Complaint Review: Petland - Alpharetta Georgia

TO BOXERLADY IN GEORGIA DEBBIE IN OHIO COULD NOT HAVE SAID IT BETTER. I DO NOT USUALLY GO TO PET STORES BUT I DID WITH AN EXBOYFRIEND AND ENDED UP WITH A BEAUTIFUL RARE COLORED RED AND WHITE MALAMUTE THAT THE VET COULDNT FIX SO I RESORTED TO GOOD OLE PEPTO BISMAL TO CURE THE HORRID DIARHEA THAT THE VET WAS UNABLE TO AND SAVED MY DOGS LIFE. HE ONLY WEIGHED 25 LBS AT 5 1/2 MONTHS AND NOW WEIGHS 125. MY DOG WAS A BEAUTIFUL ANOREXIC BAG OF BONES AND SKELETON DOG IS NOW A GIANT AND YES I LOVE HIM. HE WAS ON "CLEARANCE" WE GOT HIM FOR $100.00 BECAUSE HE WAS SO WONDERFUL AND FRIENDLY AND I AM A SUCKER FOR ANIMALS. GO TO A BREEDER WHO DOES NOT CHARGE INSANE PRICES UNLESS THAT DOG HAS SHOW DOG PARENTS AND I WOULD WANT TO SEE PROOF NOT JUST HEAR ABOUT IT. MY FATHER WAS A ONE MAN DOG RESCUE ARMY AS A CHILD. WE ALWAYS HAD ONE OR TWO FAMILY DOGS AND I COULD WAKE UP TO AS MANY AS 12. HE WOULD SLOWLY BEFRIEND THE HOMELESS DOGS ONE AT A TIME OR THE ENTIRE PACK AND BRING THEM HOME TAKE CARE OF ALL OF THEIR PROBLEMS AND WE WERE THE PLACE POOR PEOPLE WHO COULD NOT AFFORD TO BUY A DOG CAME TO GET A DOG. I DO NOT KNOW HOW MY FATHER KEPT TRACK OF ALL OF THEM BUT HE DID AND HE WOULD GET ONE BACK FROM TIME TO TIME OR STRAIGHTEN OUT THE OWNER AND HE HAD A WAY OF CONVINCING PEOPLE TO WANT ONE OF THESE DOGS MY DAD WOULD TAKE ME AROUND TO THE NEW HOMES AND THE OWNERS WOULD PROUDLY DISPLAY THE DOGS TO ME, THERE WERE A FEW WHO HAD TWO OR THREE FROM US AND THEY LIVED LARGE. IF YOU WANT A PURE BRED DOG CONSIDER A RESCUE ORGANIZATION THAT WORKS SPECIFICALLY WITH THE DESIRED BREED AND READ ABOUT THE BREED FIRST. THEY ARE BRED NOT ONLY FOR CERTAIN LOOKS BUT ALSO CERTAIN QUALITIES. HERD DOGS ARE NOT THE BEST IF YOU LIVE NEXT TO A SCHOOL THEY MAY WANT TO HERD THE CHILDREN OR A BIRD DOG IF YOU LIVE NEAR A CHICKEN FARM ETC.

There was no way I could NOT respond to you...so here goes... Petland is evil. PERIOD. Perhaps you are just trying to stick up for them because you got sucked in and bought a dog there as well. MOST (read: 99%) of Petlands puppies come from puppy mills. That is a fact and any search on the internet will prove it. You think you got a good deal because your breeder is local? WOW. That means he's a BYB...a Backyard Breeder. Since you obviously are unaware, a backyard breeder is in it for the money, and nothing else. They get two full blooded dogs and breed them so they can make some money. They could care less about health testing, verifying bloodlines or anythign else. How do I know your "breeder" is a BYB? Because he allowed his puppies to go to Petland. NO REPUTABLE BREEDER WOULD EVER EVER EVER give their puppies to Petland to sell. NEVER! A reputable breeder (one who's only interest is bettering the breed standard) will make you sign a contract, stating that you will return the dog if you are ever unable to keep it. A reputable breeder will often check vet references to make sure that their puppies are going to a good home. A reputable breeder will put restrictions on registering the dog with the AKC so that dogs that aren't show quality cannot be bred (thus eliminating BYBs). I myself have two boxers that were obtained from REPUTABLE breeders. One is show quality, purchased from a breeder...and one is from a Boxer Rescue. BOTH are fixed so I don't breed and have no interest to do so - I leave that to the experts (and I DON'T mean the BYBs). So get off your high horse - you're only showing your ignorance by defending Petland. A place that charges over $1000 for a puppy mill dog - that's smart! What did you pay for your boxer? Mine was $450 from a REPUTABLE breeder!!! (and that's with breeding restrictions!)

