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About Pets Center Reviews (4)

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below Regards, [redacted]

In regard to the complaint by Ms*** *** concerning the price of Grooming and Boarding of her dog *** on 12/23/2016-12/24/the following occurred: *** was dropped off for grooming on 12/23/Her grooming was completed early during the day and we attempted
to contact the owner for pickup multiple times to no availAt the end of our workday, we waited 30 minutes past closing and the owner did not show upIt is the policy of this company to move a dog intothe Boarding Area, provide bedding; food and water when an owner fails to show up Of the four phone numbers we have on file, none of them were making contact with Ms ***.The following cost of services were accrued while *** was here in our care:$for bathing and groomingThis included cutting the nails, shaving her feet, cleaning her eats, and haircut.$for brushing ***'s teeth.$for boarding.$for feed.TOTAL $84.00Our answering service also showed that the owner did not attempt to contact us regarding her dogThe About Pets Center prides itself on the caliber of work done here and the safety and service that we provide our customers and their petsWe did the work and went beyond what other facilities would do to provide a safe and sanitary stay for Ms*** pet, ***Therefore, we expect to be paid for our services as would any other business.Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention, even if, not warranted as we did everything within our power to provide customer satisfaction and keep the pet safe until the owner returned for pick upI am surprised that she was not appreciative.Sincerely,Dr*** ***

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: My husband and I used this facility to board our dog while we were both out of town for a weekend. My husband dropped our dog off on a Wednesday evening and were supposed to pick him up Tuesday morning. Unfortunately our dog passed away suddenly & unexpectedly while in their care. Even though our dog had been to the vet weeks prior to this and had gotten a clean bill of health, I honestly do NOT think that they did anything to cause the death and that it was a tragic accident. However, when my husband went to pick up the body, they had the audacity to charge us the full $200 boarding and bath fee. I have SEVERAL issues with this: 1.)the full boarding reservation was not complete when our dog passed away. The reservation was until Tuesday and our dog passed away on Sunday. Yet the full boarding fee was charged & we were actually charged $20 over the initial estimate. I was still out of town & my husband paid only to expedite his departure from their facility. I would NOT have let him pay. 2.)I fully understand that About Pets is a business but it is in poor taste for something like this to happen and still charge. If this business claims to be so luxurious and one of the best around, then they should not feel compelled to charge 1 customer when they loose their pet while boarding. They should have enough regular customers to financially offset for (hopefully) a very rare occurrence. Their website also does not state a policy for pets that die while in their care, this alone should negate any charges 3.)Since my husband was en route back to Salem when this happened About Pets stated they would have the body ready to transport to a regular vet for final care, they did not & my husband had to assist in placing his deceased dog in a trash bag for transportation. This was obviously very traumatic for him & is beyond atrocious in my opinion. I worked at a veterinary hospital for 6 years and I realize that About Pets is not a hospital, but their policies & customer service are appalling at best!Desired Settlement: I would just like a refund for the "service" we received. Again, it is beyond appalling that they charged us for a dog we no longer have due to a tragic event that happened at their facility and charged us incorrectly on top of that! My husband is sick at what has happened & I don't know that I can "let this go" due to the sheer atrocity of their customer service. I truly hope they treat the animals they board better than their human counterparts.

Business

Response:

At some point we are all confronted with the unfortunate death of a beloved pet. This is a case in point. [redacted], an older dog, died in his sleep, while at our facility on a Sunday. CPR was administered but to no avail. The owner was notified immediately of the situation and again when it was found that [redacted] could not be revived. [redacted] passed away sometime during hill naptime. There were no signs of distress on the day he died. He was groomed the day before after he finished his park passes. He used one of our gardens for his morning potty break on an individual basis. [redacted] was covered with a baby blanket so that his owner could see that he was in a natural sleeping position when he passed. One of the About Pets Center owners placed the body in a large plastic bag so that [redacted]'s owner's truck would not be damaged by the post mortem passage of feces from the body. That owner of About Pets then carried the body out to the truck and placed the dog in the front seat of the truck as requested by the dog's owner. He was to be taken to [redacted] by the owner to be held until the next morning 'so he could be transferred to [redacted] for Cremation. This was decided on the telephone with [redacted] owner while he was driving back to our area as we had to open our business for drop off and pick up. We agreed to wait until he was able to drive the final stages of the return trip. [redacted]'s owner confessed to the owner of About Pets Center that [redacted] often awaken during the night gasping for breathe as if he had stopped breathing. During [redacted]'s bath, the bather noticed a cluster of large golf ball sized lumps along his side. [redacted] died a natural death while sleeping. [redacted]'s owner thanked us for all that we did for his dog, seemed grateful and willing to pay the invoice for the services rendered. There was no confrontation or disagreement during this time.[redacted] was picked up after closing on Sunday. They were only charged for services rendered. We did not charge for after hours fees or the clean up necessary to sanitize the Chateau after [redacted] was removed. We only charged for services rendered up until the time [redacted] was taken out of our care. We tried to make this situation as easy for [redacted]'s owner as we could. [redacted]'s owner's wife was never at the About Pets Center before, during or after [redacted]'s boarding stay and has no first hand knowledge of what transpired during this incredibly stressful time. Her allegations and comments are completely out of bounds. She is trying to not pay far services rendered and damage our credibility. This type of behavior will not be tolerated by the owners of the About Pets Center and we are prepared to take legal steps, if necessary, to stop her destructive behavior. [redacted]s owner's wife tried this type of activity, NOT PAYING FOR SERVICES RENDERED, with us in June, 2007 and more recently with another respectable kennel here in the Roanoke area. We here at About Pets Center treat all pets in our facility and pet owners with the utmost respect, dignity and care. This same dignity and care was afforded to [redacted] and his owner during and after the unfortunate passing of [redacted]. We hope that [redacted]'s owners will be able to go through the grieving process smoothly and make it place in their heart for another beloved pet in the near future. We wish them all the best. Dr. Victoria Radford, CEOAbout Pets Center

