ComplaintsforHappy Tails Rescue Foundation
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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
12/14/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Sales and Advertising Issues
- Status:
- Answered
We adopted a German shepherd in March of 2023. We met with the ****** mom prior to pick up and were absolutely disgusted with the condition of the home and area where the puppies were at. She had 14 dogs in one area and there was fecea all over. The smell was awful. The dogs were rolling around and all needed bathing. We were ready to get our puppy out of that situation but told we had to wait a week because they were all exposed to parvo. Not a shock to us. Fast forward to present day. Our dog is now a year old and shes been active weird. We noticed her v**** was extremely swollen and she was spotting from down below. We took her to the vet who told us she is in heat. Which makes no sense since the paperwork Happy Tails gave us said she was spayed. We are irate. Now we have to take her and have her spayed and dont even know if the vaccines she claims to have had are correct so back to the vet!Business response
12/15/2023
I can not find this adopters name in our system. If Happy Tails adopted out a dog that wasn't altered Happy Tails has no problem altering them. We alter all animals before adoption. If this dog was adopted from us and is not altered Happy Tails can get this taken care of. The Happy Tails Clinic can get her in for a spay next week. Please email *********************************************************************** with a copy of your adoption contract, or the name/email address that was used for adoption and the medical team will reach out and get this taken care of.Initial Complaint
12/08/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I adopted my dog through Happy Tails and I was required to sign up for a training class before the adoption could be finalized. The volunteer told me that Happy Tails provided high quality classes so I paid the $155 for their training. I attended the first class and it was conducted in a building that is under construction. The room was unfinished; Sheetrock ************ all over, wires hanging from the ceiling to the floor, construction workers seen and heard walking around, no chairs to sit on and a huge industrial heater heating the room. The ambient noise from the echoing acoustics of the unfinished room, the loud heater fan, and the workers moving around in the building was hugely distracting and made it super challenging to hear the instructor. It also caused my dog to be intensely stressed out. There was nowhere to sit except the filthy floor, which seems totally unacceptable for a 1.5 hour class being conducted on concrete floors. Also, class was cut short because the wires hanging from the ceiling made it dangerous for us to have puppy playtime. Even the instructor seemed upset by the conditions stating that they were wearing a mask, not for covid, but for to the amount of construction dust in the building. I didnt get anything out of the class as I could barely hear the instructor and my dog was too stressed out by the environment to participate in the suggested training techniques. Other dogs also seemed stressed by the environment as well. I explained this all to the organization and their response was that they feel disappointed that their space isnt finished yet, but they would not offer refunds. Clearly there is a lack of honesty regarding what they profess as the need for these training; seems more about $$$ than actually helping owners and dogs. I would like my money refunded.Business response
12/09/2022
Her story is very exaggerated, there is some construction going on however it is not as she described. There was an extension cord out left out that should have been put away. However her complaint would be a very easy fix. She could take class next month once the construction is complete. When she was told there are no refunds she got very rude and started insulting staff and volunteers (and making threats). This is when she was no longer responded too. While we want customers to be happy we do not tolerate that type of behavior. We would be happy to work out a solution if the conversation can be nonthreatening with no insults.
We are very proud of the updates we are making to our space. We do understand it is a minor inconvenience at the moment (construction normally is) we and most adopters are trying to make the best of the situation and realize that the outcome will mean a much better atmosphere for adopters. However we can look at other training options. Switching to virtual classes or like I mentioned before, attending class next month.
We do pay a company for the training slots and her slot was already paid for, so we cannot offer a refund- but we can look at other training options.
Initial Complaint
09/09/2021
- Complaint Type:
- Customer Service Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
We adopted a German Shepherd mix (approx. 2yrs old) on 8/24. He attacked my 10 year old son and my mom this weekend (9/4 and 9/5). The rescue didn't inform us of any aggression issues, or issues being around small children. He also has an abscess on his face that *** need to be drained again at some point - they told us it was chronic after we had paid and only found out in paperwork they gave us when we picked him up. The adoption was $550 and the fee for manditory training was $155. Not only did they fail to disclose issues with aggression and health, but we attempted to surrender the dog back to them and were told it would be 2-3 months. Also they are refusing to refund the training fee, as they claim it was non-refundable. The only place it states that is on the invoice, which comes AFTER the payment.Initial Complaint
08/19/2021
- Complaint Type:
- Customer Service Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
We adopted a dog from Happy Tails on 8/11/21, and she was spayed on 8/10/21. The ****** family noticed the dog declining prior to the spay, so sent a note to the vet for the spaying appointment outlining the health issues. The dog was released to us on 8/11, and had a high fever the next day. We had to take her to an emergency vet on 8/12, and they prescribed antibiotics. HT had given NO antibiotics after a major surgery such as spaying. I contacted HT on 8/13 asking about the antibiotics situation, and did not receive a response. The dog is still ill (as she was pre-spay), so we brought her to our vet on 8/16. She was given fluids, prescription dog food, and some more medications. I contacted HT about this as well, since they knowingly released a dog to us who was NOT healthy. I still have not heard anything back- and documents were included in all communications I've sent. Finally- we have not gotten our $100 training fee back, for a training we will not do (as the dog is too sick).Initial Complaint
08/09/2021
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
August 1, 2021 we adopted a dog from Happy Tails. On August 2nd the dog began vomiting and coughing and was aggressive. When we took the dog to the vet in the morning of August 3rd we discovered it had Kennel Cough. The vet said the dog contracted this from being around other sick animals before we got him. The vet also let me know that the breed, age, and color were incorrect on the forms provided by Happy Tails, and then Happy Tails admitted they gave me the wrong paperwork for the animal, and also had the wrong vaccination dates. I paid $550 for the adoption, $155 for the training, plus $98 for the vet visit, which included a prescription. We ended up surrendering the dog one week after we adopted it because it was not getting along with my dog. We did not attend training classes because of the Kennel Cough and becase we don't feel that we got truthful information from Happy Tails, since all the paperwork was incorrect and the owner stated he is great with dogs, when he is not.
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Customer Complaints Summary
9 total complaints in the last 3 years.
2 complaints closed in the last 12 months.