To all of you who sit there and spout off all of this nonsense about EVERY petland being a horrible place for dogs, and how they only buy from puppy mills- knock it off. I bought a baby boxer from petland like 8 months ago- he is happy, healthy, and the only time I've had to take him to the vet (besides for vaccinations) was when he was bit by a spider and his face had an allergic reaction. I bought my dog from the Petland in Alpharetta, and they even PUT ME IN TOUCH with the breeder- who guess what!?!?! IS LOCAL. He is in midtown, and I even looked at my dog's parents, and the other two dogs he breeds. He is by NO means a puppy mill. Every business makes mistakes, but let me tell all of you this, because I am tired of all the whining from uninformed crybabies about buying a dog- IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTACT THE BREEDER IF YOU ARE SO WORRIED ABOUT PUPPY MILLS.... Or as was stated above- go rescue a dog. When it comes to papers and buying a dog- I think you should do your research before you go dumping 1-5k down the drain on something you know nothing about (unless you're ok dealing with the learning curve that is sure to come). My dog is happy, healthy, and the love of my life. I'm a VERY satisfied customer.

This is a strange post. You go about buying a pet like you go about buying a car. Trying to get a better, cheaper price? You leave petland because the price is too high. Then you return, a few days later and were told the dog was sold to "a nice hispanic couple for a lot less". Were you hoping the price had gone down? "Had we known that, we would have purchased her earlier" I don't know what that means. Known what? She was going to be purchased OR she was going to be puchased FOR A LOT LESS. You were never told directly that the price would be less, just that the manager "would work with you", by a salesmen. Your wife puts down a deposit, to hold the dog, until her husband can come in and talk to the manager. The same car deal mentality. Was she rude because she wouldn't come down on the price? Petland should give you your deposit money back. Why people go to these places and spend outrageous sums for these animals is beyond me. The current 2 dogs, I've gotten from the pound for around $50 each. They've been fixed and given all their shots. Both were scheduled to be put down. Patches is 12 years old and is the smartest dog I've ever had. She's a mixed breed. Many of those "pure bred" designer dogs are full of birth defects. The puppy mills churn them out without regard to heritage, full of inbreeding. Patches has nipped the plumber, A/C guy and the insurance agent, the ins. guy in '98. He came to the house unannounced and walked up through the trees to get a picture of the house. Patches was just protecting her house. A 22 lb dog doesn't do much damage when she goes for your ankles. He apologized for not coming to the door first. Visited the humane society of SA. They have hundreds of lovely dogs, cats and kittens. Some of them have been there for years. Waiting for some "nice couple" to come get them. But, they won't come down on the price.

Instead of buying puppies from pet stores why not try the local animal shelters. There are so many dogs/puppies who need loving homes. Have you ever walked through one? The look in their eyes shows how much they need us. I adopted a 1 year old mixed Border Collie/Shepard who we named Misty from a shelter. I have NEVER regretted it. She's brought such love and joy into our family. I had been considering adopting a second dog since I really wanted 2. A friend of mine picked up a puppy from the street, brought her to me. We knew immediately that she was home with us. Took her to the shelter as they have a vet there and had her shots and explained how we found her. She was about 5 months old and 20 lbs with a collar on her that fit a 5 lb dog and they said it was up to us if we wanted her checked for a chip. They didn't want to as this was considered abuse. They knew us there and knew she'd have a good home with us. I agreed with not checking for it. Her name's Sheba. She's momma's girl. We have 2 wonderful dogs who have blessed our lives. My point is ... there are other places to adopt. Think about it. Give them a try.

