Pet Land Village of Eastside

Review: We have done all that we can. We took our dog which we adopted from petland to a vet for a condition called demodectic mange. We were not aware of this condition until after we adopted her. The vet suggested we take the dog back to petland and ask them to either refund what we paid for her or help pay for her medical costs. The vet also suggested reporting this negligence to the Revdex.com. We took the dog to the vet in Castle Shannon at the VCA. The dog shouldn't have had this condition past being a year old. The dog is 2. The vet also found they only treated the dog for this condition for 45 days and not the required 6mo. With the monthly skin scraping. The condition should have been taken care of properlying but it wasnt. We are stuck paying $200 dollars a month to have this corrected because the petland failed to divulge to us they did not adopt out a healthy pet. They led us to believe she was in perfect health. The manager was not there when we took the dog to the petland and no one there was equipped to help with the matter. They took our info. And told us the manager would call us the next day and help us. We were led to believe we were going to get some sort of help from them due to thier negligence. We were wrong. In speaking to the manager he refused any sort of help with the dog we purchased from thier location.Desired Settlement: We would like a refund of coct for her or a refund for the 6mos. Of medical treatment we have you pay for the treatment they should have done before putting her up for adoption.

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs [redacted]:This letter is in response to complaint #[redacted] which was submitted on 5/4/2016. Although, we realize Revdex.com make no judgment on the validity of the complaint, as you stated there are two sides to every story.The first thing that needs to be explained is that all of the dogs and cats available for adoption from Petland in The Village of Eastside are rescues. What this means is that, we have rescued them from a shelter, typically off of the urgent list (scheduled for euthanasia). We then have them checked by a veterinarian, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, de-wormed, treated for fleas, micro chipped and then put up for adoption. During the time they are up for adoptions , they are housed at Petland where all cost of food and caring for the pets'are assumed by Petland.The average cost for the services are as follows:Donation to Shelter: $35-$100Veterinary Certificate of health: $60-$80 (required for travel to Petland)Microchip: lmplant$20 Lifetime Registration $149.99 Vaccinations $25-$60 De-worming $25 Flea Bath & Treatment (Advantix ll) $25-$60 Boarding (Stay at Petland) $18 per day Spay or Neuter $200-$400Unfortunately, when adopting a rescue there is always a risk of a potential unknown issue do to the limited history we are given by the shelter. This is not something we try to hide. In fact, we try to make this as clear as possible by the language used in the adoption contract (see attached). The minimal adoption fee that we charge is to help cover our costs for the donation to the shelter, medical expenses, the micro chip and its lifetime registration, as well as lifetime training support from Dogstar. We do not make money on pet adoptions and therefore do not offer any warrantee on these pets. We do this as a community service. Our Animal Shelter Adoption Program has recently gained non-profit status (501c3) and we are currently working to implement this into the adoption process.The dog adopted by [redacted] was treated at the shelter for mange prior to her arrival at Petland. We were told that she had gone through treatment for this and that we were able to rescue her and place her into a home. She looked great when she arrived at Petland and we had no reason to think otherwise. Of course, we feel terrible that there was a relapse of this condition and a discrepancy in the length of time that the Veterinarians feel it should have been treated for. Unfortunately, as a rescue, in order to continue saving lives we are unable to refund and or reimburse customers for problems occurring and even reoccurring after the pet has gone home. The concept of rescue does not work if Rescue Organizations are to be held responsible in the same manor a for profit kennel offering a health warrantee would be held responsible.Sincerely,Eric C[redacted]

Review: I purchased several items on the recommendation of a Petland sales associate for my cat. As it turned out, the items either were inappropriate, or did not work. For example, my cat is long-haired, and the brush the associate recommended does not work on long-haired cats. Obviously, this associate was inexperienced, or just trying to make a sale. The Sentry Calming Collar the associate recommended actually made my cat agitated. I also bought a catnip toy that must have been old as it had no effect, and some treats that proved inedible. I went back to the store less than 2 weeks later, well within the "30 day" return period stated on the receipt, to return these items in good faith. The items were in their "original condition and packaging" per the receipt terms. To my surprise, I was told by the sales associate that they would not honor their return policy. I politely showed the receipt with the terms, and the date of my purchase within the 30-day period. And I pointed out that these items were recommended by THEIR sales associate, so they bore the burden of the sale. At this point the owner, Eric C[redacted] walked over and started berating me. He said they do not accept returns, just like [redacted]. I pointed out that [redacted] absolutely accepts returns, as everyone knows. Then he started yelling at me, to my utter shock, and I asked him to please lower his voice. He pulled out his cell phone and said he was calling the police, and demanded I leave the store. I have never been treated in such an abusive manner as a customer in my entire life. And I can't believe he was willing to so rudely lose a customer over a mere $45.As he was acting in an unreasonable and irrational manner, I left the store, figuring I would take the matter up with the corporate offices of Petland. But repeated calls and emails to their Franchise Support Coordinator, Director of Operations, and even the President, Joe W[redacted], resulted in not a single reply. Thus, I am forced to file this complaint.Desired Settlement: I would like the $45.33 for these items refunded. I still have the items and would be happy to return them.I think it would also be appropriate for the owner who threatened me, Eric C[redacted], to apologize, but I will not hold my breath for this. :-)

Business

Response:

This letter is in regard to complaint #[redacted] submitted by [redacted] against Petland Village of Eastside. Mr. [redacted] was in the store approximately one year ago and wanted to return several items he had purchased. In fact he wanted to return every item that he purchased. He had also opened up and used every item that he purchased. He explained to me what he had told the sales associate and said that he was given horrible recommendations and because of this we should take everything back and give him a full refund. Personally I was quite impressed with the recommendations made by the associate and thought he did an excellent job. He recommended really good and popular products.I explained to Mr. [redacted] that everything had been opened up and used and could not be returned after being used when there wasn't anything wrong with them. The items included everything from a 99 cent cat toy to a $16 calming collar. He continued to argue that because we recommended the products we should take them back. I am usually pretty liberal with returning items to keep a customer happy but he didn't have an issue with 1 or 2 of the items, he claimed nothing was any good and he wasn't interested in finding anything that would solve his problem he only wanted a refund. He then proceeded to rattle off a long list of stores that take back all of his returns and give him a full refund for everything. As he rambled on, it became apparent to me that he makes a regular habit of purchasing products using them and then taking them back for a refund.I realized that a customer like Mr. [redacted] isn't really a customer at all but someone who takes " advantage of liberal return policies offered by Big Box and National retailers. As a small independent business I can not afford to be used and cheated by such a con artist. If Mr. [redacted] had a legitimate problem I would have been happy to solve it, even if it were at my expense. In this case I am confident in my decision that his intention was only to take advantage of me.Thank you, EricC[redacted]