ComplaintsforBell Pet Company, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a puppy from Pet Zone in Queensbury NY on 5/21/23, at the store I inquired about the cough the puppy had. I was assured the puppy was fine and may have just picked up and swolled something from the floor. The dog coughed all night, I was able to get the puppy into the vet on 5/23 and he went on antiobiotics and by 5/26/23 he was in intensive care for 3 days for what the vet described as Severe URI/Pneumonia as Giardia. His assesment per his letter on 5/27/23 was "I am unsure why this patient was for sale taking into consideration theseverity of it's health". "****** almost died due the the nature of his of the severe parasite infection and upper respiratory viral infection". My puppy has been to the vet 7 times in the 17 days we have had him. As of today he is on another round of antibiotics and in quarantine. This was not the experience we expected. We paid more than $3000 for an unhealthy puppy, I believe petzone sold us the puppy sick and knows people will not return the dog for a refund once they have built a bond with their forever pet!

  Business response

  07/06/2023

  The consumer played with the puppy before purchase, looked over and signed a statement that if she noticed any signs of sickness, "DO NOT BUY THE PUPPY". The puppy unfortunately got sick whilst in her care and though The Pet Zone is not to blame we are responsible under the NYS Pet Lemon Law which we follow and adhere to 100%. The consumer read and signed all warranties and can simply decide which option to take. The NYS Lemon Law gives specific instruction and time limits as to file a claim. If the process isn't understood than simply contact the store for explanation however the process is very easy to follow. If the consumer needs copies of what she signed, agreed to and was explained at time of sale than we can make copies for her and we'd be happy to assist in helping with her claim.

• Initial Complaint

  04/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a puppy from The Pet Zone and was promised at signing that it was a healthy puppy that was up to date with all their shots and medical record. Come to find out the puppy not even after 2 days after purchase was sold to me with a respiratory infection, and now parasites in their intestines. The paper work at the time of purchased agreed that all medical bills would be reimbursed and now they only paid partial of only the respiratory bill. I believe they have lied about the health record they gave me for the puppy.

  Business response

  05/01/2023

  The customers documentation shows that the puppy developed a cough after purchase which is generally brought on by the stress of a new home. While The Pet Zone is not to blame for the cough it is responsible for the veterinary bill. I see nothing in regards to the customers complaint as far as parasites (which is NOT covered under NYS Puppy Lemon Law). The paperwork provided at time of sale is proof that the puppy was indeed healthy at the time of sale. The customer has read and signed paperwork instructing them to look for signs of illness and if any were noticed to NOT purchase the puppy. If they need a copy I would be happy to supply them with another copy which clearly has their signature on it.

• Initial Complaint

  03/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a Chihuahua puppy 2/27/2023 was told she no longer had kennel cough (was diagnosed 2/20/23 And was treated till 2/27/23) was seen by their vet the day of purchase. She had a little cough first after 4 days she was coughing a lot and throwing up flem I took her to a ER vet and was told she still had kennel cough and had to have chest x-ray and put on antibiotics. I paid a lot of money for a sick dog and the *** **** could care less. I think they are in the wrong to be selling sick dog and getting my other dog sick become they are being careless!

  Business response

  03/09/2023

  I'm sorry that ***** is unhappy with her purchase. With her purchase she is guaranteed 3 options that fall within the lemon law of NYS. These options are time sensitive but non the less she still has remedies afforded her by law. The statement that we could care less is completely false and quite frankly insulting. Though as you can see the puppy was cleared for sale by our veterinarian for a URI which it was treated for and disclosed at time of sale. A few days later it caught Kennel Cough while with the customer. Though The *** **** is not to blame for the puppy catching kennel cough we are responsible under the NYS puppy lemon law to cover applicable medical expenses. ***** simply needs to follow the instructions for filing a claim. If she finds it difficult she can reach out to the store and the manager would be happy to help her. We take the care and well being of our puppies very seriously while in our care and after. We hope to hear from her so we can help her with her claim.

  Business response

  03/13/2023

  The puppy was cleared by the veterinarian and got sick whilst in the care of the customer. Although we aren't negligible for the puppy getting sick we are responsible for the veterinarian bills. It has come to my attention that this customer previously purchased this same puppy and brought it back to us. The puppy showed symptoms of illness days after she brought it back to us. We treated the puppy and she asked to purchase it after it was put back up for sale at a discount of $600. Again, we will do everything according to the NYS Puppy Lemon Law 

  Customer response

  03/14/2023

   Better Business Bureau:  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.  Saying the dog got sick on my watch is a lie since you had another Dogs with kennel Cough and that came from your employee ****! Just remember Your business is selling sick dogs and your totally okay with selling sick dogs!   Regards,  ***** ***

• Initial Complaint

  01/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My wife ******* **** and I purchased what we were told and paperwork states a purebred silky terrier . We had the wisdom panel dna from our vet at banfield worlds most accurate dna the dog is 48% silky terrier and the dna states both mother and father are mixed breed so in our opinion is deliberately misleading . We were paying for a purebred silky not a mixed breed

  Business response

  01/12/2023

  The ****** ****** ****** DNA Tests are neither designed nor intended to determine or validate whether a particular dog is purebred. Rather, the ****** ****** ****** DNA tests demonstrate how closely an individual dog matches the reference genetic signature for a breed. The database of reference dogs used to develop the reference genetic signatures was generated by sampling purebred dogs at ******** ****** **** (***) sanctioned events as well as by obtaining sample submissions through a network of veterinarians nationwide. Though the database is constantly being updated, we know that genetic drift and the impact of breeder preference can cause small family and/or foreign lines to not be as well explained by the dogs in the reference database. It is important to keep in mind that not every individual of the breed will meet the breed standard set forth by the ******** ****** **** (***) and that there is inherent variation even amongst puppies from the same litter. However, if a dog is purchased with *** registration papers, the ****** ****** ****** DNA Tests are not intended to refute the documentation. Rather, the ****** ****** ****** DNA Tests are intended to help determine the breeds present in a dog of unknown progeny and/or that lack an authentic certified pedigree from the ***. The tests use a statistical analysis to compare the dog’s signature against the reference genetic signature established for each breed covered by the test. The statistical modelling process takes 11 different possible family trees into consideration, trying to fit the best combination of breed(s) to the model to explain the dog’s genetic signature. Hence, it starts with a simple purebred tree and goes all the way up to a highly complex tree with eight different great grandparent breeds coming together. Because there is only one purebred tree model in the 11 considered the statistical process inherently favors mixed ancestry. If questions arise as to a purebred dog’s pedigree and breed ancestry, parentage testing through the *** is the appropriate course of action. For this evaluation, the documented sire and/or dam are examined to ensure they were the genetic contributors to the dog in question. If they are confirmed as the parents, their pedigree (and breed) is conferred onto the puppy. This also applies to any other registry recognized in the United States 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