable about dogs and he looked him over as well and thought he was fine.

Everything was fine until November 17th 2014 when we took him to the vet to get his rabies shot. We got him home and 3 hours later his face and tongue was so insanely swollen he didn't look like him and couldn't see out of his eyes. We rushed him to the vet and they took him back right away and gave him medicine and kept him for a couple of hours. When we came back to get him they gave us more medicine to give him and didn't charge us for anything - which I am VERY surprised about.

So anyways, we'll have had him for 4 months February 10th and everything has been okay so far. BUT, I know my experience is very rare and I wouldn't recommend buying any living thing from a Petland. I do believe they're unethical and just out for the money. Find a legit and reputable breeder that loves their dogs and not just money. Also, don't just do it because you'll get another dog down the line. I've opted out of the pet for life program because I even know I probably wouldn't have the same results with another Petland pup down the road.

The poor little guy has been at the vet more than most people go to the doctor. I have called Petland and all the other people I can think of and filed disputes, but I believe I am now stuck with even more debt because of Petland's screwed up policy and my ex. I am still dealing with the dog's sickness and it sickens me that this company is still in business all over the country and all these problems related to their dogs and policies. I think that is why they sell you insurance with the dog, because they know these dogs are sick. Plus they are NOT AKC registered, they LIE LIE LIE! PLEASE CLOSE THIS COMPANY DOWN!!! They are in it for money, only money.

I am certainly glad they are not concerned with their reputation considering the mark up on these animals is astronomical. When I paid what I paid for this puppy I fully well expect him to be in tip top condition. Wish me luck in my venture and please tell everyone you know not to purchase anything from them. The sale of unhealthy animals has to be stopped and the only way to is to hold them accountable.

All I can think about is how sick this baby was and if Petland would've just got her 100% healthy then put her up for adoption, she would still be here. But no, they just want that money as soon as we said we will adopt her they went in to selling us stuff she will need ext. We didn't even get her until we was walking out the door because they was taking us all over trying to sell us stuff to make them more money instead of telling us about her surgery or how she had hookworms and it's deadly to pups. I should've listened to my gut when the manager said over and over, "If the puppy dies, you can have another puppy for equal or less value but no refund." Now he says we can't even get another puppy but I told him that is no problem because would not take one because they are all probably sickly. He needs to do a better job at taking care of them before selling or adopting them out. Joplin MO is where I adopted her from and wish I had some legal advice to get this store in trouble for neglecting these babies.

I thought my dog plus the things they said I needed for her was 884.46 but then add the 1K to it and wow what a rip. I missed all the training she needed so she could be good when we went to Pet Smart and be around other people and pets. I paid for a training course via email but could not follow it due to her being sick for over 2 mos. She coughed every hour on the hour I would look at my clock. I patted her little back to help her cough up what ever it was she was trying to cough. Now she just coughs when she wakes up after sleeping all night.

BTW: if you do not take the pup to their chosen vet, it ends the contract so I did and they diagnosed her with kennel cough then they gave me pills. Finally I took her to my vet who I trust and he told me all they were giving her was a cough pill. He gave me antibiotics and something in it. I tasted it and it tasted like vanilla. So I gave it to her, it was like feeding a 10 mo. old baby food it doesn't like. But she took it so now we will go back and have her checked out again. That one visit cost me 83.$, the last pills at the pet land vet cost me 34$ for they said the 30 days were up, it was Thanks Giving weekend.

The vet never called me back so it went past that date. I doubt if I live long enough to enjoy my baby Ms. Bailey Irish Cream for a few years or less. I will have to find someone to adopt her and at least pay off the cost of her. I tried to return her the very next day before I got attached to her so they told me to read my contract. I said “what contract?” I thought I was signing for the credit card. I would never have signed such a horrible - should be illegal contract. I am dying, on a transplant list for new lungs. I doubt at 64 I will get them. Been praying for a 100 car pile up on I 70 in KC KS. With all organ donors. Sad but that would be my only chance. I was getting sick in the store and told them to hurry up so I got the puppy and as soon as we got in my car she coughed, then kept coughing. Kennel cough has a 3 to 7 day incubation period. They couldn't sell her fast enough. I called the vets who are all referred to them by Pet Land contract. They brushed me off like I was a mother with a new baby. I have had lots of pets throughout my long life and knew she had Kennel Cough, my vet confirmed it so I disputed the charges on my credit card. They are wonderful and will not let them keep my money until all is figured out.

I printed out all these complaints to send to my credit card company. They will see that this is just one of 420 & this is just this site. There are tons more. Pet Land is a bunch of liars about the puppies, about the DNA of the breed. Which use to be a 30 to 40 lb dog German Spitz. A guard dog & sheep herder, well these tiny pups still think they are. They are not afraid of anything, cars trucks and people. They run like a rabid jack rabbit and I am on a cane plus lung issues so bad I just can't deal. I bought her an outdoor big kennel so she could run around outdoors for the most part, she sits there looking at cars passing by. I tell her to run around so she gets tired and sleeps. I am taking her to my vet to get her Rabies shot. And he will take care of her like he had for my other dogs. My other pets died 2 yrs ago both of heart problems. I believe there was interbreeding going on. That is why this time I went to what I thought was an upscale pet store. One thing I hope all people read this site before buying a pet from any pet store. Puppy mills are everywhere. I never dreamed that this tiny pet came from one of those. They have to have C sections and the vet of their choice told me that they need to be spayed or they would get cancer. What a thing to say!

Well, I also wished I had researched the breed and as cute as they are, I would not have picked her. At least she has a good mommy like me to make sure she gets well. Oh yeah one more thing. Research your choice before you buy and buy from a breeder direct. Then you know what you are getting. Make sure you ask all the important puppy Q&A's. Thanks for the ability to tell my horror story - my puppy was born Aug 2 and bought Oct 20, 2014, sure looks like many of these stories happened in this year. When I threatened them with reporting them to the SPCA, they moved their store without notice of any signs or notices. They knew that the SPCA would have tested all the pups. For if one had it, they all had it. So I believe they had enough time to move for I never had time to call on them but they did not know that. They moved to our local Mall in Topeka KS. Do not go there. From reading these stories, it looks like they buy a sick pup who makes other ones sick. My puppy is wild but she trained to the wee wee pads and she does some tricks but walking her is a nightmare. She puts on the breaks, this is why I spent even more funds on a outdoor kennel run.

I have a friend in the local station here who says if we all get together and call our local news stations, we can begin a movement to get national attention and put these crooks out of business! I am also willing to put a huge billboard and signs everywhere every week to advertise against these guys in Fairfax and the employees who work there. Embarrassing them to and bringing attention to them will get them to quit and put these companies out of business. Let's spread the word on all social media which I am going to get my IT friends to set up blast marketing against them. We can do this and get them all closed and strip them from their reputations in the communities they live.

I went back to the Petland Round Lake Il on October 29, 2014, dropped the card and talked to the store manager about the situation. She asked me not to worry and take the puppy is just distress and sold me some more stuff and suggested me to Spring Grove Animal Hospital - SGAH on Saturday Nov 1, 2014 and I was blindsided again.. When I took the puppy I was just set in room for nearly 2 hour and said was told that they were not able to contact Petland Warranty group and suggested me continue antibiotics and use turkey buster to force feed the puppy. I paid again $94 for medication.

Meanwhile I received an email from Petland warranty group asking to fax the Petland contract apology that being sick did not respond earlier. Again no phone number to contact. I faxed and asked her to acknowledge the receipt. Finally had to hospitalized and slapped with a charge for 3 days and X-rays with $900 and with two follow up checkups $140 each Nov 10, Nov 16 2014 and do not know how many....But I will save this puppy.. I had the luxury of a good credit line and was able to handle the finances... Or these organizations would have killed the puppy in all this red tape and blindsiding the consumer.

Thanks

We had to come back in 3 days follow up and it did not get any better. He suggested that we go to an eye specialist and we did. She was diagnosed with GLAUCOMA at 4 months old and we are devastated. I have paid an arm and a leg for her to be healthy and happy. The specialist has already mentioned she already lost vision in the one eye. Petland supposedly has a warranty. They are taking forever to get back to us. I have grown very attached to my puppy and cannot fathom the idea of losing her. Petland and their breeders are ** up to be selling puppies with this many issues. If anyone has any suggestions on what I can do - please let me know.

I called Petland and they reimbursed me for the medication which was small amount of the bill. I paid $350.00 for the vet. visits and tests. They refused to pay for the test & the veterinarians' charges. I paid $1700.00 for my dog, and you would think they would have taken better care of their pets. I found out that a coworker had the same problem with them.

When I contacted Pet Land they told me that they have the dogs looked at once a week!? What kind of veterinarians do they have that would not recognize how sick my poor puppy was! They also told me that they knew that he had an upper respiratory infection but "figured I would be taking him to the vet in five days anyway!" What kind of horrible people would do this to a poor dog!? We ended up bringing the dog back due to its untreatable illness and my three boys are devastated.

Got the CD of the x-rays from my vet and took them to Petland's vet who could not dispute the findings. I am taking my baby to a cardiologist to determine the proper treatment for her condition. Fortunately for my baby, I own my own business and can afford expensive vet bills, but the point is - I SHOULDN'T HAVE TOO!!! NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS!!! I had to tell my children their very first pet may die in 10 months. My family is beyond angry and hurt over this situation. I am praying my baby doesn't die as I was devastated when I was told she has a heart condition at 12 weeks of age - 10 days after buying her. I cried all day and night. My baby is so very precious. In this situation, the puppies suffer and so do the owners. The store and puppy mills get the money they want and continue these inhuman breeding practices. Don't buy from a store. This is a lesson learned for us. I don't regret buying my baby, we love her and feel it was meant to be. Thank God I did, if I we hadn't purchased her, she would more than likely have a very short life or be treated badly because she is sick.

I regret not getting someone in the store to investigate their practices before buying her. No animal should suffer like this. I am taking my case to my uncle who is an attorney in Atlanta. I am filing a complaint with the Attorney General. You have to be diligent about pursuing a course of corrective action. If you don't, the puppy mills and stores will continue to breed puppies that are not healthy and suffer. In the long run, the real victims are the animals. Stand up to this injustice. Don't just write something on a board. Contact your state's attorney general's office and file a lawsuit!

The next day she threw up twice. It scared me. I ran her to the vet. It didn't seem to be anything serious. Two days later she was itching so bad she made her ear bleed. I ran her back to the vet. They did a skin scrape. I cried when she yelped. They gave her a shot of Ivormectim, also an antibiotic and an anti-itch shot. That poor sweetie. I called the store we bought her from and explained our situation. Asked them why they did not say anything, they claim they did not know. They claim she was well vetted and because we chose to use our own vet it's our fault. I hung up. We love this dog. She has become a huge part of our family. We will do everything we can to keep her happy and healthy in spite of the stores stupidity. She is a well loved dog. I would never again shop there. I do not feel they fully disclose the things they should. And I think they should be more concerned about the dogs they sell than making the almighty buck. This is my rant.

He is acclimating to sleeping in his crate also. Smart little guy. I am as ethical as anyone can be (I am a vegetarian and don't wear leather, etc. ) and always promised myself I'd never buy from a pet store OR breeder but my last rescue dog ended up causing heartache for us because of his abusive past and I wanted to be able to raise a puppy and teach him about life. I cannot speak for all Petlands but this one has really cleaned up their act in the 8+ years I have visited them. No more sick-looking puppies, bigger cages and you have to be 18+ to handle a dog alone. We'll see how he turns out but I have high hopes for this little pup :)

However, after reading some reviews, I realized that I could look at her papers and find out what breeding facility she came from. Turns out she came from Ridgeview Kennels in Durant Oklahoma and I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this place? I have tried to search it and cannot come up with anything other than their license number. Any information would be helpful. Thank you!

This place is HORRIBLE and if you're not prepared for HUGE vet bills due to shotty breeding and complete lack or want of knowledge on their part DO NOT PURCHASE A PET THERE!!! I looked up the supposed breeder on our paperwork and they have been cited and investigated multiple times with photos of puppy mill conditions.

I impulsively purchased a very small chihuahua puppy in 2007 after the sudden and devastating loss of another chihuahua. I paid $1200 for my new baby, Ava - I HAD to have her, I was lost without my Astrid. Ava was a sickly baby and had kennel cough at the store. Petland offered to "nebulize" her a few times a week to help with the cough and I agreed.

Ava did get better and I still have her today. She is a great chihuahua and I love her. But after digging into her history, she came from a USDA licensed puppy mill in Missouri. When you buy a puppy, you should physically GO TO THE BREEDER'S PROPERTY to see the parents and the puppies. Most USDA facilities do not even ALLOW you to go see their animals! Moral of the story is: Choosing to buy a dog rather than adopt from a shelter does not make you a bad person - but if you do choose to buy, be as ethical as possible about it and do not buy from a pet store. Buy from a small, responsible breeder with like ten breeding dogs or fewer. Why? Typically hobby breeders are NOT relying on a profit from their animals - they have a day job or other income and breed the dogs for pleasure, meaning they truly love their dogs and select only the best breeding stock, providing lots of attention and socialization.

Additionally a NEW LAW was just passed that any dog breeder selling puppies over the internet must be USDA licensed if they have more than FOUR breeding females. This is GREAT news and it will curb high-volume "backyard breeders" that try to circumvent the USDA regulation process. I never will make the pet store purchase mistake again and I consider myself lucky that Ava survived.

We decided to purchase the Basset puppy to rescue her from the conditions she was kept in. The store clerk seemed to care for the Basset and she told us that she felt bad about the dog being kept in such a small cage and that when she could she would take her out to walk around the back room. We brought her home and I thank God that there were no health problems BUT, we later returned to the store to get the dogs nails trimmed and the dog completely panicked. She didn't panic during the nail trim. She panicked as soon as we opened the car door and she saw the store. Something happened there that scared this dog so bad that merely the sight of the store was enough to cause a full panic attack and since this was the first time we came to the store since the purchase/rescue it wasn't anticipation for the nail trim.

The only reason I would ever buy a dog there again would be to rescue it from the store. The clerk that sold us the dog seemed to feel genuinely concerned about the dogs but seemed helpless as to what to do and I think this one individual was the only person that gave these dogs any positive human contact. The dogs were treated as merchandise with no needs or feelings and the care was the absolute bare minimum necessary to just keep the puppies alive and cute enough to catch the eye of the consumer. This is of my opinion but please educate yourself before you purchase animals there.

Third, I was standing there for awhile - no one asked if I needed help. I continued to look at the dogs while an older woman came in and asked to return a products. One of his employees told her she would be able to use with a backyard koi pond. Turns out the product isn't compatible with her pond. She explained very nicely that she talked to the customer service over the phone and the employee sold her the wrong product. The guy who I thought was the manager claimed he was the owner and he said he would not give her a refund because, "It's not his fault she can't read well."

