Complaint Review: Sevier County Humane Society - Sevierville Tennessee

From the first time I arrived, these people were nothing but a hassle and seemed unsure about what they were telling us (my fiancee & I). Keep in mind every trip we made there was about a 45 min drive, & an early leave from work that day because of the business hours, but I had decided to check them out in the first place b/c I saw on their website they had a few puppies that fit the description of the kind of dog I wanted (being picky b/c I have allergies & wanted one that was better on them). So therefore another reason to add to my frustration b/c I wasn't having much luck finding anything.

So we arrived, they did not have the puppies I had seen, but we did find another one that we liked. We asked if all the qualifications were met, if we could take the dog home that day, she (Tamara) told us yes, but we had to take the dog to be altered to a vet in Sevier County since that was where we got it (understandable). So we filled out the paperwork & they had to get a hold of our community park Mgr. so it would have to wait until Monday and they would call us as soon as they talked to her(again, understandable).

They eventually talked to her Tues. afternoon & did not call us. A different man that I had not talked to called us Wed. afternoon & asked us when we could come pick up the dog, and we did that same day as we had been planning anyway. So we get there, give them our money and sign the adoption agreement, and they tell us we can't take the dog home because he has to be fixed first, just after the man (supposedly with some authority)had called us & said everything looked good. They said whoever it is above the whole thing, told them that now it had to be done before we could take the puppy. So apparently everytime we walked in there the rules changed just for us, b/c on there website, and at their other location the rules are still stated.

This is how it is supposedly to work: It clearly states on their website, the contract, and which they also told us in person to begin with- You are to pay a $75 fee and after YOU take the animal to get fixed, you will get a $25 refund.

So we paid $50 instead & went home with nothing after our second trip there, instead (if that actually was the case) of them neutering the dog in the first place. A few days later they called us & said the dog was at the vets and they found out the dog was blind & asked us if we still wanted it. We said we did not, and asked what would happen with the contract, money, etc. Again, having to be somewhat picky with the breeds I was trying to get (at least a mix of one), I wanted our money back b/c of the chances of find another dog at the same place. They told me they did give refunds (NOT stated on contract), that they would have to do a Owe-A-Pet. This was the Manager I talked to (Karen) and was told we were on top priority and would be called as soon as anything fitting our description came in. Again, not 1 phone call, we had to call at least 3 or 4 times to check what they had.

So finally they had a liter of 5 puppies, 2 of which were females as I had told them I wanted. They were still in quarantine and were told they would be out a few days later. So I called on that day to check, and they still were not out yet. I went through this another couple times of Karen telling me when they would be out. So finally I was told for sure that Sat. they would be out, and they would be at their Little Friends location, so even though we had "top priority and first choice" we drove out there again only to discover that the puppies had been put out on Friday and there were only 2 males left. We picked out one anyway, and had no trouble getting it here, the woman was very nice and helpful.

Since we had paid $50 for the original dog that we didn't get we paid the extra $25 b/c we were to fix the dog ourselves, and we did NOT have to take it to a Sevier Co. vet it could be whoever we wanted. BUT, we still were told that even though the puppy was only 6 weeks, it had to be neutered within 3 days. So I happened to be able to make the appointment within that time with the only ONE vet that I could find that would do it that young, & went ahead & did it. Everyone that we spoke with said this, but when I later carefully read the contract after I made the appointment, what it DID state was that I had to make an appointment for the animal to be examined, then fixed at the time the vet recommended.

So anyway everything finally was done and after a few weeks I of course had to call about the refund. What a surprise - Nothing. So I e-mailed. A Jayne something writes back and I was called to get more information, and that Mon. it would be taken care of. Needless to say... NOTHING.

We adopted our dog on 2/28/04, this is May. You get the point, although I wanted to add most a details, there's even a few more that were small that I left out for sake of length.

Please do not go to this location, the Little Friends seems good. We should have walked out the minute we first walked in there our second visit when they changed their story, but we are glad we at least now have a dog that we want. I have told everyone that asks us where we got our dog Please Do Not go there. They do not know what's going on and even if they did you should always correspond with or know how to train your employees, and take care of customers, but in this case it wasn't just the employees. And obviously you would think it would be this way with any company. Thanks for reading, PLEASE do not go there for your own sake.

Heather

Knoxville, Tennessee
U.S.A.