Advice Needed for parents of sick Petland pups Hi everyone, new to the forum here. Wanted to quickly share my story and would be grateful of any advice offered. Sorry for my length ahead of time! On December 26th 2009, my boyfriend and I decided it was the right time for us to get a puppy. The humane society was out of the question for us, since we only rent our property and do not have a screened in backyard (learned from a previous dog rescue attempt). We unfortunately did not have alot of knowledge about where to get a dog and after a BRIEF online search, found Petland. We viewed their website and from first glance they seemed like a pretty reputable place with words like "USDA approved breeders" and "health warranty". A little puppy Yorkie caught our eye at a location near our house in South FL and we decided to go and check out the place. We got there and were put into a room with the Yorkie. We quickly fell inlove and were then told of a brother of the yorkie also available and he was put into the room with us as well. 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 petstores 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 & 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 bils 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 earmites 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 Zeigenbein" and was told they could only provide an address and did not guarantee i would receive a response. I could go on and on, as there are other parts of my guys story but I think thats enough for now. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. |
Welcome to YT. Sorry to hear that your little ones are so sick. I do hope the medicines work for them. I have no advice for you but wanted to welcome you and say that I hope your little ones get better soon. They are truly a joy to have! |
Welcome to YT and I'm sorry it's under such circumstances. I'm shocked Petland's response to an open fontanel and a luxating patellar grade 1, was nothing to be concerned about. If you insist, they may offer replacements or a refund, neither of which I'm sure you would want. I believe I would contact an attorney and see about the possibility of making Petland responsible for the life long extra vet care these conditions will require. You might want to look into the link I've provided. I'm wondering if it's too late to get in on a class action lawsuit. Petland Faces Class Action Lawsuit for Peddling Unhealthy Puppy Mill Dogs in at Least 20 States | The Humane Society of the United States |
Welcome to YT! I'm sorry to hear your babies are sick, and I sincerely hope they feel better! Look on the brightside: -You saved two beautiful babies from having to sit in a filthy cage for days on end (I don't care what they say, I've seen dirty cages) -You can use this experience to educate others! -I've also heard puppy breadth is great! I don't know myself, I got Kaji when he was 1. Just take care of those baby boys and post pictures for the nosey people of YT. Welcome to the family! |
I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune and I hope your boys make a speedy recovery. |
WOW! I hope your babies have a safe and quick recovery. We have Petland here in NYC and I must say that their services is deplorable. I had a really bad situation with them with a customer service representative and even emailed them, never received a response. Good thing is that u are saving those poor yorkies lives. Who knows what their fate would have been in another persons hands! |
Sorry about about your pups. I hope they get better soon. I was told a shocking thing last night at my vet's office. Our local Petland is spaying/neutering dogs as young as 9 weeks old. |
I'm very sorry to hear this.You had no way of knowing so I am in no way suggesting it was your fault but Petland is probablly about the worst of the worst places to get a puppy. They have a pretty bad reputation and are known for unethical practices. Also their pups come from puppy mills. Again, don't blame yourself it's not your fault.I hope your little one is OK. |
I'm sorry you have sick dogs. They need to rename PetLand to PetH*ll |
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Good link but this has been going on for years. I can't believe they're allowed to stay in business. Shows you the power of 'green'. It makes me sick how many dogs suffer because of them. To dunnyyorkie...DOCUMENT EVERYTHING no matter how small....Again I'm sorry about your puppies |
If I were in your shoes, I would continue to be very persistant and a pain in Petland's back side over getting some kind of reimbursement. I don't know if you have any chance of that, but I'd keep on them. At least, you have your BF as a witness to everything they told you. It's not that they didn't disclose, but they lead you to believe that what they told you was minor issues when they could be major. I agree with what someone else told you. Document everything!! Good luck to your new babies! They sound precious and they are lucky to have you now. Welcome to YT! |
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hugs, Carmen in nj |
How terrible you have two that are sick. Petland should be closed and how it remains open is beyond my imagination. So many claims against them yet they continue to sell sick puppies. I hope you find a way to sock it to them and make them completely responsible for the vet bills. I also hope and pray your two boys get on the road to a complete recovery so you and your BF can enjoy them. Yorkies are truly an amazing breed. So human like. Keep us informed. Believe me your not the only one who found YT after the fact. I think that's how most of us found YT looking for answers to our Pet Store puppy's. Hope it all works out for you and those puppies. |
You sound like a person with a really big heart. Thanks for sharing your story, if only to help another person to avoid similar circumstances. Sending prayers to all of you.......... |
I'm so sorry to hear about your two little ones. They are so lucky to have you in their lives now. I can't believe how any breeder or store would say that an open fontanelle is not a problem. My little Rio had one sibling in her litter that had an open fontanelle and our breeder said she would keep her as her special pet because it would need special care and she didn't feel comfortable selling it to anyone. Good luck with your babies! |
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