I then started to pay attention to the conversation and he kept being extremely rude to her to the point where I stepped in. I stopped him from raising his voice to the older woman who barely had said anything. He said to her several times, "I own this location. I don't HAVE to give you a refund." I stepped in and apologized for his actions and said to him, "This woman is a customer in your store and she should be spoken to with respect and this is no way to handle a customer service complaint." I continued on by saying I don't care if she spent $3 in there. She deserves to be spoken to as a human being and customer. He belittled her for at least 10 minutes until I stepped in. If you look up other reviews of this location, MANY of them say the Owner/Manager is rude and had 0 understanding of customer service. Not only is a jerk, but he also sells sick puppies. He doesn't treat people with respect. I can't imagine how he is treating the dogs.

For the store itself, they definitely need to be shut down. My local petland is clean, but the arrangements aren't very good. My shepherd was kept in a cage with a rottie and my shiba was in a smaller cage with an eskimo. The German Shepherd had no issues at all according to the store's vet, but luckily we took her to another vet and she was still great! My Shiba Inu on the other hand, he had developed kennel cough and we weren't told about it before leaving the store. He got better after taking him to another vet, but it was still sad. THEY NEED SHUT DOWN!!!!

I will never go back in there, and every time I drive by and see the protesters outside the store with their signs, I honk and wave in support. Petland not only needs to be closed, their staff need to serve jail time.

Once home, I actually bathed her to find fleas on her. So I gave her the cheap topical they gave with her "puppy package". She had loose stools which I assumed she may get with being nervous... However upon her free visit to Petland's choice vet (which was about 40 min from the pet store & almost 2 hrs from my house), They found not only did Petland send me home with the wrong puppy's vet check clearance, my puppy had Giardia (a parasite that can infect humans, other pets, even your yard!) too.

Feed up with the fact I shouldn't have been sent home with a sick puppy in the first place, I decided to take my new puppy and my other dog to my vet. Good thing too because the night after taking her to Petland's vet, she developed kennel cough. My vet tested again, found giardia and coccidia (something her correct paperwork said she had had and been treated for, but no follow up). Keep in mind this is all within the first 4 days of having her home, since I purchased/get Friday and started vet visit the next Monday. After 500 bucks in vet bills, she was sent home with tons of meds and seemed to be getting better only to start urinating blood. Back to the vets and another 200 dollar bill. Now my kids need to be tested for these parasites :(

Huge mistake buying from Petland. My vet even said that the puppies that come from Petland all seem to have big health issues especially with parasites. Keep that in mind if you have kids or other pets, it can be spread just by smelling the poop!

The next day, I was able to get him to eat a small amount of food but immediately started throwing up and having severe diarrhea, so we took him to the hospital where he was in and out of consciousness. The vet did all kinds of tests on him and it came back that he was full of worms and has a strong positive for Giardia (parasites which can be passed to HUMANS too). Now he is on five medications and will hopefully get this out of his system. After just three days of having him, I have to rush my puppy to the hospital. Luckily we got him there in time and hopefully my sick puppy will be able to get over this. NEVER GO TO PETLAND! They need to be shut down. They only sell sick and injured puppies from puppy mills.

That was on a Saturday. That next Monday we took him (as per requirement) to the Petland Vet, North Fork Animal Clinic. They told us that he was fine, other than that little cough, but here are some liquid and some tablet antibiotics JUST IN CASE it is something. We gave him the medications as per instruction, but he never quite shook that cough, it would pop up occasionally when he was excited or had been playing too hard.

Last night was a typical night..... the dogs had their dinner, had after dinner play and potty time, and then went to their separate crates. This morning we get up and our Shelties are fine but our beloved Chihuahua is lying dead in his crate. Other than that little occasional cough (which the vet said was nothing), he has never had an issue. He seemed to tire more easily than our Shelties but he has never exhibit any symptoms of anything, and seemed fine last night. He had his dinner so we know it was not hypoglycemia, and he has never had an issue with it anyway.

We called Petland Chillicothe who told us that we need to take his body to North Fork (makes sense, they want documentation that the pet is deceased) but talk about add insult to injury - they are saying that they need a necropsy. Now the warranties we have do not say that a necropsy is needed, just a vet certificate..... but that any diagnostics and tests are the cost of the owner. So they are going to force us to pay who-knows-how-much to do a necropsy on our little pet. Talk about insult to injury. Run away from Petland. Run far, far away. Don't deal with the heartache we are suffering.

Original Review: May 8, 2014

I bought a female guinea pig from a Petland store. She was really sweet and affectionate. I got her home and notice from 4 days she laid in the same spot - no drinking or eating food I provided for her. On the 5th day, I called Petland thinking maybe she needed a friend because she was used to being with buddies. They said they had no more guinea left so I bought one from Pet Supermarket. The new one I got was really alive and well, bouncing around being a normal guinea. The next day, I noticed my new guinea no longer was acting that way so I called Petland again. The lady told me all their guineas were sick and a vet was coming out to check them.

Meanwhile I bought one that was sick and nobody contacted me to inform me mine could be sick too. Now I have two sick guineas. I took the Petland one back to the store and they said they would refund my money. The "owner" was in the store and had no words to say not a "I'm sorry, we will call a vet for yours", nothing! Just a stupid refund like my guinea was a t-shirt or a pair of boots! I told her I will take the refund but I want to know what is wrong when the vet comes. I told her I will come back for her if she's treatable. Well that was today and something is telling me I won't receive a call. If they don't I fully intend to sue in small claims especially since my other guinea is sick! DON'T BUY FROM PETLAND!

We decided to go back and get him the next day because I couldn't stand the idea of him being there any longer. He was sent home with "prophylactic" antibiotics. We followed up in 72 hours with their vet just like we were told. He actually asked me why I bought from there when there are so many breeders. I should have seen the big red flag staring me right in the face, but either way, Bruce was our baby. He put him on another round of antibiotics for kennel cough (mind you that he is only 9 weeks old). He just seemed very lethargic after that, but we kinda chalked it up to being a bulldog. Then it got worse and we decided to take him to our vet. He took X-rays and he had pneumonia. He died 3 days later. We had him for 3 small weeks. We paid $3200 for him, but it really isn't about the money. Our whole family was affected by his death. Petland gave us a store credit towards another puppy, but that won't be happening. Live and learn, I guess. I would never recommend anyone to buy from there!

We barely got to pick her collar and leash as well as the harness she would need because of her breed type having a pug nose. Everyone else would follow you around the store, comment on this and that and always trying to get you to buy something. Thankfully she had no issues, health but behavior wise she is very timid and is now getting used to a "friendly" reach into her kennel where at the start she would jump back because she was used to getting harshly grabbed and yanked out if she would not cooperate to their liking.

I watched this as they were taking her out so we could bring her home finally after 5 hours (!) of signing papers and their contract. The vet they had on hand I have to say was a lot better than the ones that a lot of folks mentioned. The head vet particularly but she never really seen what was going on and the store employees always hide in the back if they were caught doing something by someone that could get them in trouble. I just wanted to get my poor pup out off the conditions they were in.

The second time we went back, we still did not realize what we were doing. I wanted a larger breed dog for myself. We asked one of the guys that were on hand as everyone else was busy what breed they would suggest as I wanted a calmer breed and one who was easily trainable. A goldendoodle... He was a big ball of fluff from what we could see from the outside, asked to take a look at him and set in one of the consulting booths and the poor guy hide behind me the whole time we sat there. He would not come out for nothing and we asked the guy if we could have some time to interact with him though he never went far but at least he was out of ear's reach when we spoke.

I told my husband we have to get him, take him home and out of this place because they were obviously mistreating them far worse than what we had known. We bought him. He was on sale for $700... Thankfully for us he had no health issues other than being underweight (the peakle was $1600). At the time, we still did not know these poor babes were puppy mill pups, and honestly the money does not matter other than the fact that we supported them when we should not have been. But we are happy to have the two that we do. They are highly intelligent and smart thinkers, easy to train but still to this day timid and shy around others and hard for them to trust anyone new. For a beagle mix, you would think she would have barked up a storm at whatever... just a few days ago this month 3/14, she barked for the first time.. the first time.. Our goldendoodle boy still won't bark at anything... Would rather hide than be confronted by anything or anyone.

Our third trip back... (yes I know a third!!!)... the sights that we had seen were very sad. A little black Dachshund puppy... majorly underweight and looking sick... Husky pup who would and should have been highly active... depressed and overwhelmed by her own conditions being alone and in a small cage by herself. I went back to the vet, the one that they recommended and did a little fishing for info. I asked her if she had any complaints about any of the dogs there being mistreated or mishandled. She got upset and told me if she had, she would stop giving her services to the pet store. I realize now that she could have been trying to hide the fact that they do and the dogs that came in sick were all from Petland.

Don't buy from them, regardless if the papers they give you have a breeder's name on them. They are either fake or misinformed intentionally. Don't even go to buy food or supplies of any kind because you are supporting them to stay open. All Petland pet stores need to be closed down and should no longer be in service period, and that goes the same for all pet stores who sell puppies and kittens. They are all from mills. I can't walk into a pet store and not buy a distressed animal even if I end up paying a small fortune for them.

It breaks my heart to see them suffer and it is hard for me to realize that they are just animals because to me all animals have a soul. One reason to not even walk through the door. If you need a bag of food, go to Petsmart or Petco. At least there you will run into a dog and cat adoption from a shelter... animals who need a home and cared for and loved... without helping the danged puppy mills. Thank you for reading this. I know it is horridly long.

I contacted Petland and informed them that the puppy died and that I did not want another one since learning of their questionable practices of selling sick puppies in numerous articles on the internet. They would not discuss refunding the $1800 I spent and instead said that I had purchased the lifetime replacement and would give me another puppy. I now plan to sue them in small claims court and also report them to the news media to let the public know of this store's bad business practices. DON'T PURCHASE ANY PETS FROM PETLAND!

Now my dog is 5 months old and I know better. There is NO chihuahua in him at all, possibly some Pom, but he has a short coat so I'm not sure. He weighs 16 lbs at 5 months, which is the biggest giveaway. A vet looked right at him and told us there is NO way he's half Chihuahua. But as a puppy, it was believable. Now though, I'm kind of pissed. I love my dog. But I can't believe they let me pay that much for a dog that wasn't even what they said. I know many people who adore "Pomchi" dogs and for the "toy size" they'd pay that much. But that's not what my dog is.

And remember how I said I didn't want a dog who could knock my two year old down? Well my daughter has been around Pomeranians and Chihuahuas. Neither have ever knocked her down by jumping up. However our dog can knock her down easily. We still love him, and yes he is trained. But what little dog doesn't jump up while they're playing? It's bothersome that I could be lied to like that. The vet said for me to demand a refund, and we scheduled a DNA test. And then I called Petland and said, "So what would happen if I told you that I paid $1,300 for a dog from you and he turned out not to be what you told me he was? I'm sure you knew since you claimed he was from a licensed breeder. What breeder doesn't know his dogs?" They hung up. I called back twice and no one answered.

After the test proves that they lied, I am calling their corporate offices. I'm mad. I love my dog. But I don't believe they should be ripping people off and expecting people to pay that much to get something nothing like what they expected.

We were told several great things about the English Bulldog that they had. We played with the puppy and everything seemed fine. But then they told us that the puppy arrived at the store the day before we visited. When the puppy's picture has been on their website for three weeks, as far as we know. They also had an employee tell us they bought a Husky's sister a few months ago when another employee said that that dog arrived four days ago and that the dog was shaking because she was scared. I fear now that the dog has been there for a few months since the dog's sister was adopted and is now getting sick in the cage.

They also had a German Shepherd that was way under weight. She told me that they were trying to make him eat more but you could feel every bone on him. He was sickly looking and was not playful. He just stood in the booth with us. Bringing up the puppies eating. We were there while they fed the puppies and they placed one bowl of food in the kennels for several dogs. I witnessed a dog bullying the others and the bully ate the food while the other three were in the corner. No other food was placed in the kennel for the other dogs. The dogs are not being cared for and by the other reviews are already sick. The employee helping us gave us her card so I'm assuming that they get commission on the puppies.

This place is sickening to me. And by every other story, the people are cruel. My mind is blown that they are still in business. And I want them shut down. DO NOT SHOP AT PETLAND.

The dog is under treatment now with medicine for 10 days. I called the warranty company and they said they would not cover Giardia if a fecal analysis was not done during first time of the physical examination of the dog. Also they cover only at VCA facilities. We found later the store sold the dog without fecal analysis and the doctor never said about doing a fecal analysis. The warranty company said fecal analysis is optional and it is not covered by them. This sounds scam complicity between the store, VCA and the warranty company. How could you sell an expensive dog ($2000) without fecal analysis? The warranty company said it was my fault to not request fecal analysis to VCA but VCA never mentioned about fecal analysis.

VCA, Petland and the warranty company know that fecal analysis is a must but they never mentioned to me. That silent means "scam". This is not about the cost of the fecal analysis since I already spent $2000 for a dog; why should I not pay for a fecal analysis? I had small kids at home running the risk to be contaminated with Giardia too.

We took our pet to the Vet that Pickerington uses and setup a time to have him cremated (a sad time for our family), then we contact Jr with your corporate the very next morning and he acted like had some concern. He also mentioned a necropsy, so we contacted the vet immediately and they said that too much time has passed to perform one. With Meagan's advice, 4 days would have been way too long also! We are currently speaking with the Attorney General about this issue and want some kind of replacement or a refund!! We do not wish to speak with Jr because he never returned our calls and was no help. Our next step is to contact 6 On Your Side because we have found several complaints about Petland and did not know any of this until after the fact!

I am including a link for the complaints as I did with the Attorney General complaint. It seems that Petland has this problem all of the time and it is kept quiet!! Well I will not remain quiet, because this was a family member that was lost and we did everything right. If I cannot get an agreeable resolution to help my grieving family, I will hire an Attorney and beat this case for everyone that has received the poor service that Petland hands out! I would like someone from your company to contact me to help me with this problem! I look forward to speaking with you.

She said most of them come in very sick due to being exposed to so many other animals in an enclosed room. She said it was quite common and nothing serious during the shipping of animals. Within 2 months my dog was fine, until I noticed something bulging out of her eye lid. Come to find out, she had a cherry eye. I was told that these were removed before she ever made it to Petland. Apparently not! I had to pay for it out of my own pocket. I argued with the manager over being told that these were removed and that this was a genetic problem which is clearly stated that Petland has to pay for per their contract. They refused saying one was previously removed, but I was going to have to be responsible for the other and there was no way to prove it was genetic. Whatever. I just accepted it as part of being a responsible pet owner. Within 4 months she developed a chronic skin problem. She had large blisters all over her body which would bust and bleed. She was missing large patches of hair. It was just brushed off as an allergic reaction to food.