The problem with places like Petland and other Pet stores is they usually buy puppies from puppy mills. Usually these puppies are not taken care of well to start off and what makes Petland worse is they charge people crazy amounts for puppies. The best solution that I have come up with in regards to Petland problems is don't ever ever buy a puppy from them or any other pet stores. You can find the same breed of dog in your paper or online that will be cheaper and normally will not have health problems. I made the mistake at 18 to buy a Min Pin from Petland. Luckily, all she had was a bit of kennel cough. She is still with me and doing good. I did want to say I am sorry to the gentleman who ended up giving the puppy back. I am sure it was a very difficult thing for you to have to do. The only way that I can think of to stop this from happening is to tell people about how Petland gets their puppies and how horribly treated they are in puppy mills. I figure that if I tell someone, maybe they will tell their friends and so on. Maybe that will Petland may some day go out of business and so will these puppy mills. I know this comment doesn't help either of you right now, but I hope it does help you in the future and maybe might help a friend or relative in the future from purchasing puppies from this digusting place.

Last week my fiance and I went to Petland just for fun. We love to look at the new puppies and we just get a joy out of them. We both fell in love with a toy fox terrior and I had to have him! They sold us all the bull and said the puppy all together with all the supplies was 700.00 and I couldnt pass up the change to get this beautiful puppy. My fiance and I were so happy. That night the puppy kept coughing...and I knew of the kennel cough that might happen so i ignored it....my fiance was watching the puppy the next day just 14 hours after we bought the puppy and he started throwing up everywhere... having blood in his stool...and would not eat the food (which was the food they were already giving him at petland) so I called the managaer and he told me to take him to the vet to get the check up. So we went to the vet they told us to go to and the took samples and told us the puppy had a fever and was very sick...i was upset and heart broken i did not want to have a sick puppy because i do have other animals and i did not want them to get sick...i had to return this puppy because i felt it was the best interest in the puppy and my animals. I went back that night and the 2nd manager couldnt even do anything she kept saying she doesnt have the authorization to do anything and kept having to call Bob the other manager....the whole time the rude 17 year old girls were giving us dirty looks and making it seem like they could fix this poor sick puppy stuffing things down its throat...i said ok well i am returning him is that all? OH NO NO NO they made us pay 200.00 to return the puppy! I said this puppy you sold me is sick...he is not a healthy puppy this is something you are going to have to deal with there is NO way I will pay 200.00 to return the puppy (i already paid 120.00 for tests to be ran at the vet for it to come back a negative response) They would not let me leave the store until I paid them...which I did.....because my fiance was in tears because she was sad that she had to return the puppy we fell in love with too as did your wife...I stood outside of petland after we left and told people of what they did to us....they lost a lot of business that night... i agree with you about this ripoff....PET LAND IS A MAJOR RIPOFF !! should be shut down!!!

Last week my fiance and I went to Petland just for fun. We love to look at the new puppies and we just get a joy out of them. We both fell in love with a toy fox terrior and I had to have him! They sold us all the bull and said the puppy all together with all the supplies was 700.00 and I couldnt pass up the change to get this beautiful puppy. My fiance and I were so happy. That night the puppy kept coughing...and I knew of the kennel cough that might happen so i ignored it....my fiance was watching the puppy the next day just 14 hours after we bought the puppy and he started throwing up everywhere... having blood in his stool...and would not eat the food (which was the food they were already giving him at petland) so I called the managaer and he told me to take him to the vet to get the check up. So we went to the vet they told us to go to and the took samples and told us the puppy had a fever and was very sick...i was upset and heart broken i did not want to have a sick puppy because i do have other animals and i did not want them to get sick...i had to return this puppy because i felt it was the best interest in the puppy and my animals. I went back that night and the 2nd manager couldnt even do anything she kept saying she doesnt have the authorization to do anything and kept having to call Bob the other manager....the whole time the rude 17 year old girls were giving us dirty looks and making it seem like they could fix this poor sick puppy stuffing things down its throat...i said ok well i am returning him is that all? OH NO NO NO they made us pay 200.00 to return the puppy! I said this puppy you sold me is sick...he is not a healthy puppy this is something you are going to have to deal with there is NO way I will pay 200.00 to return the puppy (i already paid 120.00 for tests to be ran at the vet for it to come back a negative response) They would not let me leave the store until I paid them...which I did.....because my fiance was in tears because she was sad that she had to return the puppy we fell in love with too as did your wife...I stood outside of petland after we left and told people of what they did to us....they lost a lot of business that night... i agree with you about this ripoff....PET LAND IS A MAJOR RIPOFF !! should be shut down!!!