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this “solution” simply based on the inaccuracies of the business’ response. How crass that the owner’s response starts off with the fact that [redacted] was “an older dog.” I know how old our dog was. However, my husband did not drop off some fifteen-year-old dog with a plethora of health problems; [redacted] was nine and had just received an A+ report from a veterinarian at [redacted]. I’m not sure why this was brought up to begin with; I truly believe that [redacted] most likely had a benign splenic tumor that ruptured. Benign splenic tumors typically have no symptoms and can go undiagnosed for a long period of time. Since [redacted] had such a large chest cavity and rib cage, I truly believe that a splenic tumor could have gone unnoticed and would have ruptured eventually, whether at home or elsewhere. About Pets is not being blamed for his death. However, I do find it unlikely that [redacted] was asleep. [redacted] received the phone call that [redacted] had stopped breathing around 4:15pm; since About Pets closes at 6:00pm, [redacted] would have passed during normal business hours. I find it highly unlikely that [redacted] would be asleep if other animals and people were in the building. He was known to be a barker, especially when in a kennel. Secondly, I am confused regarding the “legal steps” that are apparently going to be taken against my “destructive behavior.” I have made no attempt to bring suit against About Pets Center. As mentioned in the original complaint, I do NOT claim or believe that About Pets caused [redacted]’s death, merely that things were handled improperly after his passing. To my knowledge, filing a complaint with the Revdex.com is not illegal or destructive, nor is writing online reviews, since those sites exist for the sole purpose of reviewing local businesses. I have seen good reviews as well as bad ones for About Pets Center on numerous review sites. I am curious if “legal steps” were taken against the authors of the other unsatisfactory reviews. I have had a paralegal and an attorney read the review I posted and was assured that I am not guilty of slander or libel; essentially, those reviews are opinion. The only thing I have legally threatened to do is subpoena [redacted]’s file since the owner of About Pets Center was reluctant to provide me with my own dog’s information. I called specifically for a copy of [redacted]’s entire file to be faxed to me and was only provided with a one page copy of the vaccine history from [redacted]. Even after the threat of a subpoena, I STILL did not receive what I had asked for. I was careful to mention that I wanted the authorization and/or release forms [redacted] had signed as well as any documentation of [redacted]’s daily activity while boarding. I was hoping to pick up on any abnormal behavior [redacted] may have had in the hopes of trying to understanding what happened to him. The owner also took the liberty of underlining “death” several times in the contracts I asked to be provided, which is more than a little insensitive. I am fully capable of reading, and would have been able to read the word “death,” without the added underlining. Now the activity documentation I had previously asked for is now in the complaint response weeks later. I did not use company time to write my letter to her. I wrote the draft on my home computer and came into work early to print the letter on letterhead for the sake of professionalism. My only wish is that she had demonstrated the concern for our dog that she did for my work habits. It is laughable that the owner of About Pets thinks I should be terminated from my job for using letterhead to express my concerns. As an employee of a law office, I am aware that we typically use letterhead to send out correspondence. Furthermore, the attorney who approved my online review had previously had trouble with About Pets Center and has since stopped taking his German Shepherd to their facility. [redacted]’s previous veterinarian called after learning of [redacted]’s death and states that several of his clients have reported distasteful experiences with About Pets as well. About Pets Center is doing perfectly well damaging their own credibility on their own. Next, considering I did not meet my husband until 2008 and we were not married until 2010, I am assuming the owner is referring to [redacted]’ first wife in her allegation that I have tried to “not pay for services rendered in June 2007.” Had the owner taken the time to look in the previous [redacted] file, she would have seen a [redacted]tine or [redacted]is [redacted]. Since my name is [redacted] (as has been noted on this Revdex.com complaint), we are obviously not the same person; although she too was dissatisfied with About Pets Center. I am highly confused and slightly intrigued as to what other boarding facility we have used that we have had even slightly similar issues with. [redacted] was taken care of by family members whenever possible to try and reduce the stress of leaving him in an outside facility, but due to recent health problems and scheduling conflicts of said family members, we have boarded [redacted] the last several times we have been out of town. The only other facility we have used is [redacted] near Boones Mill and we have never had any issue with them; we only stopped taking him there because the thirty minute drive was becoming a hassle. [redacted] has the requests made for [redacted]’s vaccine history to be faxed to any boarding facility and can corroborate this claim. So I am truly unsure, but would like to know, what is being referred to there; but, then again, it would appear that About Pets is largely unconcerned with logical fact. My husband, [redacted], also noticed some discrepancies in the Center’s response. [redacted] claims he did not “confess” that [redacted] would act as if he had stopped breathing; [redacted] mentioned the “reverse sneezes” [redacted] used to have on occasion, a common occurrence in dogs, and not a life threatening condition. And the “golf ball sized lumps” were diagnosed by a veterinarian as benign fatty cysts and were in no way “golf ball sized”. Feel free to contact [redacted] for the medical records if necessary. [redacted] had to assist in putting [redacted]’s deceased body in a trash bag which resulted in his forearm and wrist being covered in the post mortem blood and fecal matter left in the kennel. [redacted] also states there was a large amount of urine left as well; he left footprints as he entered and exited the kennel. This is surely a health department and/or OSHA violation as well as just plain disgusting. Since the owner claims [redacted] was so obviously “grateful and willing to pay the invoice,” he should have no reason to be untruthful about what transpired at About Pets Center. Also, as mentioned in the original complaint, [redacted] was anything but “grateful and willing to pay,” [redacted] was distraught, upset, and angry that his dog had passed while he was away, and that a bill was shoved under his nose when he first walked through the door; and then further traumatized by having to help in bagging up his own dead pet. He merely paid to avoid argument and further anguish. He has since refused to talk to, drive by, or even mention About Pets Center for his now deep-rooted disdain and hatred for the establishment, hence why I have taken on this unsavory task. I am rejecting this paltry solution made by About Pets Center. I do not, however, wish to pursue the matter further. This business is obviously unconcerned with their customers or their pets; it is only a matter of time before another unfortunate incident happens at their facility. It would be a waste of time and energy to try to elicit a decent, human response from About Pets Center’s owner. My husband and I will have to rest in the knowledge that [redacted] was loved by us while leaving the fate of About Pets Center to karma and other dissatisfied customers that will surely spread the word. Regards,[redacted]

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Description: PET BOARDING & KENNELS, PET GROOMING, GIFT SHOPS, PET SHOPS, DOG DAYCARE

Address: 1604 Conehurst Blvd., Salem, Virginia, United States, 24153

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www.aboutpetscenterresort.com

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Shady, yet now dead: once upon a time this website was reported to be associated with About Pets Center, but after several inspections we’ve come to the conclusion that this domain is no longer active.


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