After several expensive bags of dog food and no symptom relief I finally took her to a family vet and learned that this is something that my dog will have for the rest of her life. I have to bathe her in a special shampoo and she has to periodically take antibiotics and steroids. I also learned recently that she has a deformity in her eye lashes where they actually grow into her eyes causing ulcers. My vet and I have decided to postpone surgery and see if this med combination works; so far it has. At 6 months old, they did honor their agreement to pay for half of her surgery to be "fixed." I am not in the business to make money off of my dog. I got her for companionship. A year later I went back in to make a small purchase and saw another English Bulldog. After spending some time with this precious little fellow I decided I may want to purchase him, but needed to talk it over with my spouse. I noticed he was breathing heavily and had some congestion.

Again, I was told this was a common cold. They were very aggressive and tried to push me into buying him that day. My spouse said. "Hell No!!!" We would never buy another pet from them after everything we've been through. The next day I went back to let them know I would not be getting him due to all the medical complications/expenses I've had with my dog. I was told it was a good thing I didn't buy him because he had a deformity with his nasal passages being too small and he was not able to get enough oxygen. They had to put him to sleep. I broke down in the middle of the store. I could not believe they just told me this. I believe now this was a tactic to make me feel guilty for not buying him, I don't know. I was shocked, angry, and hurt!!! Not long after that the store was shut down for a year and reopened under new management. This place has not changed. They are still just as tacky as they were before. I came in with my English Bulldog that I'd bought there 3 years earlier. One lady asked me why I brought my dog in. I just kind of looked at her like what the hell? It was her tone that caught me off guard.

Then she asked if I was coming in for a grooming which I responded no. Then she asked if I was interested in buying another dog. I just wanted to see puppies and browse I said. I noticed a few puppies had a cold as evidenced by sneezing and a runny nose. It was about an hour before closing and it was extremely hot in there. I saw an English Bulldog I wanted to play with and after 20 minutes of no acknowledgment I finally asked to see him. The young lady that asked me why I brought my dog in said I couldn't because the dog needed to eat and rest. Well, what about the next 20 hours ya'll will be closed? What will they be doing then? What if I was actually there to buy this dog that costs $3,500? I suppose because I already established that I was not there to buy a dog she knew I would not be purchasing the puppy and was wasting her time.

I was shocked to read all these horror stories and had no idea. I was actually looking to complain about my most recent service, but after reading everyone's complaint I wanted to share my entire experience. I love my dog and would not trade her for the world. I don't regret buying her at all. She is the best, sweetest, and most lovable dog I have ever owned, but Please stop giving these people business!!!!!! They are selling sick animals for profit!!!!!! These people do not care about animals or they could not continue to work in that environment with a clear conscience!!!! I am just so shocked that they are still in business after reading all this!

During our first visit, Andrea (as I am told by the GM) told us about the pet deposit if we wanted to ensure that no one adopts the puppy, who shall now be referred to as him throughout this correspondence. Andrea was aware that we were looking at a puppy at a rescue also, and I asked her if we decided to go with a dog elsewhere if we could use the deposit for leashes, food, or whatever else our puppy might need and she told us on several occasions that it would not be a problem and yes, we could.

The next morning Rachel opened the door for us and was extremely pushy. I felt like reminding her this is a puppy and not a pair of shoes! She, too, mentioned the deposit and again, I confirmed that if we decided not to adopt him, if we would be able to use the money for supplies for the other puppy, which she was aware of, and she, too, said yes! We knew we were going to need supplies because we are getting a puppy from one place or the other so if it didn't work out, it was no big deal; we would not be out any money that we weren't already going to spend, so we put down the deposit.

When we showed up at 5 pm, we had every intention of adopting him if all went well. However, he was more aggressive and grabbed my, already shy, son by the pants and actually bit his leg and was pulling on him. Rachel witnessed this and realized this wasn't going to work, and took the puppy. Obviously, this was not the puppy for us, and she immediately tried to show us any other puppy in the store, but as I mentioned before, we were seeking a German Shepherd puppy. My husband asked her how the $100 credit worked because we need to get some items for whatever dog we end up with and Rachel said she would check. She went in the back, and completely avoided eye contact with us for 10+ min.

I finally went to the front register and asked for a manager. The manager came out and immediately (before anything was said by me) told me she was on the phone with the owner and they refused to do a refund. I explained we were told we would get a store credit and I did not want a refund. She called me a liar and said that no one on her staff would say that!!! Then she went on to tell me they only give refunds in special circumstances... Is this not a special circumstance? Please elaborate what constitutes a special circumstance. My son was bitten by the dog that we really wanted and we didn't want another dog. Again we were not shopping for shoes, but a lifetime companion for our family!

I was furious. Why on Earth would I ever give someone money without some arrangement to use the money elsewhere, knowing the possibility that this would not work out with our child? Yes, the receipt does say "Nonrefundable," but it does not say nontransferable, therefore, I believed what I was told by multiple staff members. After a very heated discussion with the GM (as she identified herself), I asked to her to bring out the employee because the one from last night (Andrea) was off today. Rachel blatantly lied to mine and her boss' faces. She said and I quote, "I told you this morning when you asked me that question that I would check to see if you could use the $100 for in store credit if you didn't buy the puppy, but I never gave you an answer." Why would I go out of my way to ask this question and then just hand over money without a response?

Honestly, think about it. If I am so concerned about this and have asked so many other employees and was confirming once again, why would I give her my money without some sort of agreement or understanding? She then went on to tell me she would not lie to her boss, which is of course another lie, and then the GM told me that she believed Rachel and not me, to my face in front of Rachel. I told her I needed to call the police to file a report and she told me to call the police. She will talk to them, and told me she didn't have time to talk to me, and went back to hide in the back corner of the back room.

Once I made the phone call, I asked to speak with her, again. When she came out I asked her to come to the other side of the store by the mice to avoid a scene in front of the other shoppers. She directed me to the chairs and sat. I calmly asked her, "Why would I be making this up," and told her to look at the facts: Multiple trips, a background in animals, two different employees telling me the same thing, why would I make that up? She then told me that she has a hard time believing two seasoned employees would tell me this. I had to interrupt her and ask how seasoned these employees were because Rachel is now insisting she didn't know the answer to what the GM was making sound like a very simple and routine question!

Her reply was that people come in ALL of the time and put $100 deposits and never come back and, once again, repeated they only do refunds for special circumstances. I reiterated that I DID NOT want a refund; I wanted the credit I was promised so I could buy my new puppy some supplies! She tried to tell me the dog part brought in business that was separate from the fish and food, etc. She also told me I could use it for a different puppy, but we wanted a German Shepherd. She then, again, said the special circumstances and that the receipt says nonrefundable. I told her that it does not say nontransferable and she replied very forcefully, "WELL IT WILL NOW!"

Then, again, she told me to call the police; she would talk to them because she had other things to do. I was even more confused after our conversation because I never left the premises with the puppy. I was told no one else had come in to look at him, so they did not miss an opportunity to adopt him. I just cannot wrap my head around the issue here. I was told I would receive a credit by multiple employees and then when the dog BIT my son, I was automatically the bad guy for expecting something that I was promised by multiple employees??

I have contacted the corporate office multiple times to resolve this issue. On the third attempt, I, finally, received a response that stated they could not help me and I was redirected to the store owners, Tom and Jeff Hartmann, to resolve this complaint. Conveniently they are never in and the rare times they are in, they are busy and I am assured by the employees that my message will be placed directly in their hands. The corporate office couldn't care less about this or any complaint (Google Petland reviews) and the store owners only care about the money, which, I guess, is what I should have expected from a puppy mill wholesaler.

This complaint has been going on for over two months and I have never received an email or phone call response from any person affiliated with Petland, outside of the generic redirect from corporate, only a response from Petland to my bank calling me a liar. If you read the reviews online, you will find way too many complaints regarding the bait and switch that occurred with my family. I guess it is not against corporate policy to lie to the customers about a store credit or (in some cases with the online reviews) a refund because they have been made aware of these unethical practices and have done nothing to stop them.

Before purchasing a pet or any item from this store, DO YOUR RESEARCH. I now know they are a puppy mill wholesaler. None of the pets that they are selling come from the good breeders that they will try to convince you of (Online reviews besides the bait and switch are generally regarding very sick animals or not actually AKC-registrable pets that they REFUSE to refund - there are tons of them everywhere including BBB which they are not accredited, Rip off reports, as well as, the standard review sites). I am ashamed that I did not do more research before I entered the Lake Saint Louis, MO store Petland store, although, it has become apparent that these disgusting practices occur in every store in the country.

After reading the reviews and researching complaints, and newspaper articles, I am surprised that this company is still in business. There are plenty of local stores that support animals and animal welfare and do not treat their customers like they are the scum of the Earth. I would recommend going anywhere, but Petland!

The owner and general manager also made fun of me for being quiet thinking that it may help me to talk more. Now about the animals, when I was working there, eight puppies got parvo **. Four dogs died from this. When the second dog died, the owner told me not to tell anyone about the parvo or they would be shut down. If I could do something about it, I would have shut it down, quarantine the place and reopened.

We had to force feed her. She had a seizure and we took her to the vet that we were supposed to take her to. They said that she was fine, just some hypoglycemia. So we left and then she died 3 days after that. Then I found I out that Petland sold puppy mill dogs. They said we could have another dog but I don't want a dog that will just die again. I want my money back and I doubt they will give me that back either.

And to everyone on this site who keeps buying puppies from places like Petland, just stop. There are plenty of good puppies and dogs for adoption at shelters. Quit contributing to the puppy mills!

I did a search for positive reviews of Petland in hopes that maybe, just maybe, there were people satisfied with their pets (so I can go and exchange mine for a healthy one). But what I found was discouraging. Out of nearly 400 reviews, there were 2 that rated 5 stars and one of them said his dog was very sick and Petland wouldn't help. So I think that was a mistake. Only one person was happy with the purchase and every other rating was 3 stars or less, with 1 star being remarkably higher than the rest. Why does Petland not react to this? Why don't they change their ways? This is horrible. I don't know what to do with my puppy now. I may have to find him a new home, but who will want a sick dog? Poor little guy.

I would like to get another dog but don't want to take a chance with Petland selling me another sick puppy. I am very disappointed and sad. I took this puppy for my four-year-old and we have had him over a month. Both she and I have grown very attached to him but I cannot keep him knowing that he is sick and could die young. I had a puppy that died at a year old when I was a kid and it was very traumatic for me. I want a puppy that my daughter can grow up with. The dog also pees and poops everywhere and he throws up and eats his own vomit sometimes. He is not a healthy dog and I cannot take a chance with my daughter. She will be very upset that we have to give him back but I really do not see any other option.

Shame on Petland for selling sick puppies! After reading a bunch of other reviews, I realize that this is a common thing with them. I wish I had known this before. I would never have taken the puppy if I knew his "minor kennel cough" was actually a chronic condition. It's terrible. Don't buy anything from them. I know I won't.

Then, I went to the store, which is 35 miles away from my home, to talk to them again. The employees say the owner is not available and they can't take any decision without him, and I can't reach the owner. It is more than 2 months now, and I called the owner numerous times, and he stopped taking my calls. This whole thing looks like a scam, and unfortunately, scams like these are run by people at a company like Petland. I recommend not buying anything from these guys and stop encouraging scammers like this; otherwise, you will end up with worst customer service and risk losing money. The employees also respond to you only until you buy the pets. After that, they just ignore you and don’t even like to listen to you. Once I bought the puppy, they started saying the owner is the only one who has the power to take any decision, and he won’t be available at the store most of the time. So to me, it looked like they are trying to avoid me instead of helping me.

After that, we continue treatment with a local doctor that found more troubles, and she mentioned that we could return it to Petland, but we love him so much we could not. We contacted their "warranty" department and it was a battle of back and forth faxing documents to the point we give up. So my recommendation to anyone looking for puppies, do not buy at Petland!

I’ll never buy a puppy here again, for what I paid I could have gone to a breeder that was reputable. Oh and to top it all off, I researched her AKC papers and the place she came from is a puppy mill, so they lie to you that they are from good breeders; lie, lie, lie. Our baby is just going to be a pet and be spoiled and loved, so her pedigree is not important to me! But I don't like the bald face lying. Shame on Petland! I’ll tell everyone I know not to get a dog or anything else there!

The Springfield, MO store where I purchased my golden closed recently, so much for any warranties that I signed for. I love my dog very much, but next time I get a dog, it will be adopted or from a local breeder with a good reputation. I refuse to support a business that gets its dogs from puppy mills. I recommend that everyone who has purchased a dog or is thinking about it from Petland, research the breeder.

We bought him and took him home. Since then, it has been constant problems. Many symptoms showing he came from a puppy mill. His testicles never dropped so he needs surgery to have them removed. He has major behavior issues, problems with eating his own feces and other problems. In fairness the sales people were nice but they were pushy and looking to make a sale. I'm in sales so I get it. No beef with them. I will never buy another puppy in the future but rather adopt a rescue. If I'm going to go through the issues, I'd rather it be rescuing.

When we placed them back together, they searched for food for a minute and then the two littlest kittens began to try to suckle from the larger one who just slept. It was so sad. I located a "manager" and asked him what was up. He said they just got them. Well, this is the same story I have heard before the last time I was there. They had a small underfed kitten who had blood coming out her nose. I will not accept this. I made sure to have them feed the kittens before I left, but I find this very despicable and will ensure I’ll make as many calls as I can until the issue is resolved. If they cannot take care of the cats, then just don't have them. They are suffering!

I phone today about the procedure to check about his hips. We were told that we had to wait 10 weeks. I read the warranty and it said when the puppy was 10 weeks old (which he was over when we got him). I called to see what we were supposed to do since we were given the wrong information (we wrote it down while talking to the sales lady). The woman who just hung up on me told me that I should have just gone. It’s not their problem. I am not responsible for the test. This company is horrible! Shame on them! I am so disappointed considering the "puppy sale" still cost us over $1,300, not including his vet visit. I won't buy anything ever again from Petland and will make sure no one I know does either. I’m so disgusted.

Approximately a week and a half later, I returned to Petland to exchange the item for a smaller size. When I walked into the store, the male behind the counter noticed that I had the muzzle in my hand. He said, "Are you returning that?" I replied, "I just need to exchange it for a different size." He then stated, "Oh, well do you know how long that is going to take? I still have to do the all the paperwork as if it is a return." I proceeded to ask if I should go get the other size while he continued assisting another customer at the counter.

I went to the where the muzzles are located in the store and chose the size that I needed. I returned to the counter with the item. At this time, the employee asked if I had my receipt. I let him know that I did not have it with me, but didn't want to return it, just exchange. He then asked if I was a club pet member, which I informed him that I was. When he pulled up my information in the computer he stated, "This item can't be exchanged because it was purchased in 2009." I advised him that this was incorrect as I just been in the store the previous week. He then said "Well, it shows me right here that it was in 2009 and I can't take that back." I asked at that time if it would be possible they put it under someone else’s account on the day I checked out.