Last week my fiance and I went to Petland just for fun. We love to look at the new puppies and we just get a joy out of them. We both fell in love with a toy fox terrior and I had to have him! They sold us all the bull and said the puppy all together with all the supplies was 700.00 and I couldnt pass up the change to get this beautiful puppy. My fiance and I were so happy. That night the puppy kept coughing...and I knew of the kennel cough that might happen so i ignored it....my fiance was watching the puppy the next day just 14 hours after we bought the puppy and he started throwing up everywhere... having blood in his stool...and would not eat the food (which was the food they were already giving him at petland) so I called the managaer and he told me to take him to the vet to get the check up. So we went to the vet they told us to go to and the took samples and told us the puppy had a fever and was very sick...i was upset and heart broken i did not want to have a sick puppy because i do have other animals and i did not want them to get sick...i had to return this puppy because i felt it was the best interest in the puppy and my animals. I went back that night and the 2nd manager couldnt even do anything she kept saying she doesnt have the authorization to do anything and kept having to call Bob the other manager....the whole time the rude 17 year old girls were giving us dirty looks and making it seem like they could fix this poor sick puppy stuffing things down its throat...i said ok well i am returning him is that all? OH NO NO NO they made us pay 200.00 to return the puppy! I said this puppy you sold me is sick...he is not a healthy puppy this is something you are going to have to deal with there is NO way I will pay 200.00 to return the puppy (i already paid 120.00 for tests to be ran at the vet for it to come back a negative response) They would not let me leave the store until I paid them...which I did.....because my fiance was in tears because she was sad that she had to return the puppy we fell in love with too as did your wife...I stood outside of petland after we left and told people of what they did to us....they lost a lot of business that night... i agree with you about this ripoff....PET LAND IS A MAJOR RIPOFF !! should be shut down!!!

Last week my fiance and I went to Petland just for fun. We love to look at the new puppies and we just get a joy out of them. We both fell in love with a toy fox terrior and I had to have him! They sold us all the bull and said the puppy all together with all the supplies was 700.00 and I couldnt pass up the change to get this beautiful puppy. My fiance and I were so happy. That night the puppy kept coughing...and I knew of the kennel cough that might happen so i ignored it....my fiance was watching the puppy the next day just 14 hours after we bought the puppy and he started throwing up everywhere... having blood in his stool...and would not eat the food (which was the food they were already giving him at petland) so I called the managaer and he told me to take him to the vet to get the check up. So we went to the vet they told us to go to and the took samples and told us the puppy had a fever and was very sick...i was upset and heart broken i did not want to have a sick puppy because i do have other animals and i did not want them to get sick...i had to return this puppy because i felt it was the best interest in the puppy and my animals. I went back that night and the 2nd manager couldnt even do anything she kept saying she doesnt have the authorization to do anything and kept having to call Bob the other manager....the whole time the rude 17 year old girls were giving us dirty looks and making it seem like they could fix this poor sick puppy stuffing things down its throat...i said ok well i am returning him is that all? OH NO NO NO they made us pay 200.00 to return the puppy! I said this puppy you sold me is sick...he is not a healthy puppy this is something you are going to have to deal with there is NO way I will pay 200.00 to return the puppy (i already paid 120.00 for tests to be ran at the vet for it to come back a negative response) They would not let me leave the store until I paid them...which I did.....because my fiance was in tears because she was sad that she had to return the puppy we fell in love with too as did your wife...I stood outside of petland after we left and told people of what they did to us....they lost a lot of business that night... i agree with you about this ripoff....PET LAND IS A MAJOR RIPOFF !! should be shut down!!!