After about 10 minutes of him basically calling me a liar, he found that my name had been spelled wrong at one time and due to this fact, I had 2 club pet memberships with Petland. After finding the correct account, (I never received an apology from him basically calling me a liar) he opened the muzzle. My dog had worn this muzzle one time for approximately 20 minutes and it was indoors. The man then informed me that he couldn't exchange it because it had been worn. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the muzzle, in my opinion. He just didn't want to take the time to process the return, when in all reality it could have been processed in half the amount of time he took to accuse me of lying about the date of purchase.

I have always gone to Petland for all of my needs. I have 2 dogs and a cat and have spent a large sum of money with this company. I will not be returning to Petland due to this one bad experience, from now on my business will be at Petco. I recently made a visit to Petco and the employees there were very eager to assist and seemed as if they enjoy their job and appreciate their customers. Maybe Petland should visit the Petco store and see how customers should be treated before they lose more business.

This is a genetic defect in bulldogs which in the most severe cases can lead to breathing complications and heat stroke. On July 23, 2011 (the dog is now only 8 months old or so), he goes outside for his morning potty routine and within 10 minutes, collapses. He is immediately rushed to the emergency veterenary where they perform CPR. The dog never woke up.

Petland's "breeder/puppy mill/broker" should never have continued to breed this defect in its bulldog. I have done a lot of research on these elongated palates in bulldogs since then, and while breathing problems are common in bulldogs, it should never have been this severe. We are now awaiting Petland's response and hoping they decide to do the right thing before further action has to (and will) be taken. Their guarantee states that they will replace or refund any genetic life threatening/altering diseases.

Well, the dog dropped dead! A seemingly healthy 8-month old bulldog, who was too young to undergo the corrective surgery that it would have needed and we would have happily paid for!

I again rushed him back to my vet who hospitalized him again and ran all kinds of tests on him. His red blood cell count was very low. The tests that they performed for Lyme disease or other tick borne illnesses came back negative. I was told to take him to see an internal medicine specialist. He had to have a blood transfusion at this time because his red blood cell count kept dropping. I took him to see Dr. J. at PVSEC (a wonderful doctor) and was informed that Charlie had autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which is a hereditary disorder.

I immediately called the breeder (whose number I had to find on the internet because Petland would not give me his number). The breeder denied any history of this with Charlie's parents, which of course he would do. After $5000.00 in medical expenses alone, not counting heartbreak and everything else, Charlie succumbed to his illness, and on November 25, 2011 (six days after his first birthday), Charlie had to be put down as he lost mobility in his muscles and was experiencing respiratory failure.

All along Petland told me that once I had a diagnosis, they would reimburse me for Charlie's medical bills. And when I had a diagnosis, I immediately notified them and they then said that Charlie's 30-day warranty was up. I have done a lot of investigating since Charlie first got sick and I found out that Charlie came from a puppy mill in Missouri. They have been in violation numerous times for unhealthy living conditions, etc. I would love to be part of a class action lawsuit in my area if one exists. If not, I would love to bring a lawsuit against them myself. I need to know what kind of lawyer to contact and what I can do. They need to be shut down. They are under investigation by the HSUS and ASPCA for selling puppy mill puppies. Please advise me what I can do.

My heart was broken when I had to leave it in the hospital. She was given an IV for few days as she was dehydrated. She was getting nebulizer three times a day and had to be isolated. She stayed in the hospital for almost two weeks, as the lungs were not healing fast. She also has a parasite that took me over 3 months to get rid of. When she was in the store, she was in a cage with another puppy and I saw her eating her own and other dogs' feces (I think because she was hungry, the amount of food she was getting at the store was very little).

The vet called the store and told them they needed to be checking pets' temperature every time they were being checked. The vet was very upset with the condition of that puppy. When I called and talked with the manager and told him what happened, he didn't seem upset at all (it was almost like "oh, okay. Another sick puppy. No problem, we'll pay for the hospital stay, it is in our guarantee").

Even though I bought the puppy in the store, I feel I rescued it. I traced it and know it came from the puppy mill (the mills sell it to so-called distributors who then sell the puppies to pet stores). The breeder the puppy originated from was fined several times in the past. I can just imagine what horrible conditions these puppies were in. Petland employees and Petland stores don't seem to care much about the animals. They don't clean them as often as they are supposed to, they do not feed them appropriately, they do not provide sufficient medical care. It's very sad. I have read many, many negative stories about Petland and I am surprised that they are still in business. I never went back to that store and I buy all the food, toys and other things for my two dogs and a cat at a different retailer.

The vet told us it was a known condition by Petland, and Petland had him on medicine prior to selling us the dog. I decided to go to the Petland store, and talked to a manager. I was told no manager was in the store. The guy there said there was nothing he could do, would not offer any compensation, and said we are paying the first vet bills, so you should be happy you didn't have to pay them. I am not happy. I purchased a dog that they knew was sick, and is now in the vet hospital for who knows how long. My thought is; 1. they should have never sold a sick dog; 2. they should have made sure after the 10 days that they had him on medicine, he was clear of his sickness, before selling him. Upon further research from the breeder that is listed on the paperwork, he is a known puppy mill dealer. It is now my belief that Petland not only sells sick dogs, they buy from known puppy mills too. At this point, I can only hope my puppy is getting better at the vet, and will be back home with us soon.

I told them there was no confusion, the sign was very clear. The sales person explained how price for the dog had been marked down because it had been in the store for a month. I was extremely irritated and expressed my feelings to the manager. The store manager apologized, but this did not change the way I felt. We purchased the dog even though the store manager would not honor the price. We left the store with the impression our feelings had been used to swindled us out of an additional $130. The old "So you Love the Puppy, huh?" Well, the sign is not accurate. It will cost you another $130 plus tax. Method is a poor practice and a poor way of doing business. I explained to the manager I would be filing a complaint.

I will either live with a dog that poops all over the place or put it to sleep. Petland closed the store two months ago but I know they wouldn't do anything anyway! I tried. they suggested I make her an outside dog! I didn't pay hundred dollars for an outside dog! She is a mini Schnauzer. I was also told she was AKC but she is an AKC companion pup not a registered pure breed. Would love class action lawsuit! Count me in.

After one week, I had to rescue her because I could not leave her there. So I purchased her on August 21st 2008 and she was born on June 8, 2008. When I bought her I again drilled the owner and asked and asked and asked him if she came from a puppy mill and he promised me that she was not. At that exact time, there were many protesters holding signs in the parking lot in front of PetLand stating that PetLand sold puppy mill puppies. The owner told me and promised me they were lying and to ignore it.

Today, I just found out that she was indeed from a puppy mill. When I brought her home I had so many problems health wise. She would not eat. she lost weight, she would throw up daily and nightly. Her tail where they cut it in half, it was all bloody and scabby and she would not allow me to touch it. It took months before it healed. I had to put ointment on it as it was very infected! It was very infected and I asked PetLands owner about that. They blew me off and never answered my question. Instead they gave my dog a free toy. Whoopee! I paid exactly $1,314.04 and I still have my receipt. I was told that she was an AKC pure bread and she was not. She was a yorkie-poo.

They out right lied to me and they knew what they were doing. A woman named Annie sold this puppy to me. I went back to the store and called many times and they tried to convince me that she was not from a puppy mill and her cherry eye was normal and her loss of weight is because she would not eat and was completely normal. Her throwing up daily was normal. Her not letting me leave her alone was normal. Her bloody spots outside her ears from her scratching was normal. According to them it was all normal. All they did was try to sell me a bunch of crap from their store. That is all they cared about- money.

I had to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars to get her back to health. She was very sick for months and months and months. It makes me sick that I was lied to in such a way that it literally made me depressed for over a year and a half, actually almost 2 years. I love animals so much and I was so scared that she was going to pass away because she was so sick. After spending 24 hours a day for over the first year and tending to her unrelenting needs, I was able to get her to be a little bit better. I am very upset that I was lied to. All they wanted to do was to sell another puppy mill puppy and they did not care about anything but the money that they made. They did not care who they sold this puppy to. All they wanted was money, money and money.

Is there anything I can do to get my money back? This has put me in such a state of depression because I love her so much and if she died I don't know what I would do. The owner promised me that she was not a puppy mill puppy and she was. I was not aware of the class action suit until right this moment when I looked it up online and after talking to a friend of mine today. I want my money back but the store that I purchased her from is now closed down. Now I know why. I was literally suckered into buying a puppy that was not healthy. Please advise me on what to do. Thank you so much. Please do not get me wrong. I love my Bella (that is her name) more then life itself and I can't imagine not having her but she literally suffered from day one. I would do anything for her, that is how much she means to me. But this puppy mill business has to stop! Oh, Annie the saleswoman promised me that Bella would not grow more then 5 lbs and she is now 10 lbs. It is not the weight that bothers me but the fact that I was lied to in such a way to deceive me so that I would buy her that day.

They literally pressured me into buying her that day and I did. They would not take no for an answer. Puppy mill puppies are not the same as rightly raised puppies from good breeders and you can tell the difference. This has been the most stressful situation for me since day 1. I have major health issues and do not need to be dealing with this one bit. PetLand was wrong and I will never shop there ever again.

She was not sure he would be strong enough to survive this because of his age. After nursing him at home for four days, I had to have him hospitalized to have antibiotics injected and fluids administered as well as a drug to open his airways. My Labrador mix was at home and very sick as well. She had dark green mucus draining from her nose and would not eat as well. Luckily, my vet saved my Chihuahua, but he may have trouble breathing now for the rest of his life. Both of my dogs had to be on two rounds of antibiotics and my Chihuahua had to be hospitalized or he would have died, all of these because Petland sold me a very sick puppy that I brought home to my well dogs. Thank God my vet's office was vigilant and did what it took to save my Chihuahua. At this point of owning this new puppy for almost four weeks, I have spent almost $500 in vet bills. I asked them to pay my vet bills and give my money back.

They did pay all but $7 of my vet bills, but would not give me any money back for what I paid for the puppy. I told them I would have been happy with just getting half of the money back. They said that is the reason I bought the extended warranty. With the extended warranty you have to take them back to the Petland approved vet who said my puppy was fine. I refused to take any animal to their vet ever again. I think they should have refunded my money as well as my vet bills for all of my dogs, including the puppy. I almost lost two healthy dogs because they sold me a sick puppy.

Three weeks later, it's condition was worse. We took it back for shots and antibiotics. It had an upper respiratory infection. Of course by now, my 10 year old is in love with Nuget, the family member. After all the nights of getting up, giving cough medicine every 4 hours, and all the antibiotics, the dog was so unhealthy, we couldn't get the chip that we paid $99.99 plus tax for and we are still afraid to put in the chip. They have my $99.00 plus tax and the dog still has a cough when it runs much.

I called the other day, and they were supposed to mail me my AKC papers. They said, "They are here. You must come in and pick them up," which is another expense of gas and going back into the store where I might pick up something unhealthy. To make matters worse, in fine print on a punch of papers, it said "adoption" on the papers. Nothing in the store that day was said about adopting the dog it was for sale. They sent me home from local breeder. I didn't pay nearly $800.00 for a sick dog to adopt from Petland, when I was supposeD to be buying form the store. I'd love to adopt, but we didn't go to a high-priced store to adopt form a local breeder and get a sick dog. The girl who sold me the dog was no longer working there.

I am calling them again today and asking again for my AKC papers on this little dog who has won our hearts but still coughs when he runs. I read up on real bad kennel cough and upper respiratory infection and found that it can damage their little lungs. I think that happen to our little Nugget, but we will still of course take care of it since it has become part of our family and my 10 year old granddaughter, who has lost enough in life. I can't take it back to the store where it would get sold to someone who might not love it and who would not take it to the vet when it coughs in the middle of the night. My granddaughter named it after her best food in the world which is chicken nuggets.

How can we not love him forever but if something happens to him, I don't know how this sweet little girl will react. She loves it just like her sisters and brother who live with others. We love them with all our hearts. I will take it that she loves all God's creatures and all man kind still, even when no one wanted her, she still loves. She doesn't think grown-ups should deceive anyone. She' says, "Why did they sell us a sick dog? Didn't they know I'd cry granny?"

Stores should be up front and not sale sick dogs because kids and old people fall in love with them just like family. I would like to get my full money for the chip back but they will only give me store credit or 40 percent off. I don't want to go back to that store. It makes me sick to know they sold me a for adoption dog form a local breeder, which I could have gotten for $150 form a local breeder. Buyer beware. Take your dog on a weekday, and don't let you child even see the pet until you are sure it is well, and take it back the very next day. Don't buy on a Saturday or Sunday when vets are not open.

She was not any better by Thursday so I took her to my trusted vet of 12 years and it was confirmed that she has kennel cough that has turned into pneumonia and is now on two different medicines and was told to stop the first medicine that the Petland approved doctor gave her. When I called Petland to make them aware of this after I left my vet, they said I had to call the next morning and speak to the kennel manager and I did. She said I have to take her back to their approved vet for her to be treated. I told her that he said nothing was wrong with her and that is why I took her to my vet. They are refusing to pay for treatment because I refuse to take her back to their approved vet. I hope this is the only thing that is wrong with my puppy.

They are selling sick puppies and no one in the Petland Corporation cares about it. I called their corporate office and was told that I have to take my puppy back to the Petland approved vet for the warranty to be valid. I told her that is not what was told to me. I told her they said she had to be seen in four days of purchases which she was but that they said she was fine so I took her to my vet. At least now she is in good hands and getting the care that she deserves. These places should be shut down and put out of business. I said I would never buy a dog from there but this little girl was so cute and she chose me to be her mommy so I brought her home.

Then, I was confronted by a female employee and was told that I couldn't talk to these people about other puppies. We exchanged a few words and I told her that I would never purchase a puppy from them. We left the building and I waited out front for my husband to pick me up with the car. Out comes a man I hadn't previously seen and he tells me that I can't talk to people in his store about other animals not purchased there. Again, we exchanged a few words and he told me that I wasn't allowed to ever come back in his store. He told me to get off his sidewalk, to which, I stated that it was a public sidewalk.

He said that he would call the police if I stayed there. I again told him that I was waiting for my husband. I would never come in his store again and that I understood why people protest against Petland stores. He was so angry, all he could say was that he paid the rent, I wasn't allowed to even stand in the street in front of his store and that he would call the cops. I told him to call them but then my husband arrived and we left. If there is ever a protest at that store, I will be the first one to arrive and join it.

I took her to the vet that was contracted through Petland. This vet is called VCA Animal Hospital and it is the one located on 2939 Lake East Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89117. The reason I gave their address is to warn everyone to stay away. Take your puppy to your own vet and do it immediately after purchase! This is what happened: I took my puppy to VCA and was told she was perfectly fine. I took her home and she began having bloody, slimy bowel movements. When I returned to the vet, they tested her for everything including Giardia and told me she was fine; that they had found nothing wrong. When I went back a week later, still having the same problem, they were going to charge me $200 to run the same test on her again and provided medications because Petland's contract would not cover it.

After the vet had deemed my puppy was healthy the first time, we got into an argument after I reviewed the original test results, which I demanded to see. I found that the vet had lied to me. The results clearly stated that my puppy had Giardia. So I took my puppy to the vet I've used for the past 21 years and had them check her instead. My vet found that she had kennel cough and Giardia. Her leg, which I was told was defective, was perfectly fine though. We treated her for kennel cough and Giardia, changed her food to a top of the line holistic brand, and her sickness and parasites cleared up.

Though we love her very much and she is doing fine now, here are some other issues she has had: Our dog has a bad case of OCD and is very aggressive toward our cats. She will not let the cats sit near us if we call them over. If they walk past her food bowl, she runs over and body checks them. If we move something in the house or change something, she freaks out and runs around the house, scratching every corner where the walls meet. If I change my hair, it upsets her. Particularly if I put hot rollers in my hair. She is very protective over us when we sleep and if one of us goes into the room where someone is sleeping, she growls and gets into an attack stance.

I feel sorry for so many of the other people who had tragic results and I'm thankful that my dog has issues that we are slowly working out. With each passing year, we are slowly getting her behavior in check. The OCD hasn't gone away, but we have been working on her aggression and she is starting to calm down. She is very smart and very loving with us. We have even taught her to give the cats kisses instead of attacking them. Now when she runs over to block her food, we yell out "Give kitty kisses!" and she instantly licks their face and ears instead of attacking.

Petland is a horrible place, but I wouldn't trade my dog for the world. She's quirky, but so smart. If you buy a puppy for Petland, just make sure you get the dog checked out by your own vet as soon as you get him or her. Have them test for Giardia and feed them good quality food and not the ** they sell at Petland.

We were in the Polo Park area, so I decided to bring it to the Petland in the shopping centre. The manager there was very rude and very reluctant to give me a refund. She constantly complained to the employee handling the refund right in front of me. I felt very uncomfortable and awkward. Just horrible customer service from the manager of this store. The employee was nice enough, but this manager was so rude that I will never return to the Polo Park Petland and I will tell everyone I know to stay away from it.

Then the issue came along with the big bad 3lbs chihuahua. I've trained big dogs not to be aggressive and have been successful. I find it terrible that the wretched (I want your donation) ASPCA which, by the way, does not get homes for the sad dogs you see on TV that breaks your heart. No, they only sell the top breed, perfect dogs. I think this is horrendous and something should be done about Petland and the ASPCA. One Petland officer told me that the dog was going to be "euthanized" (their new keyword) and I just flat out repeated every time she said euthanize in public, I'd say "You mean kill the animals here? You kill the animals here?".

Hopefully, more people adopted dogs and cats that day. It smells, the cement is always smelly, wet, with feces and urine all over the place. "Lack of funds for support" is their excuse. I volunteered and never heard back, and this was before the "euthanasia/kill" incident. I'm sure there are some people there who really do care, but I have yet to find one. Shut this place down.

Thanks so much you, **. How can you sell sick dogs/animals to people? I hope they shut you down!

I purchased him for about $1,600 dollars on credit card, not including the puppy package, which equaled out to $2,000. I idiotically, through signing all these papers at purchase, signed away my rights to a lawful refund if the puppies are infected with parvo and other things, only to get a store credit or a different puppy (why would I want another infected puppy).

The past 8 days, my family and I have fallen in love with my little puppy, Castiel. On 8/11/11, he was taken to East Orlando Animal Hospital, recommended by Petland, and paid $59.55 for the extra fecal. Petland suggested against saying he already had one and if I got another test, it would not be paid for by their warranty.

He was found to have a respiratory infection (kennel cough) and gastrointestinal parasites. I started his medications on 8/12/11. That evening, he began having diarrhea. I called the vet and they told me to stop the medication and try to get him to eat.

The following day, 8/13/11, he would not eat. The next day, his listless, loss of appetite and, added on projectile vomit, became severe. I just submitted him to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Casselberry, FL this evening to find he has Parvo, a very contagious virus (meaning probably all the puppies at Petland have it).

I could not bear to lose my new baby. I have started treatment costing $669 just for the one starting night, which is 6 hours worth. He is now on intensive care, IV fluids and antibiotics. I never thought something like this would happen from just buying from a Pet store.

I will notify the Bureau of Animal Disease Control, Petland and East Orlando Hospital in the morning of the Parvo outbreak. I'm also afraid, even if he survives treatment, I may not have the additional funds to keep the treatment going. I'm completely heartbroken in this situation and don't want it to happen to anyone else.

On Thursday 8/4/11 I took him to the vet, where I was informed that he has Giardia parasites. I completely realize that it is common for puppies to catch some sort of parasite, but seeing as this is something (according to the vet and my research on google) that was picked up by another animal, its obvious it came from his stay at Petland or from the breeder. In my Petland warranty, it states that if my puppy has any health issues due to his stay at Petland, they would cover the costs. When I called Petland Naperville they directed me to call their claims department. Seeing as it was the weekend when the vet gave me the test results, I had to leave a message for the claims department. After work today I checked the message that they left for me, which is why I am typing out this complaint. I was thanked for informing them that my puppy has parasites and told there would be no need to call again due to this issue being noted. Noted? I don't want it simply noted. I want a refund for the medicine I had to purchase to get rid of the parasites my puppy picked up from his stay at Petland Naperville.

Again, I do realize it is common for puppies to carry parasites and also realize I will be purchasing medicine every two weeks for a few months to keep him clean of them. But since this specific parasite was caused from another animals feces or shared drinking water, I feel it is Petlands responsibility to cover the cost of the meds I purchased this week for the issue and any other costs these Giardia parasites may cause. If I had only paid a few hundred for my puppy, I would not be so upset with these resolvable issues. But seeing as I am paying 1624.93 dollars (this is the base cost + starter kit cost... not including taxes), I expect what I pay for. Don't get me wrong, I am madly in love with this crazy puppy. I simply feel the failure to nurture each puppies needs... including play time and safe drinking water.. is unprofessional and uncaring.

The mistake was due to an employee giving me a wrong price on a koi fish. I asked for the price on this fish since there was no price on the tank that the fish were in. So I just asked Haley, the employee, what the price was and she said $5.99.

She never went to ask to verify with anyone if she was not sure. So my fish were put in the bag of water to take to the register to pay for them. I had one question, should I just put them in an outside pond with the bag for a while or just dump them in the pond?

So she asked Chris, also an employee, what I should do and he said those fish are not $5.99, they’re $19.99. So, at that time, I asked to speak to a manager. Manager David came out of his office and did not introduce himself or ask if he may I help me. No manners at all. He just said, "Are you asking about the fish?" I said, “What are you asking me. I am asking to speak to you about the price that was quoted to me by Haley.” He said, “I'm the manager and owner and I'm not going to sell this fish at $5.99. I can sell it to you at $15.99, and that's it.”

Right in front of me, Haley dumped the fish back in the tank, without waiting for my answer. I was very, very pissed off. I think this company will not survive. Really bad service!

I actually would take pups home with me that had kennel cough. I would stay up all night long with them (I was pregnant most of the time I worked. It’s a funny thing that I went into labor there). I remember one time we had a yellow lab pup that was sold, but came back sick. I believe it was a week later (but this was a while ago so I’m not positive). She really had a bad kennel cough. I’ve never seen kennel cough so bad before. I brought her home and stayed up all night long padding her chest to break up the mucus in her lungs. I really thought this pup was going to die. But the next day, I brought her back to work. I remember I had a couple of days off. And when I came back in, she seriously looked like a totally different pup. I was so glad to see her healthy again.

I actually just heard that one of my old managers there that I worked with quit, because she didn't like the new owner BC. It was all about the money and the owner didn't really care about the animals. I got to say thank the Lord I quit when I did. I have to say it has gotten way worse since the new owner. I really liked Petland but haven't shopped there in years. To be honest, I hated trying to sell puppies. Why try to make someone, who is just starting to think about getting a puppy, when they are not fully ready? For that one moment, I thought that I was wrong and didn't sell many, so my job was on the line. Hey I'm honest to my customers! I am so sorry for everyone that has had so many problems with their animals. From there, it makes me sick to think that Petland doesn't put their animals and customers first!

Needless to say after taking her to the Vet, we were told that she was born with several serious defects. She had a defective shoulder-blade which caused extreme weakness in walking properly and beginning stage of glaucoma. They explained that she will eventually need surgery to be able to walk normally. After discovering this, I contacted Petland and left several messages for Bridget, the store manager, to call me but I never received any calls.

I eventually brought Stella back into the store so that I could confront her but of course, she was not working that day. Even the employees there felt really sad for Stella's condition. They had promised a return call which I never received. When I did finally get a hold of Bridget, she advised me to have the Vet fax over the health records. I contacted the Vet on several occasions and they assured it would be taken care of. Again, I never heard from anyone. This had been going on for months because I had to do this between my very busy schedule so I couldn't follow-up everyday.

Months had passed by when finally I was able to go into the store and this time, I had Bridget call the vet herself for the records she claimed she never received. She said that once she got them and reviewed, she would call me. Of course, I never got the call so I had to call her myself after waiting over a week. She basically told me that there was not much they could do and that the warranty only covered up to the $500 which we paid for the dog. I told her that an animal with these condition should have never been sold in the first place and the breeder needed to be contacted. She claimed that they cannot do that but she did say that they could refund the $500 only if the Surgery was done, which she knew I could not afford.

At this time, Stella's condition is even worse. She has never been able to run and play like puppies do. I have to carry her to get around and make sure that she is able to eat because it's so hard for her to stand for a long period.

THey told me to go to there vet next door that they use and make an appointment and they would cover medicine only..I said bulcrap...they gave me a warrenty and guareenteed me a healthy puppy..He is not...he is very , very sick....I have looked online at numerous complaints of the same thing happening to people when they by there dogs from petland....Not to mention the price...Also ex workers annonomusly said there are secrets about them if it ever got out it would shut down the business....Thats wonderful to know now...after dropping 1200.00 on a sick puppy who could die....They also are in connections with certain vets and tell u its nothing...but if you go to a vet not associated.

They wont cover the bill, back up the guareentee..That is horrible....THey also told me they new the owners of this breeder personally, that they were friends..When I looked up the breeder...( Top Notch breeders) Only to find out that they are a puppy mill. and that most of there dogs are sick, or die....Im worried sick, we love this dog..Petland is not helping me, and there expecting me to pay for his problems, even after 24 hours...This is insane and very unfair and after reading all of these complaints...which i should have dome before i bought the dog..i would have refrained...I was told by a freind of mine who worked there as well...he said they were from a puppymill and extremely mistreated and that there paperwork is fake as well as warrenty...and people dont understand this....THese poor animals, and the peoples hearts that get broken.....I also have a 3 year old golden retriever whom is perfect bought from a friend who bred...Im worried that if this puppy has parivo or something else that was contagious or deadly, whats gonna happen to her.....

As I started to pick him up, he snarled at me and actually started snapping at me trying to bite. I didn't react because I didn't want to drop him and I wanted to calm him down. I was holding him on my lap and he became so aggressive that he was showing his teeth, growling, snarling, and actually trying to bite my face. I set him down and he started to go towards my scared friend so I picked him up again. He was acting so viciously, other people were looking into the section we were in. No attendants saw the incident.

I tried to control him as best I could without being bit so he wouldn't attack my friend. He bit my hand and drew blood. I had to let him go on the ground as gently as I could and he came back at me growling and trying to viciously bite again, and even went towards my friend who almost jumped on the bench to avoid being attacked. This puppy was very young,but large, and this was the worst case of aggression I have ever seen out of a dog this young.

I explained that he might let her do this because he knows her, but if I had tried that, he would have bit my face. She looked really nervous and said, "Well, we will continue to work with him." This is an animal capable of killing a human and simple training sessions aren't going to change a dogs temperament, especially a breed prone to being aggressive. I showed a cashier my hand and said I don't think you should have that dog on the floor for sale because if a child had been in that situation, they could have been seriously injured. They sort of laughed and said that's typical of a napoleon mastiff. Exactly! So why are they selling vicious breeds?

She was never informed of her expectations, that the paramount goal of her employment was to sell pups, really, and nothing more. My daughter was terminated less than 3 hours into her shift for not selling any puppies. Another person was let go, and the third was kept as he sold a dog. As stated, my daughter never was informed of the expectations of her employment. Obviously this is Petland's practice, to hire 3, not tell them really what they were hired to do, then several hours into their very first day, very first shift, fire 2 and keep one.

I find that practice abhorrent, unfair, and hurtful. Hurtful because my daughter went back for a second round of interviews, she wanted to work for Petland so bad. But she was judged as apparently not suitable to do what Petland really wanted her to do--sell. She was so high on getting the job, and so low on being let go 3 hours into it. I will never go to, use, or visit Petland again. Maybe not so much for letting my daughter go halfway through her first shift, as so much for the general practice of how you must treat people and your staff. Again, I find it unfair and sad you do that.

I called Petland and they said to have the procedure done and they would reimburse us for 50 % of the surgery costs just as the warranty we purchased stated. After the procedure, I had my veterinarian fax them all the appropriate paper work including a personal letter about the condition of the dog and the fact that the breeders should have never bred together his parents, because they would have been well aware that this disease is passed down to all in the litter. It has now been 2 months and after repeated phone calls to Petland, no one will return my call and they are never available when I call or visit.

That really scared me when I witnessed it for the first time. All the vets where closed since it was a holiday weekend, so I took him to the Emergency Hospital for animals. Had to drive a half hour away since the one by me didn't examine exotic pets. They gave him some anti vomiting medicine and $128 later we were on our way back home. Two days later, Bobby started vomiting again. Took him to my local Avian Vet gave him an anti fungal medicine and figured he was going to be fine. Well, that was the beginning of the end.

For the last six months of his life he went through **. We must've tried at least six different medicines. I had to medicate him twice a day. I could feel his little heart tremble as I held him in my hand. Nothing seemed to work. Finally, I brought him to a different vet that only specialized in exotic animals. Even though nothing worked I still had hope that he would get better.

He was down to 21 grams when he really should be between 30 and 40 grams. The vet told me that he was starving to death. He was finally diagnosed with Avian Gastric Yeast, which is an infection in the lining of the stomach and they can only get it from another bird. We didn't have any other birds in the house, he was never near a bird since he left Petland. Tried more medicine, still Bobby continued vomiting.

Bobby died on November 10th, 2010. He was 21 grams and very weak. He could barely fly up to the top perch of his cage. His little heart was so weak that it stopped beating. He died in the car on our way home from the vet. I just looked at him and kept saying "Wake up Bobby, wake up! " But Bobby didn't wake up. He is in a better place now. No more having to catch him twice a day for him to take his medicine. This went on for six long months.

I can't even imagine the stress he must've been going through. The vet bills came to over $1500 for my $20 bird. But I loved him and I would spend that again if it meant that it would bring my Bobby back. He brought us so much happiness in his two short years of his life that it would last a life time. Thanks to Petland and the birdy mills that they are running, there is a whole in my heart and it can't be filled by anything else. All I can ask is why?

Why do they do this to beautiful little birds? How many birds have died since then that were in the same cage as Bobby? If it wasn't for Petland, Bobby would still be alive. Just because they are such inexpensive birds it doesn't mean that they are disposable. People buy them because they love them not to discard them out a few months later. Bobby was so loved that I don't have any regrets. I tried everything until the end. But how do they sleep at night?

Clearly the staff knew nothing about the environment that these animals were to be kept in but I can talk about that forever; I am not sure anyone would pay much mind about that. However, this is important to me especially the puppies. Puppies absolutely stuffed in their displays, walking on their own feces. They all looked so sick and there were even two with casts on their legs with a note on their cage saying they've been dropped. Honestly, they are selling these animals for hundreds of dollars. People should just go to the humane society and rescue one.

After what I saw at Petland, I wish I could just rescue all of those animals and shut places like that down. Please don't get sucked in with the idea of having a cute tiny Petland puppy; it will only take a month or two before you realize how many problems you'll have. Between its poor breeding and living situations, every single animal at these places will need a very thorough vet checkup.

Furthermore, to finish up, I bought a beautiful puppy from Petland. I, too, was suckered by its appearance. Two days after I brought it home, I found out it had a fecal infection it got from Petland. A week after that, I found out that it had lung and breathing problems and right after that, dermedex mange. I bought this dog for almost $1,000 and with vet bills, I payed nearly a thousand more.

Petland gave me the biggest runaround. Please, a word of advise, look elsewhere before ever going to Petland!

The doctor later informed me that when he opened her and saw her liver, it did not look normal. It was very pale and frail. He also stated that her stomach had food, which eliminated the possibility of hypoglycemia. He sent some samples to the lab and confirmed that it was her liver. Pet Land now states that they will only give me a new dog and they refuse to refund me. After this experience, I do not want another dog. I want a refund and I don't want to ever have to deal with them again. This dog that died after being in my possession less than 2 weeks was obviously unfit for purchase. I want reimbursement for what I paid and I want them to pay off this loan by giving back the money they received from the finance company.

I did send his vet bills to petland and they paid part of them. Still I am paying 1300 for a dog that I thought was healthy and from a reputable establishment that I could trust, I was so wrong. I still haven't received his papers and don't feel I should have to pay that amount for a dog I have no papers on. Don't get me wrong, I love my Ruger and would never part with him now, been thru too much. But there has to be some repercussion to what they do.

Months later, one day out of the blue, my dog has a tiny limp in his back leg. We talked to the vet and she said maybe he overexerted himself or sprained his muscle. "Just keep in inactive as possible and he will be fine in a couple days." Haha. Nope! (I'm not really laughing more like crying.) His limp just gets worse. The vet gave him pain/muscle relaxers in hopes it will help. Nope! He starts holding the leg up and stretching it all backwards and won't lay on that side. The vet does x-rays and finds he had leg-perthes! I found out that my dog has to have surgery to fix this and he's not even a year old. Even with the surgery, he may still limp or just not use the leg. I call Petland in tears and they act like its no big deal and want me to go "confirm the diagnosis" with one of their vet 40 minutes away from my home. And then they want to give me a credit toward a new *** dog! Well, I hope they know they will be paying for the surgery and the 6-8 weeks of rehab my little baby needs. If they don't want to pay for the vet bills, they should not sell sick dogs or they should not give you a guarantee!

I went to Pet Smart to buy her supplies. A lady stopped me to ask about my cute bunny and I told her I had just bought her at Petland. Sadly, she told me she had just lost her rabbit she purchased from Petland after having it for three days. It just died one morning she said. I was shaken by this story but took my new little bunny home. My children and I loved her and became attached very quickly.

I called Petland the next day. I was a little concerned because the rabbit, now named Annabelle was having diarrhea. I offered to bring her into the vet there and would have gladly paid for it. I was told it was simply the stress of being moved to a new environment and completely a normal situation. Annabelle continued to eat, drink, snuggle and play normally. She had no discharge from her nose or eyes so I took their word for it.

Two days later, I called and said she still had the diarrhea and that I was becoming concerned. I asked specifically if there was any way the feed I bought her at PetSmart could be causing the diarrhea. I was again assured as long as I was giving her the vitamins I was sold there was absolutely no need for her to see a vet. Annabelle died in her cage hours later. I called the store and they offered to exchange her out for a live rabbit, as if she was a garment that had been purchased and was not quite the right size. Even though we had Annabelle for only three days, she could not be replaced so easily for us. Petland returned the money for the rabbit in exchange for her corpse.

I then began trying to investigate what caused Annabelle's death. I called a rabbit breeder and a veterinarian who both informed me it was the sudden change of feed on her sensitive system that most likely killed Annabelle. It was devastating to learn that this could have been prevented. At the very least, the pet store should have offered to have one of the in-house vets look at the rabbit or referred me to a vet that specialized in rabbits. I trusted that anyone who sold an animal would have some knowledge of how to care for it or at least be able to say, "I don't know. Call someone who does". I called the store manager and told him of my findings to which he said he would bring it up to his employees at the next training.

I wonder how many innocent Annabelles will suffer and die unnecessarily before he does or how many children will cry themselves to sleep because their new friend passed away in their presence. I suppose it doesn't matter to Petland as long as they continue to make their next buck and hopefully some of the buyers won't bother to get or save the warranties to their animals. Now I know why my gut instinct told me not to purchase anything from these people. I hope someone runs them out of business soon. If you need any other information, feel free to search other complaints of misconduct and horrendous behavior this business has committed against animals.

I only wish I had, to begin with. I was refunded for the price of the rabbit, however the pet store did keep the money for their "vitamins". The vitamins were a mandatory purchase in order to have a seven-day warranty on the rabbit. We will consider purchasing a different rabbit from a different source at some other time but it will not replace Annabelle or the emotional distress that my family went through as a result of losing her. Not to mention that she was a sweet, innocent animal that clearly died due to being handled and sold by negligent and ignorant persons only out to make a dime.

We were told that the puppy shots were free with the purchase but were charged 40 dollars for one shot! We were not happy but once again let it go because we had already fallen in love with her. She is now 9 months old and we just want her papers back. She is clearly from a puppy mill. The same names keep showing up on the papers and all the dogs are from the same breeder. After looking it over in more detail, we noticed that her mother's parents were full brother and sister. She has allergies so bad that we cannot take her outside without giving her Benadryl. She is always scratching at her skin where she is broken out and it causes her fur to come out sometimes so she has bald spots.

After paying $1000 for the dog, I can't afford the $200 vet bills per month. The dog is losing his hair at this point. I'm at my wits' end. Petland has offered to take the dog back for store credit, and when I asked what would be done with him, there was no answer. I paid $1000 for what I thought was top-of-the-line dog. Not to mention, the ongoing vet bills. I believe if I gave the dog back, they would have put him down which made me sick to my stomach.

The man told us that he is at PetLand every Saturday and since we had misplaced his paper work we were waiting until Saturday to confront him about the age of our poor kitten. Our kitten did not survive that time span, we found him early Friday morning barely breathing on my floor. Me and my roommate took him to the vet and we were told that there was nothing else they could do for him because he was so young and he had to be utinized and his official age was between 4 - 5 weeks old. Come to find out this man that was being contracted by PetLand had been kicked out of PetSmart for similar situations and has citations against him.

Me, my partner, and my roommate are very big animal people, we love our animals because we make them part of our family. I was very emotionally hurt knowing that this kitten had to suffer because of the neglect of this man. For the short time he was a part of our family, he was very loved and we do not want a replacement cat, we wanted him. We spent the money to try to make him comfortable and the visit to the vet and utinization.

The workers were in no better condition. My shift started at 8 in the morning and ended at noon. That entire time, my hands were in feces. I was breathing fecal matter. We had no gloves, no masks, and had to wear scrubs. I got an infection in my finger and I got very sick. I was let go from the job, and once that happened, I made sure to tell everyone not to go to Petland Viera.

Though, this does have a happy ending. Roughly half a year later, my dad and I went to Petland at the Merrit Square Mall. Knowing what I know of the old Petland, I was a bit nervous. But then something, or should I say, someone caught my eye. Laying in a clean kennel, was the dog. For years, I've always loved Pembroke Welsh Corgis. And there he was, lying in the kennel. I asked how much he was and instead the guy brought him out, and put him in my arms. And I was sold. We ended up leaving the store without him, then ended up half an hour later, turning around and speeding back to get him. He's still with me and we took him for a checkup, and he seemed to have no problems. He's hyper, healthy, and playful!

Petland assured us that Robin came from a proper breeder, even supplying us with paperwork. After much research, we found out that this certified breeder was no more than a puppy mill. All Petland and their employees care about are making a sale. They are not compassionate or caring and they are not helpful. We spent a lot of money on a dog that we were assured was in great condition. I love my puppy. She's well and healthy now and I wouldn't trade her. But I also wouldn't have gotten her if they had been up front about the issues. Petland is deceiving and deceitful.

A couple days later I got the call confirming that it was cancer and what course of action needed to be taken to ensure that she at least have a chance to live. On Wednesday, January 27, 2010, Bella had to go into surgery and have part of her upper jaw removed, permanently disfiguring her face (but I still think she is the most precious baby). The surgeon sent the bone and tissue removed from her surgery to have a pathology report done, it was also sent to Auburn. When the results came back I was heartbroken again, she was not able to get clean margins (meaning she was not able to get the entire tumor). Bella still had a very small piece extending up into her nose. We were then referred to the oncology department up at Auburn's School of Vet. Medicine Small Animal Clinic. She ended up having to have an 18 sessions of radiation which she finished in late March. We returned for her 6-8 weeks follow up CT scan when the doctor's found something suspicious in the same area of her mouth, they biopsied the area and we are awaiting the results.

There were two specific cases that made me say this is enough. One was a black pom puppy showing signs of neurological problems. We told the Petland owner it needed to be hospitalized and he said no and brought it back to his store. The next day, I went there to check on the puppy and was told it was sold. Upset, I talked to one of the other vets where I worked and was informed that they didn't sell it, that it had died overnight at the emergency clinic. The second case was another pom. We never did find out exactly what the puppy's diagnosis was but for two weeks, I would feed syringe feed this puppy multiple times a day. After two weeks, even though she seemed to be making progress she died on a Sunday afternoon. That was the last straw.

I called corporate to report all the cases I had experienced. They told me pretty much they are personally owned and it wasn't their problem. So I contacted the owner of Petland, which didn't go very well. From that point on, I called corporate and the Petland owner every time a puppy came in sick whether it died or not. It got to the point where they would hang up on me because they were sick of me calling. This was between September 2005 and April 2006. Finally with the Petland problems and the vets at that clinic caring more about money then the health of the animals I left and went to another clinic. I couldn't handle it anymore. It was so devastating to see so many sick puppies from one place and to see so many owners and children crying because their new puppy was so sick and may not come home. Our isolation room was always filled with Petland Parvo dogs! I could go on and on and on with horror stories! Now, almost five years later, Petland is being investigated for the exact thing I have been telling people about! When will they be shut down? When will they be stopped? I will continue to tell people about my experience in hopes that the right people will hear!

I took him home and even in the car, he would just lay. All he wanted to do was sleep. When we got to the house, he played briefly with a stuffed animal that I had for him then he would lay down and try to sleep. He had no energy whatsoever. If you would not sit with him, he would lay anywhere he could, even on your feet. He would not eat or drink and had diarrhea. I called Petland back and was told this was normal and that it would go away in a couple days. The next day, he also would not eat or drink, had diarrhea, and threw up constantly. I felt so bad I did not know what to do.

I called Petland again and they again said this was normal. I couldn't get into the vet so I called in some favors and got an appointment for that night. We rushed home and went in early because Riley was dying in my arms. At the vet, during the Parvo virus test, I could not get any movement from him and screamed for the vet to come back. She came back and said the test wasn't even done yet but it was a definite positive for Parvo virus and that he probably wouldn't survive and asked what I wanted to do. She had to leave the room because I could not stop crying. I decided I had to keep him there and pump him with fluids. I could not let him just die. Riley died the next day. The vet said he definitely had it while at the Pet store and that they had to have known they sold me a sick dog. I was a wreck. Happy birthday to me. Now, I want to know what I can do about it.

Since I was paying for Riley on a payment plan, I was told I did not have to pay and my vet bills would be taken care of. I am sending the bill tomorrow, and I assume the payment has been cleared. It broke my heart to see Riley in the pain he was in. At least, he did not die alone and had people that loved him around him and took care of him. Petland would have just let him die alone and put another dog in replace of him. I can not explain how attached I was to this puppy. I will never buy from a pet store again. I was lied to and these people need to be stopped!

And now here is my experience form my call to the manager of Petland that occurred tonight approximately 8:45. I believe her name was Tina and Robert and Mark. Here was their response on asking them what could be done about this. Robert was most helpful and it was beyond his area of responsibility. He referred me to the above named manager (not sure if it was Tina or not), then after explaining (at the end perhaps heated), she hung up on me. I called back within 1 minute and I believe his name was Mark answered the phone, and when I explained why I was calling, he told me that she was in a job interview! (At that time of night?) Then I asked for the corporate number for Petland, he said that he did not know the number. I asked him if he could interrupt the female manager for a moment to get the number and he said no. At that point I believe I said that I guess I know where I’m not getting my pet supplies from. And now we’re here online. Will you be as rude to me as one of the managers of your stores was to me?

All through out my training, I was constantly assured we did not get our puppies from puppy mills. I was told to not believe the stories I heard from most of our customers, that they were just cranky. I was also told to push the sale, make a sale to anyone, get anyone financed. I worked on the sales floor and in the kennel. I witnessed multiple 'puppy seizures'. There always seemed to puppies in quarantine. Sanitation was an enormous deal there because most puppies were sick and it would be bad for business if every puppy was sick.

In my opinion, Petland does not care where their puppies come from or where they go. Petland is a retail business, they sell a 'product', and that 'product' just happens to be cute animals. To end puppy mills and places that put those puppy mills in business would for us animal lovers would be to do the unthinkable and not 'help' these animals by taking them into our homes. But that is how these businesses make their money. It is a horrible circle. Petland not only lies to consumer, but they lie to their own employees. Every employee is guaranteed that each puppy is healthy and safe, but they are to never show the customer the puppies medical record because it raises questions. Employees speculate that the reason there are so many sick puppies is because there are so many of them. A Petland kennel can house 50 or more puppies. I currently work in a Vet's office, and run the boarding kennel as well as my own grooming salon. We consistently have more dogs and puppies in our facilities than a Petland has in its kennels without outbreaks of kennel cough, or anything for that matter. Not every puppy is sickly, but the customer will still get charged some ridiculous amount.

They may have this wonderful warranty with their puppies, but many genetic issues from puppy mill dogs are likely to turn up after the first 3 years, which is how long the warranty covers. I got my puppy from Petland while I was working there. He was a pug someone returned because his front legs were deformed. They were fixed by our vet, and after that I adopted him. Or saved him, is how I saw it. He had diarrhea for most of the first few months I had him. The vet diagnosed him with a couple different things, gave him medicine for it. After the medicine was gone and he hadn't improved, the vet basically told me, “Oh, well. He'll just deal with this for a while.” Needless to say, warranty or not, I saw a different vet.

That vet suggested changing his food and that worked instantly. I later gave myself a crash course in dog food, and found out their food that they "feed and recommend" is **. He's on high quality chow now and doing great. If there was one thing I hope people take from this, it's to think hard about where you get your new puppy. A reputable breeder would not allow their puppies to be sold in a pet store where they have no say over how they are treated and who they go to. A reputable breeder has at least one parent on site and will ask you many questions as well as being more than willing to answer any and all of yours.

Petland is a joke. They have the Pets for a Lifetime program, which states that any pet that a customer can't keep that was purchased at Petland can be returned and re-homed (for free) to any employee and their families. This is how I got my pug and my ferret. This sounds so heartwarming that they love the animals so much they want them back to give another home to. Here's the manager: “Freeze those hamsters. They're mean and no one is taking them home. And a guy is gonna come Saturday to pick up those rabbits and guinea pigs for his snakes.” Do I even have to say anything more? I will only reiterate. Petland is a joke.

On my way home from the Humane Society, I passed by the Westland Petland and saw a puppy for sale sign out front and my temptations got the best of me. I stopped in and the minute I saw little Simon, it was love at first sight and my thoughts went into rescue mode. I had to get him out of that small cage, away from the kids pounding on the glass and the other chaos going on in the store.

I inquired with the young sales girl about Simon and that's where the story really begins. I thought I asked all the right questions about his breeding and his health. I was not aware that Petland had so many pending issues with selling sick puppies. I was told that Simon was a healthy 2.5 lb Torkie puppy that had been regularly checked by the store's preferred vet. I was informed that Simon had an issue called Luxating Patella or in common terms, a trick knee. I was not familiar with the issue so I inquired and was told Simon would grow out of this issue. I was also told that it was common in small dogs, that it was not serious and would not require medical attention.

Well, months later, his so-called knee issue was not getting better. Simon has now been diagnosed by both my vet and the store's vet that he has a very serious issue called Legg Perthes. The issue was not with his knee, it is a congenital hip issue that causes a dog to go lame and can only be corrected with costly surgery. Simon's back right leg is completely lame and it's causing strain on his back left leg. Simon is being robbed off his wonderful puppy hood, he can't run and play like a young puppy should because of the pain and discomfort in his hip.

Petland is well aware of the issue and I have asked their assistance in helping me with the expected $2,100.00 surgery fee. I have asked to speak with the store owners in person but, so far, I have only had personal contact with the store manager. The owners did send me a few letters expressing their concerns but, so far, have only put me in contact with their vet to do the surgery at a reduced fee. This is the same vet that misdiagnosed Simon in the first place.

On 4/28/10, I inquired about the breeder and was told by the manager that they knew who the breeder was and would follow up with me with the information. When I want back to the store on 5/10 to pick up my copies of Simon's X-rays and asked again for the breeder information, the store manager told me they did not have the information like I was first told. I went home and called the store back. I felt I was being lied to and the manager admitted the owners put her up to it. They intentionally had her lie because they did not want to release the breeder information.

At this point, I am beyond upset. I feel the store is hiding the fact that they are dealing with bad breeders and puppy mills. I just want justice for Simon. I need to come up with the money for his surgery and I feel that Petland and their vendors should be responsible for covering the costs. I also want to make sure the breeder is held accountable for selling sick puppies. I don't want another one of Petland's customers or puppies to go through this heartache and pain. Simon is in constant pain and discomfort and will be until the surgery is performed. I don't have the resources to cover the costs.

After several diagnostic tests and taking blood the puppy was found to be a very sick puppy. He had a severe case of worms which had caused internal bleeding. He had a very low red blood cell count and a very high white cell count. We walked out of there with a bill for $500. When I went to the Petland, the next day and told them they said "that's too bad". And, "I'm sorry". It specifically says in their "warranty" that they neither guarantee nor will they pay for any condition having to do with worms. What do you think? Thank you.

Petland never asked for any proof of ownership, no medical history. They do not even sell exotic birds. They took Crystal, never had him seen by a vet, and sold him as is to someone that has no idea of his health problems were. Beware. Do not buy an animal from any Petland. As they stated, they will take any animal from anyone, no questions asked and sell it. Never go to a Petland, They sell sick animals, some of which they take from people off the street just so long as they put money in their pockets. They do not care about the animal or the people buying them. We have tried everything to find our bird. Petland refused to contact the person that bought him. All they want is to keep the money they made selling him. My 12 year old daughter cries all the time for her bird.

I proceeded to contact the local shop (which had changed hands since our purchase) with no satisfaction. The manager/s in the store that day "wished me luck" in contacting Petland Corporate and boy were they right! I have contacted corporate 4 times and none has returned any of my calls. Upon further research on my own, I found that the breeder is a known puppy mill operator in southern Indiana (USDA certified of course!). Nothing will bring our baby back, but something has got to be done about the scam Petland has going against the general, unwitting public.

Petland refused in court to try to locate the person that bought our bird. The owner stated in court that he will take almost any animal from anyone, no questions asked. All the person has to do is sign a paper saying they are donating the animal. Petland is selling stolen sick animals. They will continue to do so as long as they can get away with it, and keep making money by selling sick and/or stolen animals. In this case, they took a 2000 dollar bird from someone, sold it, and put money in their pockets, while our bird is sick. This person knows nothing about Crystal’s health, how to care for him. Please never buy a pet as this should be a red flag. We are still looking for him. Please, he has been in our family for 12 years.

I have contacted both Petland and AKC and both have gotten me nowhere. It turns out that Petland has an AKC representative that basically disputes any claim they receive about impure breeding. I sent them every piece of paper they gave me when I bought the dog, pictures of her then and now (also one of her compared to my AKC yellow lab to show size difference). I even had my vet fax me her charts which had her weight and height over the 1st year of her life.

Buyer beware. Petland is obviously severely overpriced. Most importantly, you don't get what you pay for. I ended up with a skiddish 55lbs "bull mastiff" and a severe decrease in my bank account.

I took my puppy home and called Petland, they acted like they were surprised and that this never happens there. Then I have to give my puppy medicine that makes his have terrible diarrhea and he keep re-infecting him self because he's a puppy and like to try to eat his poo. I clean up everything as much as possible but he continues to have parasites until Feb! Every time I go to the vet (the ones they made me go to) The vet/assistants continue to ask me for money for the medicine or lab work for my dog needs due to his parasites. I told Petland, unless they want me to come into the store and resolve this matter (which I would totally have made a huge scene and lost they customers for sure) they better pay for every penny that my dog incurs due to their negligence.

After all of this, I still go to the vet, Petland made me use, to get the puppy neutered for free (which was part of the deal when buying him). The vet said, I only had til end of Feb. to use my free pass but that they can't do his surgery until the parasites are gone. Or they will do the neutering but are not responsible for his complications. Oh it just makes me so mad!

Then while I'm at the vet arguing with the assistants about payment again (like they don't know they have this deal with Petland) I see a woman with a Petland take home packet and her puppy. I tell my baby is from there too and she said "Your little guy got giardia too?" I say damn right that place is infested, because I've talked to 2 other people who got puppies from there and every one of them had giardia and one had hookworm too! It isn't right and the fact they lie to us is repulsive! I told the woman to never pay a dime for the labs or medicine and I could see the vet staff get ** at me. They just think because they ask and people don't want to make a big deal out of 20 bucks that they can just take your money. Well, my dog had 4 rounds of meds and labs, so at 20 buck a piece were talking over 150 more dollars for someone else' s problem!

I won't lie that my dog is a great little guy, I don't think he was from a puppy mill. I think the people at Petland do a great job of socializing their puppies. They just aren't taking care of their health. I realize it might be hard to keep from getting parasites completely, but not even treating the dogs who have it, deplorable! Shame on Petland. And the worst thing is that the puppies are the ones paying the price.

My now 2-year-old Bullmastiff puppy suffers from 2 bilateral cruciate ligament tears, a luxating patella, hip dysplasia in both hips, and arthritis. The cost of the operations she needs would total $24,000, and the cost of the medication she requires every day to keep her comfortable costs me around $300 a month. I am a college student who works full time. In paying for her meds every month, it prevents me from saving for the surgeries she needs. Bettie had to be in bed due to her only growing to 80 lb when the AKC standards for a female Bullmastiff range from 100-120 lb and due to the severe congenital defects she suffers from.

Bridgett, the senior pet manager from the store, informed me that she had a little runny nose and because of her size, it was necessary that she eat every 3 hours due to hypoglycemia being so common in those breeds. I assured Bridgette I had owned a Chihuahua for many years and am very familiar with how to care for them. She also informed me to be sure to visit their veterinarian within 4 days (free of charge) to ensure her health. My partner gave Petland 4 postdated checks approximately $400 each to be cashed every two weeks to cover the total cost of the dog ($1594 + tax). Off we went to start our long happy life together.

The evening of 12/22/09, I noticed Ruby to be congested and snotty so I made an appointment with their recommended vet VCA of Saint Petersburg for 12/23/09. She was seen by Dr. Jacqueline ** DVM, who stated she was not 1.7 lbs (as initially stated in the window at the store), but that she was barely 1 lb. She diagnosed her with an upper respiratory infection, sent her home with Doxycycline, 4 ml for 10 days. Later that evening, Ruby developed a horrible cough and became a little more lethargic. I returned her to VCA on 12/24/09. Dr. ** stated it was a kennel cough, gave me some cough medicine and advised me to keep up with the Doxy. A follow-up appointment was scheduled for 12/26/09. After that appointment, Ruby appeared to be doing better; she was active and seemed pretty normal. I brought her back to VCA on 12/30/09 for a re-check. Though she had not gained any weight, she appeared to be getting healthy.

On 1/6/10, the day started out as any other, Ruby came to work with me (she remained in a playpen in my office while I worked). I let her out to run around. I noticed she had a little diarrhea and was drinking a lot of water but throwing it up immediately and was a little unsteady on her feet, becoming increasingly lethargic. When she squatted to pee and nothing came out, I rushed her to the only vet that knew her, VCA. As I gathered up her belongings (her bed), I noticed a chewed leaf, thinking she may have ingested it while outside. I brought it with us to the vet and Dr. ** wanted to keep her there to run some tests. $546.81 later, Dr. ** called and said her labs were alarming and she needed overnight care.

I picked her up and immediately drove her to Tampa Bay Emergency Care Center in Largo. Dr. ** DVM/MS evaluated Ruby and stated the chewed leaf may have caused a dietary upset, but she would evaluate for other potential causes. Ruby did test positive for giardia (an internal parasite) and was given 3 doses of medication consecutively for 3 days with a 3 week and 3 month follow up. The doctor was unsure why the previous labs were so screwy, but stated it may have been a lab error because they were normal that morning.

On 1/7/10 and additional $555 later, Ruby was discharged and appeared to be in good health. That next week, Ruby was doing great! She’s eating well, developing normal, and stealing my heart with her love and affection. On 1/12/10, after a completely normal day at work, I did notice that she was sleeping a bit more that day and drinking a lot more water than usual, but she was urinating normal so I let it go. I let her out of her pen when we got home. Strangely, she ran so fast around the house like a maniac barking like I've never seen her (I thought she was "goofy" from being in her pen all day and needed the exercise), but when she stopped running, her head bobbed like she was dizzy and I thought it was from running so fast.

But then she kept falling over and when I picked her up, she literally became alarmingly lethargic. Without reservation, I immediately rushed her to Tampa Bay Emergency Care Center. By then she was not herself at all. Dr. ** attended to Ruby and stated because Chihuahuas are predisposed to many congenital defects, she would keep her and evaluate her. At approximately 9:15 pm on 1/12/10, Ruby vocalized, had a seizure and went into cardiac arrest; subsequently she died. The emergency care center had no explanation as to why Ruby passed. That visit cost me an additional $520.

The next day, 1/13/10 at approx 3:45 pm, my partner contacted the manager of Petland to inform them about Ruby's death and demanded a refund of the $800 previously paid to them (I did stop payment on the 2 un-cashed checks, approximately $800). She was advised by the manager on duty to have all the medical reports faxed to them and they would evaluate it and get back to me. VCA faxed their p-work on 1/13/10 approximately 5:30 pm, and the Emergency Hospital faxed theirs on 1/15/10 at approximately 5:30 pm. I have yet to hear anything from Petland. On 1/20/10, I called Petland, left a message for Bridgette (MOD) to contact me and have yet to hear from anyone. Needless to say, I am heartbroken!

Anyone who knows me knows how protective I am of my pets. I do not have any children and look at my pets as my life. I had the luxury of being able to have Ruby with me 24 hours a day, even at work. She was always with me. I was very careful treating her as a baby due to her small size. I do feel Petland and/or the breeder gave me a sick dog from the beginning. I thought I would never buy a pet store animal; however, I justified it as my "rescuing" her from their facility. Though I am financially out $2421.00, I am least concerned about retaining a refund and more concerned with not allowing any other consumers experience the pain and suffering that I have gone through in the 3 short weeks that I had her. I have experienced sleep deprivation; guilt; and have re-lived the loss of my first Chi, Pepe, all over again. Please help me seek justice for my Ruby. Thank you.

In the meantime, our neighbors had made the decision to purchase a puppy from Petland for their family as a Christmas present. Their decision to bring this puppy home to our neighborhood has devastated my family! Within three weeks of that puppy walking between our adjoining properties, my dog started having diarrhea and vomiting. My dog still being a puppy, we figured it was just something he ate and he would feel better soon. A day later, he was dead! We found out from our vet that he had contracted the Parvo virus. We couldn't understand how this was possible. He never left our property!

Learning how deadly this virus is, we began to worry about the neighbors and their pets and started going door-to-door to let everyone know. That was when we realized that Zeus actually contracted this virus in his own yard because our neighbors had made the irresponsible decision to not inform anyone in the neighborhood about what was now lurking on their property and any adjoining properties!

I feel that Petland is being allowed to spread this highly infectious virus from neighborhood to neighborhood, house to house, family to family. When will they be stopped? How many more animals have to suffer? How many more properties will become infected before someone decides that this cannot and will not be allowed to continue?

I understand that I cannot "formally" file a complaint with Petland for the death of our beloved Zeus. I just wanted to inform you that this situation goes above and beyond the pets that Petland is allowed and continuing to sell sick, infected dogs.

The consequence of this has devastated my children. They are heartbroken over the loss of our dog. We have lost thousands of dollars, between purchasing him, immunizing him, food and toys, burying him, etc. The time lost that my family had invested into Zeus' sign language training and the life safety training is immeasurable! Not to mention that now we cannot even begin to think about bringing home another dog knowing that the virus has now infected the ground in and around our home.

The economic damage that is being caused by this virus is that it is being spread from home to home, neighborhood to neighborhood, community to community which can stay dormant for up to seven years in the ground! How many more properties will become infected? How many more animals must die from this terrible deadly virus before Petland is stopped and held financially accountable for their actions? How many more families have to suffer?

Well my heart sank, I did not want to separate these littermates. There was a size different of the two, the smaller one being priced at $2290! The larger one was priced at 1800$! We spent over a hour with the dogs and left the store to privately discuss. I felt inclined, thinking that no one else would purchase these guys together and my boyfriend and I had to do something. We had saved up some money and decided to use it towards getting these two guys a happy healthy home. While in the store, of course the Manager and other sales associate used their usual Petland pitch and us being blinded by puppylove fell right into it. We were originally told that both dogs were 100% healthy.

Upon signing the paperwork, the Manager corrected herself stating that the smaller dog ( now named Bentley) had an open fontanelle and a luxating patellar grade 1. We were reassured it was nothing to be concerned about and there was really no better place to buy a dog from. When we were about to leave the store, the larger dog (now named Jack) started to cough, the Manager of course followed up with a poor excuse of the dog being stressed and it should probably go away on it's own.When we got the new pups back to our place, we noticed the cough getting progressively worse. The following day was Sunday so we had to wait until Monday for our new puppies to be seen by a vet.

On Sunday, I had all these doubts about Petland's pledge to providing healthy dogs. I turned to my computer and decided to do a little research. And yes, I sat there stunned and horrified at what I found out. Petland=puppy mills to be frank about it. At first, I was sickened to have contributed to such animal cruelty and then it hit me that I was happy that we got these guys in our lives and could provide a good home to them. So a bit of a disclaimer that I am not writing this to be lectured about purchasing dogs from Petland or just pet stores in general, so please don't reply to purely guilt me. After learning about Petland, I was skeptical to use the Vet they recommended. I tried to make a visit with a trusted family used vet but was unable to get an appointment. I found another vet close to my home and brought them in on Monday (two days after getting them).

I was told each one had an upper respiratory infection and was prescribed Claramox. I was only able to get a stool sample from Jack and awaited the results of that. The following day the vet called and said he tested positive for Giardia and recommended treatment for both dogs. Meanwhile I was able to get an appointment with my trusted vet for that day (Tuesday) and decided to get medicine there. Ugh, well my vet was overbooked and I saw another vet who was helping out in the office for the day. I inquired about my Jack itching his ears and thought he may have an ear infection. The vet said his ears were just hairy and plucked out some hairs, said they looked clean and fine otherwise.

I was given Panacur for both dogs for the Giardia. Within the next few days, I followed treatment and dosage according to the vets in hopes my pups would get better. Bentley's sneezing and coughing was getting worse, Jack as well. I called the vet and he actually told me vet bills will begin to pile up and recommended to me that I go to the vet Petland told me to be covered. So I did. With the holidays and such, I bought my dogs to the Petland warranty covered vet on Saturday (one week from purchase date, third vet visit). This vet, unlike the other two was actually very thorough to my delight. I went over their history with him and he examined each one. He found ear mites in Jack (hence the scratching; that the other two vets failed to find). He also told me the original dosage of the Claramox was way too low and not even a good antibiotic that gave good results. He checked each dog's stool once again, telling me that not only did Jack test positive for Giardia but also coccidiosis. I was given a new antibiotic for both and a new dosage for the Claramox. Bentley did not have coccidiosis (at least it did not show up yet) and they only wanted to treat Jack. Jack was given his puppy vaccinations and thankfully did not have an adverse reaction.

My poor babies are on a bunch of medication now. I fear these parasites will never go away, the possibility of them spreading them back and forth to one another. My boyfriend and I clean as much as possible. They for some reason love to try and play on their wee wee pads (as we are indoor training). I strongly try to discourage that behavior but they sure are thickheaded little guys.

My boyfriend and I are also having stomach issues ourselves and hope we did not get giardia from them and that it is just our nerves from worrying about our puppies. We are still trying to communicate with Petland to try and get some sort of refund from our sick dogs (no luck so far). I have inquired about getting in touch with their supposed breeder " Cindy **. " and was told they could only provide an address and did not guarantee I would receive a response.

I contacted Petland Corp. to only get the runaround, and was offered zero help. Told that each store is owned privately and to contact the owner. Okay, So I tried calling the owner of the store, the manager told me he was not available but I could try again tomorrow with no guarantee he would take my call. I called up the petaled warranty department, I was told they were not employed by Petland. Upon asking who they were employed by, I was told, well not Petland Inc. but by the store. Is there really a difference? I contacted the breeder, she was clueless as which dogs I was talking about. Wouldn't a good breeder know their puppies? No one wanted to take responsibility. I could go on and on, as there are other parts of my guys story but I think that's enough for now. I am getting very disgusted myself.

When I called Petland, they asked me to fax all of Sammie's bills and file from the VCA. They told me that they would evaluate it for a refund. This tells me that they are admitting to the puppy’s sickness. I have not done this yet. We thought that having a pure bred dog would mean that they come from a high quality breeder. Petland deceived us with all of the facts they had and unfortunately we did not do our research before we bought our dogs. If we would have known that these poor puppies come from puppy mills where the dogs are stuck in small cages and may never touch the ground, with minimal to no health care, we would never have bought our dogs from them. When I talked to the staff at VCA Clinton Township, the ladies on staff have even stated that "You should see how many pets we see that are very sick from Petland." Please use the information that I have provided in any way to help close Petland and as many puppy mills as possible. Thank you for your time!

I hadn't done any research prior to going to the store (didn't plan to buy a dog that day). While there, of course, we asked a bunch of questions, but surprisingly (?!), the subject of puppy mills never came up. I didn't know anything about them until I got home, new puppy in tow, and then, started doing some research into what and where we bought. To say I was shocked and concerned is an understatement, but we took the "let's wait and see" approach. Well, so far all we can report is, all's well. Not every Petland story ends (or begins) with regret, although it certainly appears to be a huge gamble.

Knowing what I now know, if I were doing it all over again, I'd definitely give serious consideration to the other alternatives (such as personally visiting/interviewing breeders, or going to rescue shelters, etc. I see there is a Col. Potter's rescue shelter that specializes in Cairns?). But in fairness to the honest part-time, minimum-wage employees of Petland, I wanted to offer a tentative success story, and let people know that they aren't all out to bamboozle the public with sickly, defective dogs. But I don't know how to predict good ones, either.

On a related note, my sister bought a Labradoodle from a breeder in Maine around the same time, and by comparison, hers appears to be mentally handicapped and physically imperfect. So I'm much happier with my result at Petland than I would be if I were my sister. And for full disclosure, I am not employed by/ friends with/ or even acquainted with anyone at all in the breeding or selling business. I'm just a guy off the street whose family pressured him to buy a dog one day and couldn't say no during the holiday season. I'll gladly answer any questions if someone wants to know more.

About two years later, we started to realize what bad shape our little dog was in. Our vet confirmed he had horrible joint and back problems, all genetic issues. "This is the result of bad breeding," he said. "What were his parents like?" We had to admit we had no idea. But we loved our little dog to pieces so we were willing to do whatever we could to get him the extremely expensive surgeries that our vet said he desperately needed.

We went back to Petland and explained the situation. They were very accommodating at first, saying how sorry they were and how they wanted to help us and would absolutely pay for the surgery, on one condition. We had to take the dog to their vet and have her confirm he really did need the surgeries. Imagine our astonishment when we reached the vet's office. She took a quick look at him and said, "No. He looks like he's managing just fine. He can live a very full and happy life without surgery." He died two months later from complications of his back problems. He was playing in our front yard one day and fell, compressing his spinal cord and paralyzing him. He was in severe pain and would likely never walk again. We had no choice but to have him put down. My kids were devastated.

Here's what I learned the hard way about Petland. They buy their puppies from a farm that breeds for quantity instead of quality. Meaning, they breed females who have genetic problems and aren't fit to have puppies. Then Petland marks them up 300% and sells them to the public with a "Health Guarantee", but the fine print on that guarantee states that their vet must be consulted if any health problems arise. Their vet spent five minutes with our dog and declared him fit when our personal vet clearly told me if was in danger and required surgery right away.

This is the experience of a heartbroken pet owner. I won't tell you to not buy your dog from Petland, but I do hope you read my story and make your own decision.

We had her rechecked with our regular vet on Thursday, Dec 3rd. She died on the examining table at the vet's office. I contacted Petland and they basically told me it was negligence on my vet's part. He should have heard the pneumonia as it is usually a crackle sound in the chest. They sent me home with kennel cough information but told me she had been cleared of it. Now, in retrospect, I think they were just trying to "unload" her.

While our Maltipoo from the breeder has had zero problems (she will turn five in January 2010) - we've had to take our Maltipoo from Petland to the vet on numerous occasions because he gets sick and we never knew why. Just days after he turned four years old, we learned that he has stage 2 cancer. It is just a matter of time before it becomes stage 3 or 4 which means he will only have months to live at that point. Of course, we don't regret buying him because he's been such a sweet joy to our family - but, as I've reflected over the past few years, it is so obvious why I hear people say don't buy from pet stores.

My Maltipoo from the breeder is so strong and healthy compared to my fragile Maltipoo from Petland. We don't know where he came from or what kind of life he led prior to buying him when he was 3 months old. I am certain his cancer and other problems are a result. Yes, our pets die but having it happen at 4 years old and spending huge amounts of money in the meantime is not the way it has to be. Use your head - get your pet from the Humane Society or a breeder, never a pet store. I thought Petland had higher standards than others, but I've learned the hard way that I was wrong.

Stop buying from Petland. I believe they acquire their dogs from puppy mills which come with all sorts of diseases and nasty infections. Be careful about other pet places as well. Other pet stores may receive dogs from puppy mills as well because they are cheap and can be sold for a lot of money. This is how they keep their stores alive. My family was considering buying a Norfolk terrier at a pound on November 6, 2009. The dogs in the same kennel with it looked diseased and sickly.

My mother was thinking about getting it and we decided we would rather wait a couple days. We went back and the same kennel was empty. I asked the people in the front what happened to the dogs and apparently, they had contacted parvo. All of them were put down the morning we had visited there. We looked at some other dogs and found another one. They tested the dog for Lyme disease and it was in the early stages of it. They wouldn't consider helping us pay to help it and get the problem fixed. They need to be stopped and hopefully, the more complaints we get about these places and the more actions we take will do that.

It doesn't matter what you do to show that you want these places shut down. My last school wore white shirts to school one day and proclaimed we wanted to put a stop to these businesses. Something as simple as that could help make a difference. I, myself, am trying to inform the government with concerns about these problems and hopefully that will help. Many people have already taken action and you should too.

Mind you, we were already giving them $1,000 for the dog. The girl said no, and we were forced to pay another $70 on top of all of that. As part of Petland's requirements, we were to take our new puppy to the vet within 7 days. We complied, as any good pet owner would, and our dog tested positive for Giardia. The vet also informed us that our new dog had been severely underfed, as well as could have only gotten the Giardia from unsanitary conditions.

Petland had an obligation to tell us this before we brought home the dog, but, again, they failed to follow ethical business practices. Petland's policy states that if there is anything wrong with the dog, that if in writing from a vet, will be taken care of by the owner of the particular store. This was where things really got bad. I had the extreme misfortune of having to speak to the ignorant store owner who proceeded to insult me, and stated that it was my fault the dog had Giardia.

Mind you, we took him to the vet the day after we bought him, and he was living with our two other dogs who did not test positive for Giardia (we got them tested too just to make sure). When we got all the proper documentation over to this, I can't even call him, gentleman that owned the store, he stated he would not pay for our dog's medical expenses. It's horrible to think that a pet store would sell you a sick dog, and then leave you with the medical expenses, but it happens.

Fortunately our dog is still alive, but requires regular medicine which is a significant cost to us. You would think especially in a down economy that businesses would do anything to get your business. Well, Petland did! They sold us a sick dog! In closing, I warn customers to beware. This store and its owner are criminals and do not deserve your business! Go to a shelter and rescue a dog!

The store brought in another silky terrier. We picked this puppy up on 10/7/09. We just took her to the vet on Wednesday. This puppy has an upper respiratory infection, and the vet advised that the puppy could get pneumonia. I am in such disbelief that we could pay so much for this puppy and continue to get sick dogs. How can they get away with this. Are there no laws?

There were no financial concessions; everything purchased had to be thrown away due to the Parvo infection. My house had to be thoroughly cleaned with Clorox. It cost hundreds of dollars, and now, we are going through it again. I am stunned; our grandson loves this puppy, believing it is the same puppy he originally picked out. He says she's the toughest little puppy ever. I cannot even nor do I want to imagine how distressed my grandson will be if this puppy dies as well. Can they get away with this? You might as well purchase a puppy for 1/4 of the price at a flea market. You're likely to get a healthier dog.

A week later, I went back and they were trying to pressure me into purchasing her. They showed me her vaccination records and just said that she was A.C.A. registered. Needless to say, I purchased her. I took her home. About an hour after I brought her home, she was making a coughing/wheezing type of noise. I called Petland and they told me that it was normal because they have the smashed-in face which makes it difficult for them to breathe. I was like, well, how come none of the other Bostons I have had have done this? Not to mention, they told me that they have a vet (the same vet they have used to take our puppy to) that goes into their store once a week to examine each and every puppy.

They assured me that the puppy was healthy. They told me to make an appointment to get the puppy in to their vet, which I am sure they pay lots of money to. The vet wouldn't get the dog in until a week later. Well, the day after I made the appointment to get her in, she had green snot coming out of her nose and her cough was much worse. I called the vet again and insisted that she needed to be seen. They finally got her in and they diagnosed her with a bacterial infection that would have turned into kennel cough if I would have waited any longer.

At this point, I was furious because I was lied to by Petland. I called them and told them I wanted my money back, but they refused. The puppy I purchased from them is still not very playful. She is very timid when it comes to people. She will not come to me at all no matter how much I try to bribe her with treats or whatever. She runs every time I walk towards her. It sounds like they may have abused this poor puppy. If you know Bostons, then you know they are happy little dogs that love to cuddle, play, and be with their humans. There are more problems to this story that I have not mentioned but I would be on here all day typing.

I would never recommend Petland to anybody! Please, people, do your research when buying a puppy. It will save you lots of money and heartache if you do your research. There are hundreds of people that are buying these unhealthy animals only to be disappointed. If you want a healthy animal, please just go to a reputable breeder. Petland needs to be shut down. Petland is only in this for making money off unhealthy puppies from puppy mills.